La Dime

Sleeps 12 persons

Choose any day ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE

(except during peak season)

INTRODUCTION

Large country house with tower in Perigordian style in the lovely Dordogne countryside, 10 minute walk to the small Bastide town of Lalinde, 23km from Bergerac airport. Quiet and peaceful yet easy to walk into town for bread in the morning or a drink in one of the numerous Lalinde bars in the evening. Electric gates to sweeping drive with parking for 4+ cars. 3/4 acre private totally enclosed garden with 12m by 6m swimming pool and sunbeds. Terrace with teak furniture and large awning. Spacious living room, fitted kitchen with dishwasher, larder with second fridge and freezer, utility room with washing machine and Miele dryer. Four bedrooms on the ground floor, two on the first floor, and two in the tower. Four very modern bathrooms, one of which is en suite and two with baths.

PROPERTY DETAILS IN BRIEF

Large country house

4 double 4 single bedrooms

3 bathrooms

Private pool

Barbecue and outside table and chairs

Large private lawned gardens

Private secure parking

A short drive to the town centre

Central heating

Satellite TV (French, UK, German)

WiFi Internet access

LOCATION

The property is detached in a quiet location within a short drive to the town centre, market, shops and restaurants.

Bergerac and the river Dordogne are a short drive away and there is fishing, walking, cycling and canoeing all within easy reach.

The town of Lalinde is a medieval bastide and market town with an old centre and market place off which you will find local shops and restaurants. Out from the town centre is mainly residential and a little further on is open countryside on both sides of the River Dordogne.

AREA

A Brief History
Lalinde was the first English bastide, founded in 1267 by Henry III Plantagenet but it suffered serious damage during the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion.

This large Perigourdine country house benefits from it’s own enclosed gardens and 12m x 6m pool with electric solar cover and electrolytic cleaning system (chlorine free). The house and garden are sunny all day long, the garden is entirely fenced so, with the electric gates shut, it is completely secure. The garden has an automatic watering system, so is always fresh and green. There is ample parking space for several cars.

INSIDE THE PROPERTY

There is a total living area of 325m2  (3,500 sq ft) over two floors with a third floor in the tower. Entering the house from the front door, there is a hall, with piano, stairs up to the first floor, corridor leading to the ground floor bedrooms and bathrooms and door off to the open plan lounge, dining room.

The lounge has a large flat screen television receiving the main UK English channels (BBC, ITV, C4, C5), German channels and the main French national channels. There is a radio and CD player plus Internet radio and WiFi broadband. The lounge and dining area are together 47 m2 (500 sq ft) with comfortable seating for eight and dining for 12.

BEDROOMS

There are four double bedrooms on the ground floor, one of which is ensuite.

On the second floor are a further two single bedrooms, plus two more single bedrooms in the tower (one  on the top floor mezzanine).

SUMMARY:

• 1 ensuite double bedroom
• 3 more double bedrooms
• 2 single bedrooms
• 2 single bedrooms in the tower.
• Bathroom 1 - Shower, En suite
• Bathroom 2 - Bath with Shower
• Bathroom 3 - Bath with Shower
• Bathroom 4 - Shower
• 4 Toilets

The modern fitted kitchen has dishwasher, induction hob, oven, microwave, two coffee makers, larder with second fridge and freezer. There is a separate utility room with washing machine and dryer. On the first floor is a large games room with pool table, sofa and library.

SUITABLE FOR ALL

For Adult Groups

• Four double bedrooms and three bathrooms on the ground floor, so eight people can live entirely on the ground floor
• Although near a town, the house is on the edge of a residential area and very quiet and peaceful
• A reasonable selection of paperbacks is on the shelves in the Games room

For people with minor disabilities

• Whilst the house is not specifically equipped for disabled people, the entire ground floor (kitchen, living/dining room, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, entrance hall) is all on exactly the same level without any steps
• The garden and front door entrance are on the same level as the internal floors, but there is a small step over the door thresholds
• All rooms have direct access to outside, through French doors

For families with Teenagers

• The Games Room upstairs has two sofas, a table with four chairs, a pool table and in the next room an exercise machine
• The town of Lalinde is 10 minutes walk away, so teenagers will not feel “stuck out in the countryside with just their parents for company”
• The living room has a wall-mounted flat panel TV with a DVD player and many UK channels, and can take a cable from a PlayStation or other games console in its side. There is a games shop in Lalinde, with cheaper prices than the UK.

