Holiday Home in South West France - Available Summer 2011

Short post just to say that the house is available for summer rentals 2011.  Further details can be found at http://www.frenchholidayfinder.com/index.php?option=com_iproperty&view=property&id=347&Itemid=1

 Some of the activities that are all available locally to Hourtin

 The children can walk to the 'Childrens Island' from the house in about 5 mins, and there they will find the castle, and the giant spider plus smaller things for younger children.  We used to enjoy cycling around it as it is surrounded by water and cannot be accessed by car.

 This is Hourtin Plage which is about a ten minute drive from the house.  Surfing is a regular sport on this beach along with body boarding.  Lessons are also available.

 The ducks used to feel very welcome when we lived there.

 Hiring a very boat at Hourtin Lake which again is only about a 5 minute walk from the house.

 The Castle on the Childrens Island at Hourtin Lake

 The view from the top of the Castle

 The Marina at Hourtin Lake

 Lessons on the lake are also available but here the water is nice and calm.

 Hourtin Lake

 Some of France's most famous Chateaux are within easy reach and about 30 minutes drive from the house

Hourtin Lake - France

This is Hourtin Lake, just a few minutes walk from the holiday home rental and is great for everybody, especially younger children.  The water is generally warm and the water is quite shallow, in fact you have to walk out a very long way before there is any depth to it at all.  Pedalo's and Kayaks, are available for hire, as well as sailing lessons, windsurfing, and kite surfing for the more adventurous.

Holiday Home to Rent in Hourtin France

The house is situated on a small lake and this is the view from the lounge at sunset....it's beautiful.

The Atlantic Coast - Surfing, Body Boarding and just Lots of Fun

The Atlantic Coast is just a few miles up the road from our holiday house in Hourtin (which is now available to rent).  During the holiday season the beach has lots of life guards and there is even a Helicopter Rescue service.  The beach is great fun but the strength of the current can knock you off your feet and splat you on your face!....We've all been down here several times and although I can't surf the body boarding is great fun.

Holiday Home Hourtin France - Location Location!

Hourtin is situated on the west coast of the Medoc and has the largest natural lake in France only a couple of minutes walk from our holiday home with a lovely sandy beech, and we are approximately 5 miles from the Atlantic coast.

My Holiday House in Hourtin, France

We finally moved back to the UK earlier this year after living in France for 4 years.  Hourtin is a very small village with a population of just 3500 most of the year except in the holiday season when it shoots up to 40,000 for 8 weeks of the year.  During this short seasonal period, all the local restaurants and bars are open, in fact everything is open which is amazing after a very quiet 10 months. 

However, all that said the holiday season can also be quite annoying, my usual parking space outside the 'tabac' no longer exists as a market trader uses the space to sell his line of 'beach towels', you queue to even get into the village and the local supermarket continues in it's 12 months very slow way and the fact that people with baskets and trolleys are backed up all the way to the end of store doesn't seem to make the cashiers work any faster at all.

We left Hourtin in April and planned on renting the house out for this summer, and finally after several trips back there the house is finally ready.  We have actually just returned from our third trip and are left feeling completely exhausted, you have no idea how hard we worked, how hot it was, and how little we ate and how much we sweated to be ready for Sunday and our very first guests.  It had been so hot peaking at 44 degrees one day, and the other days all over 35 degrees that all jobs and tasks were taking longer than anticipated and how our energy levels were dropping rapidly.  We didn't get a lot of sleep mainly as there was so much to do, every time I looked around I only saw chaos - it was similar to that sinking feeling when I step into Izzy's bedroom....Where on earth do you begin?!!!

And so, back here on my cosy sofa I can finally calm down, think back over the last few years and the last few very crazy weeks, and now think about the holiday rental market as well.....Oh la la....