Another wonderful holiday at La Belle Villaine! Second year here and there is still so much to see and do! The wildlife was great again - highlights the bats and wild plants. I catalogued over 70 species of wild plant on La Belle Vilaine land (some of which are uncommon in Britain and one or two (I believe) don't even occur there), but even this is incomplete because of the time of year - so there's plenty more to be added yet!(More info on Nature Notes page shortly) Thanks again to the Clark family for another great holiday!
(Mr. Burkmar)

..........We got in a few bird-spotting trips and I saw a few lifers (such as Black Kite and Sacred Ibis).Thanks again for your hospitality. (Master Burkmar the elder)

.........This is the second time we have come here and this visit was just as enjoyable, if not more so! The barbeque and boules match was one of the highlights.Thank you so much for everything you did to make the stay perfect. (Miss Burkmar)

..........Thank you for this nice holiday. (Master Burkmar the younger)

..........Thanks again for a brilliant time I think the rest of the family have said it all!
Look forward to returning.
(Mrs. Burkmar)

Extracts from the family's entry.

Lovely gîte, beautiful location, really nice hosts - very good recipe for a lovely holiday! As well as the species of butterfly not found at home, the species found at home are here in far greater abundance. This area is very quiet, the roads are easy to walk. Looking forward to seeing our wildlife photos on your great website!

Harding Family (extract)

Click here
for a full list of the species the Hardings found whilst on holiday and to see some of their photos. Other photos taken by the Hardings appear on the Nature photos pages.

I had a great stay. Thank you very much & thanks Elaine for e-mailing Sophie & Elise for me to meet.
We had a lovely ride to Guerande & the beach. Thank you as well for me seeing Gracie & Ficelle on the agility course.
We had a delightful trip to La Grande Briere and went on the horse & cart & the trip on the boat along the reed bed.
Love Sophie xx.

Another excellent week in the gite. Much better weather than last year, generally hot and sunny. Other visits to Guerande, Vannes, Les Marais Salants and La Grande Briere. A visit to La Bernard is made special when you chat to the shop keepers (especially at the charcuterie and patisserie - see Elaine to find where they are). The coffee shop on the corner is very special, the best coffee I have tasted & a chocolate drink to die for!

So in summary, great weather, great places to visit, great food & great drink!
A wonderful holiday.

Rachael & Kevin Osborne (Portsmouth)
Dinah & Derek Vogt (Exeter).

I think we'll be back!
Love the area especially around Le Grande Brière.
The highlight of our holiday was the rural market at Kerhinet (Thurs) on all day but a good idea to get there around lunchtime & sample the local produce, it is mainly food stands (& drink, sample the aperitifs!) & live music.

Good for walking the dogs around the area too. Very pretty.
Had some lovely lomg walks, managed to get lost a few times but always found a friendly local to put us back on track. nice starting point from La Roche port for many walking routes. The dogs have had their best holiday ever!

So much more still to see & do.
Enjoyed the boules match, here's to "BLING" power!

Nice touch on arrival with the wine, Madelaines & dog treats.

Hope you keep up with the agility, if you need any help just e-mail me.

Good luck with the sailing & the new job.

Kind regards
Niki & Mick, Ruby & Sapphire.
Jersey

+ all of the above 'De Espana' from The Gilhooly Family!
Linda, Jim
+ Cookie (Dalmation)
+ Fleur (R & W Setter)

After a gas explosion at our home in Spain, what could be more relaxing than the last two weeks!!

We had a lovely stay and really enjoyed playing on the rock at La Roche Bernard, eating out and going to Barrage (Arzal). All in all it was just as good as last year.
From Kendra.

Thanks once again, Elaine Paul & Cheryl. Especially for helping us out when we realised how much we'd forgotten to bring with us!
As last year, we thoroughly enjoyed the week & will be back again.
All the best,
Dennis & Karen Stevens & family
Portsmouth.

I have enjoyed my stay at the gites. I enjoyed the dog agility with your dogs, Gracie & Ficelle and doing the language challenge and generally speaking French.
Good days out have been the Oceanarium at Croisic, jardin au pappilons at Vannes, Vannes aquarium, Naudilenes Adventure Park and Briere park trip & horse drawn carriages.
Been living a life of croissants, brioche, pain, and chocolat and patisserie cakes (YUM YUM!)
Thenk you Elaine, Paul & Cheryl for a lovely stay.
From Claire.

I have also enjoyed my holiday in France. I liked asking for things in French. A visit to a French market is highly recommended. A visit to the Airbus factory in St Nazaire was the highlight of my holiday, although other members of the family may not agree, as I ended up with a large kit of the plane.
From John.

Many thanks to you all from us also for making us feel so welcome and helping to make our stay so enjoyable.
On this, our first visit to Brittany we found that it has much to offer - we particularly savourved the atmosphere of the local markets and found the people very friendly. The children also obviously enjoyed their stay, particularly the oportunity to learn and practise French, & the dog agility sessions.
The old 'Yes Minister' DVD's also provided good evening entertainment!
As we mentioned, we also made good use of the modern technology in our car in finding our way around and future visitors may find the GPS co-ordinates of the gite useful - they are :-
47 degrees 34' 25" N , 2 degrees 12' 43" W.

Richard & Susan
Cumbria.

Had a very enjoyable stay. Gite roomy and comfortable. Kids enjoyed boules and swings - good idea to have things in 'utility' such as games and videos - in case of bad weather - not needed as superb weather though. Highlights of days out were Josselin, bike hire at Roche Bernard Campsite (ask Elaine or Paul for number). Fantastic day boating along La Vilaine and swimming while anchored up - hired boat from Arzal (again ask Elaine or Paul how to book - they arranged it for us!! Very helpful hosts!!!) Piriac-sur-Mer is a good seaside trip and Moules & Frites on harbourside restaurant excellent and very reasonable at 10 Euros!!

All in all a hard act to follow!!!
The Sutton Family Derbyshire

Thank you Paul, Elaine & Cheryl for one of the most enjoyable & relaxing holidays we have ever had. You couldn't have made us feel more welcome and your gite has everything needed for a comfortable home-from-home stay.
We fell in love with La Roche Bernard, it's a delightful town to wander around in and there are friendly bars and excellent eating places. We can recommend the creperie in the old (No.15) building in The Place du Bouffay (it always looks closed but push the door & you'll find it isn't) and the restaurant on the far side of The Pont de La Roche Bernard.
Among many pretty and interesting places to visit we liked Rochefort-en-Terre and Guerande (bear in mind the midday closing hours) and the beach at La Baule is fantastic (dogs are allowed on the western end of the beach)
We have been here three weeks and still haven't been everywhere we wanted to - we will be back!

John & Judy - South Wales.