In England Vanessa and I led a hectic lifestyle. I was & still am a Chartered Surveyor and Chartered Loss Adjuster. I played hockey on Saturdays and went to the gym to keep fit 3 times a week. I also took a scuba diving holiday each year. Vanessa was a French teacher at a high achieving girls school, she was a Guide Leader and one of the mainstays of the local, social, tennis club. We had had the same routines for a few decades and decided we needed a change. We took early retirement, me in 2014 and Vanessa in 2015, and embarked on creating our two businesses, Les Gîtes du Vigneron et Chambre d’hôte and Papillon École de Langue. I learnt many new skills while carrying out some of our major renovation works and Vanessa has learnt a whole new vocabulary, one that wasn’t taught in the classroom! We love our new lifestyles but, unfortunately, hockey has bypassed the Charente Maritime and the French only seem to play competitive league tennis. However, we have joined a local dance class, a new experience for me! Our village is very active and our neighbours have welcomed us into the village. We enjoy partaking in their various events which are usually accompanied by wine & cognac.

Vanessa and I bought our beautiful home in France in 2013. The property was an old distillery producing Pineau des Charentes & eau de vie for the production of Cognac. The main house, our home, was the old Maison Maître and the outbuildings were the vigneron's home (he was responsible for the management of the vineyards), barns, a stable and a cow shed. The last vigneron's daughter is still in the village and indeed is our neighbour! We started the renovations in July 2014. The goal being to convert the outbuildings into 4 gîtes, our chambre d'hôte, communal laundry & library, a games room and a classroom for our language school, Papillon École de Langue. And of course, not forgetting, our wonderful heated salt water swimming pool which is discreetly located in our large garden. The main works were completed in May 2016, in time for our first season. Come and stay with us. Enjoy what we have created here at Les Gîtes du Vigneron et Chambre d'hôte and even brush up on your French language skills while you are here!! So why not "Relax, recuperate and rejuvenate chez nous!" or, as the French would say, "Reposez-vous, récupérez et ressourcez-vous chez nous !"

We are situated in the centre of our small village surrounded by vines and fields of sunflowers, in the summer, in the historic Haute Saintonge area. We are 6kms from Pons, a medieval fortified town. The old castle walls, the Hôtel de Ville and Donjon, in the centre of Pons, have a fascinating history dating back to the middle ages. Pons stands on one of the Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle. Indeed the Hôpitel des Pélerins, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is situated on the edge of the town. We are 20 mins from the both Cognac and the Roman town of Saintes. The sandy beaches of the Gironde Estuary and the beaches of the Côte Sauvage are 40 and 50 mins away. Or you can take in a tour of one of the famous Cognac houses or spend some time in the local distilleries tasting their Cognac & Pineau. Whilst a little further south you have the world famous vineyards of Blaye, Bordeaux, St Emillion, Medoc amongst others.The towns and airports of Bordeaux and La Rochelle are just over an hour away, to the north and south respectively.