Waking up with a dip in the pool before breakfast on the terrace… tootling off to buy fresh bread and cheese at the market in Aubeterre… a picnic by the river and a lazy afternoon canoeing… back for a set or two of tennis and a cool drink in the shade…
Same again tomorrow? That sounds lovely! Although there is ping pong to be played and books to be read and the golf course to be enjoyed and Riberac to be explored… Ah, where has the time gone…?
We had a supremely relaxing fortnight here where we achieved very little but did everything we wanted to do!
The accommodation
Le Petit Roc is 4-gites-in-1 so it’s suitable for families and groups of different sizes. Our gite was clean and beautifully renovated with plenty of useful kit including a barbecue, Wii and air conditioning. The pool, ping pong, tennis court and boules area are shared between the 4 gites. The helpful property manager (English-speaking) was on hand just in case.
The area
The nearest town, Chalais (5 minutes’ drive), has a large supermarket, street market and a large open-air pool with diving boards.
Aubeterre (15 minutes’ drive away) is one of the most beautiful villages in France, with a stunning square, subterranean church and lovely restaurants and quirky shops. There are oodles of places to explore in the wider Dordogne area and the owner has compiled a very useful portfolio with details of things to do using Le Petit Roc as a base, including historic sites, shopping, golf, horse-riding and vineyards.
In summary
There aren’t many places we visit where everyone in our family says “I definitely want to come back” - Le Petit Roc is one of them.
Richard, Rachel & Harry
— Richard Happer, 27 Jul 2022