For families with small children and babies

• The garden is entirely secure as it is fenced all round (even behind the hedging) and the main gate is electrically operated by a remote control
• You can make a reasonable amount of noise, as tends to happen with kids and a pool, without offending anyone
• The pool is in an open area without shrubs, close to the terrace and visible from the kitchen window, so it is easy to keep and eye on the pool
• The pool is kept clean by an electrolytic system, so no chlorine smells, no itchy eyes and no risk of coming into contact with nasty chemicals
• There are four bedrooms (three singles and one double), all upstairs and in the tower, so it is possible to sleep many children upstairs. The tower appeals particularly to children, although the top floor of the tower has open stairs and is not suited to very young children
• There are two travelling cots available on request. Each of the downstairs bedrooms can easily take a cot, as could the Games Room and at least one of the first floor bedrooms
• There are a few kids toys available on request, and families with children are invited to purchase toys in France and recharge them to us.

For Winter Use

• The house benefits from full gas-fired central heating in all rooms
• The house is exceptionally well-insulated, draught-free and with full double glazing
• The drive is very short, so access to the road is unlikely to be a problem if it snows

GENERAL FEATURES

• The garden is totally enclosed and entry is through remote-controlled electric gates. The road is very quiet, with minimal traffic
• There is parking space for at least four cars on the tarmac driveway
• The garden extends to 3250 sqm (3/4 of an acre) and the internal area of the house is 325 sqm, (approx 3500 sq ft), so there is room for up to 12 people to live together without feeling on top of each other
• Four double bedrooms on the ground floor which stay cool in the warmest weather
• The pool is 12m by 6m with a deep end of about 1.8m and is kept clean by an electrolytic process, so good quality water
• The garden and pool are maintained professionally – an automatic watering system ensures the grass still looks good in very hot weather
• The area has very hard water and the house benefits from a water softener, for luxurious showers and baths – no scum
• The modern kitchen has an induction hob, dishwasher and a large fridge, an espresso machine and a filter coffee maker. In the adjacent larder is a large freezer (for ice creams) and a second fridge, ideal for wine
• French and UK TV, wireless internet and an internet radio allow you to keep up-to-date with the world, if you want to
• The Utility Room has a washing machine and dryer
• You will be met by the Managing Agent, who will hand over the keys, explain the house and the surrounding area. The company is based in the same village, so help and advice are always available. They can provide a range of additional services, at your cost, including a chef service, maid service, massage, even French lessons
• All bed linen, towels, hand and bath towels, pool towels are provided and changed at weekly intervals. The duvet on every bed is made up of two duvets of different weights, so there are three different weights available to suit individual taste. Additionally, each bed has a top sheet
• The house will be cleaned at weekly intervals

The Bastide
Various edifices built at different periods are worthy of interest. Lalinde’s roots can be seen in the grid plan of the town’s streets, the stone cross erected in the market square in 1351, and the stone and brick Porte Romane gateway at the west entrance of the town.

What to See :
Numerous old houses, the Governor’s House, the Counsel House, the remains of the Midi Wall and the Renaissance house which is now home to the Tourist Office.

Lalinde boasts several listed buildings. The church, which replaced the original Romanesque church, was inaugurated in 1901. The town owes much of its charm to the Dordogne River and canal.

A little further a field are the classic sites of the Dordogne Valley, dramatic cliff top villages, chateaux, caves and pre-historic sites, Domme, Castlenaud and Beynac and the many bastides.

8 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms