A winding forest road leads to this stone-built hilltop maison de maître, enjoying panoramic views of the countryside. The house has two and a half acres of private garden, including an outdoor dining terrace shaded by fig trees,

a vegetable patch and an orchard with apples, pears, quinces, peaches, figs, vines and kiwi-fruit. The swimming pool and stone-paved terrace have distant views over the countryside and get the sun from morning till early evening.

Manor (main building)
The generous main hall, accessed by a south-facing terrace, contains a large dining area at one end and a sitting room at the other, with stone-flagged floors, exposed stone walls and ancient wood beams, a souillarde (original kitchen, now a side-room) and two fireplaces (including a huge cantou or ‘walk-in fireplace' with a small bread oven). You actually have to walk through this fireplace to access the modern kitchen and butler's pantry/laundry room.

The sitting room area in the main hall leads to a comfortable study/ bedroom with a single bed and en suite bathroom.

The main courtyard entrance with its superb original door opens to a stone spiral staircase (also accessible from the hall), which leads to the master bedroom (mezzanine level) with wood floors, two single beds, and an en-suite bathroom with its own stone fireplace. Further up the spiral staircase, on the first floor, are two further bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with two twin beds, followed by a cosy study. Leading off the study is a small consecrated chapel (suitable for intimate weddings) and a further bathroom. The top of the stairs, once a watch tower, contains attic space, a small room with a window and splendid views.

Outbuildings
The tower is on four levels. At the garden level, there is a huge grotto. The ground floor contains a living room with a tiled and wooden floor. The first floor, with a wooden floor, has a double bed for extra guests, as does the third floor.

There is also a splendid original ‘bakery' with a working bread oven.

Animals
The manor is accessed via a working dairy farm, but the cattle spend the days grazing out of sight.

There are, however, two donkeys who live on the property – Paco and Rabanne, mother and son. Both are very friendly and love company.

The Aveyron
The Aveyron, named after the river, is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The first historical inhabitants of the region were the Rutene tribe, but the area was inhabited more anciently and boasts many prehistoric ruins.

The Aveyron is part of the current Midi-Pyrénées région . It is surrounded by the départements of the Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot, Hérault, Gard, Lozère, and Cantal.

The highest point in the département is the summit of Mailhebiau at 1469 m.

Activities
There numerous places to walk or cycle through quiet country lanes and wild, unspoilt countryside. You can water ski on the Lot river at Carjac or hire canoe/kayaks at bases on either the Lot or the beautiful Célé river and find places to fish, swim, and picnic.

Aveyron contains twelve of the one hundred and forty three officially listed “most beautiful villages of France” and is near the Cévennes National Park . Two well know tourist attractions are the castle of Najac , which has a truely romantic setting high on a cliff that plummets down to the Aveyron river, where a street of medieval houses leads to the keep of the great fortress castle.

Conques is also very picturesque, perched on a hill above the river Dourdou , grouped around the magnificent Romanesque church of Ste Foy . About an hour away from Mas del Bosc is t he Abbey of Loc-Dieu , located near Martiel in a region with many dolmens. The small city of Millau is the site for the world's tallest bridge, the viaduc de Millau , designed by Norman Foster & Associates and opened by President Chirac in December 2004. Between Entraygues and Estaing , are some of the loveliest river stretches in France.

Figeac , also about an hour away, is at the confluence of the Lot and Célé rivers and a pleasant old town to walk around. The Célé flows from there between narrow limestone cliffs dotted with mills and little waterfalls and on through a lovely valley. The Peche-Merle cave is a beautiful grotto near Cabaretes with marvellous cave paintings. Further west is St Cirq-la-Popie , an old village high above the left bank of the Lot with narrow streets that climb up to the ancient château and church, where the view is dizzying. To the south is Villefranche-de-Rouergue , a delightful 13th century bastide with a central square, which unusually, has a massive church tower built into the square itself.

Cahors is the closest ‘fine' wine region, but the Aveyron has easy access to all the best wines of France – in particular Bordeaux, but also the Languedoc, Hérault and Provence. Local food specialities include Roquefort , foie gras, confit of duck and goose.

Ewes' milk is used for other cheeses (pérail, tome, recuite) and in local cakes such as « flaune » Many other Aveyron specialities, that have kept their authentic flavour will tempt your palate : trenels, flambéd meats, charcuteries, fouaces , cake cooked on the spit not forgetting the local wines such as Marcillac.

By Air

Rodez
Toulouse
(both with low cost flights from the UK and other European countries). Car hire available at the airports

By Road

Paris – 7-8 hours
Cahors – 1h 15 minutes
Rodez – 25 minutes
Toulouse – 1 1/2 hours

Low season

(October - April):
€850 per week.

Discounted long weekend and monthly rates are also available on application.

No Smoking. No Pets.

Mid Season

(May, June, September):
€1350 per week.