Family-run gîte complex in the Pyrénées near Carcassonne and Mirepoix
Tap or click on each title
to view the page.
We are both from Bristol then worked in London and around the world before leaving the nine to five behind, selling everything in the UK and coming out to France in 2002.
Our business now is providing quality accommodation for summer holidays and longer term winter lets - very different to the office, but much more satisfying.
Helping us around the property are our four 4-legged lawnmowers: two horses Rajah and Safi, and our donkey Willow. Always happy to say hello and dispose of unwanted carrots and bread! Since we came here we have always had dogs of our own, currently 'Tiggy' a Miniature American Shepherd who has been with us since 2022. We also often have dogs staying on 'doggy day-care', so you might meet Jess, Luna, Toffee or one of our other furry friends, and pets are welcome in the gites, so we may have some other temporary friends here! They are all much more attractive than we are so we have more photos of them than us!
We are heavily involved in the life of our village and local area, working with our conseil municipale and local tourist office and as you can see on all the attractions pages of this website, over the years we have built up relationships with many businesses offering every type of attractions and activities for visitors.
Having holidayed in the south of France as children, we re-discovered the lovely medieval town of Mirepoix when it was featured on an episode of 'A place in the sun' in 2001 and thought 'why not go to France ourselves'? We re-located to France in 2002 and purchased L'Enclos, 10 minutes from Mirepoix. It had been a working farm until the 1970's when the farmhouse and barns started to be converted into gites by the previous french owner, and we have since renovated each of the gites in turn.
L'Enclos is our home, owned and run by the two of us - whether that be the preparation of the gites during changeovers or improving the facilities off-season. Each year we enjoy welcoming guests and introducing them to the wonders of this little-known corner of France.
The village of Limbrassac nestles in the foothills of the Pyrenees. 400m above sea level, but with the 2000m peaks 20 mins drive away (and 3000m (10,000ft) peaks that can only be reached after an 8 hour walk from the nearest car park!). Every active sport you can think of is on the doorstep, from paragliding to hill walking via watersports. The Tour de France passes close by and the area is a favourite for cyclists & mountain bikers. We are an hour from the Mediterranean beaches and enjoy a mild climate. For those that prefer a gentler pace, the roads are quiet and the scenery is spectacular - you can tour the mountains from the comfort of the driving seat! We are surrounded by beautiful scenery and since we've been here we've discovered many driving and walking tours; vineyards to visit; weekly markets; wildlife and wild flowers (esp. the orchids in spring / early summer). For foodies, Mirepoix (at 10mins) has over 20 restaurants to suit all tastes.
Sometimes magazines ask us about life out here - here are some articles:
The magazine contacted us as they were looking for couples who had been 'in the business' for more than ten years to weigh up the advantages (or not!) of taking over an existing gite business vs starting from scratch - they thought that after ten years the owners might have a view on which was the better method! The article ran in the magazine across 5 pages (page 80 to page 84) our photos are on page 81 and the text on page 82. Click on the small image to open it full-size.
The magazine was running an article on pet-friendly proerties, we have copied this article to our Pets page as it is more appropriate there. Please just follow this link if you are interested in reading it.
