We will try to give you a feel for Le Chêne Vert through this guided tour. If you click on any picture, you will see a larger version. To get back to this tour from the large picture, just click on your browser's "back" arrow.

If you want some idea of the layout of the gîte as a whole, click on the Additional Details button.

Welcome to Le Chêne Vert.

This is the view as you approach the gates.

Once you've pulled round into the main parking area (where there's ample room for several cars), this is more or less what you'll see. In fact, all you see of the house from the road is a low wall and a lot of roof. It's here that you begin to get an idea of what is in the gîte.

You will go into the house through the entrée. You can just see that the door is open a crack to welcome you inside.

By the way, both "houses" belong to Le Chêne Vert: the fence simply separates the patio and garden from the drive. When you stay in the farmhouse, all this is yours.

Here, we are looking back from the far end of the Entrée.

This room was once a cow shed and milking parlour. It's changed a lot since then but we've left the original stone walls.

There's a lot of open space in the Entrée and it's ideal for gentle, indoor games. To the rear of the entrée is a table-tennis table. Although we hope you have great weather for your holiday, if you do have some rain, you can make good use of this room.

Turn left and you get to the lounge. Here you'll find ample comfortable seating. One sofa converts into a double bed, should you need it.

The door ahead opens on to the patio. On the right of the picture you can just see the door that leads through to the kitchen/dining room.

This is another shot of the lounge - this time, taken from the kitchen door. You can see the log fire and a television, on which you can get basic free-to-view English channels (e.g. all BBC and free ITV channels).

If the weather is cold for any reason, the log fire soon warms up the room and is a real joy. It's such a pleasure you might almost wish for one cold day during your stay - and we even provide you with logs.

We've deliberately avoided getting a TV with a large screen. We don't want to encourage you to do what you could just as easily do at home. However, it does mean that you might be able to see that football match or soap that you just can't afford to miss.

Turn through 180 degrees and you see the kitchen. We also eat in here and there is plenty of room for everyone. There's even room for a couple of comfortable chairs in front of a second log fire. (This fire can even be used to boil a kettle!)

The kitchen contains a dish washer, toaster, gas hob and electric oven. You can't see it but there's a second TV that shows French channels and DVDs (region 2). There's a utility room off to the right with a washing machine and dryer (although we also provide a rotating clothes line to enable you to dry clothes outside).

The utility room also contains another toilet.

The largest bedroom is above the entrée. It has been created to provide an open feeling. Notice that we have also tried to preserve the original stonework wherever possible.

The middle bedroom gives you a good feel for the original building. We have retained the original tiles (known as "tomettes") and beams in this room.

There are another two beds (one a double) at the other end of the room.

This is the back bedroom. It has two advantages over the other bedrooms:

• it has an en suite washroom and toilet
• it has another door that provides access outside the house

You will find plenty of storage space in all bedrooms.

Let's have a look out of that back door. It gives you an idea of the countryside around the gîte.

Can you see our next-door neighbours?

There are actually three houses in the immediate distance, on a bend on the road. The house on the left belongs to Mike and Lesley, who will look after your practical needs while you are staying in the gîte.

Let's go out onto the top of the stairs. The view to the right gives you a hint of one of the main industries of the area: horses.

Saumur is the foremost military equestrian academy of France and you will find constant signs of the place that the horse holds in the area. It is possible to take riding lessons or to go horse riding in the area.

Let's go down those stairs, round the side of the house and across the garden to the far side of the property. Once there, we can look back to get a wider view of the whole place.

You can just see the patio in front of the kitchen and lounge. We provide simple patio furniture for you to enjoy the sun and a sun shade for when it gets too much. We also provide a Barbeque - not to be missed!

You can see the additional buildings beyond the Entrée, off to the right. These are not yet developed. They are three old pig sties and a cow shed/stable.

You can also see the small splash pool.

This picture will give you an additional idea of the size and nature of the pool.

So, you can see that it isn't a polished, professional pool but it's good enough to be fun and a welcome break from the heat at the height of summer.

Some basic facts: the pool is 80cm deep (that's about 2½ feet for metric-illiterates) and 4m in diameter (about 13 feet).

This photo gives a better idea of the patio and a further view of the countryside.

No photos can really do justice to the reality of the house. Although there is occasional traffic down the country lane, it is incredibly peaceful and each part of the day has it's own attraction. If you're an early riser, enjoy the scintillating daylight of that time of day and the calls of the birds looking for their breakfast. At the height of the day, sit under the sun shade and enjoy a meal in the warmth - you may even catch sight of a lizard or two. Later in the day, enjoy your evening meal in the lingering heat. Then continue into the evening with a glass of wine as the light lowers and the cicadas start their nighttime symphony.

If the day turns out to be too hot for you, go back indoors to the cool of the house - as only these country homes can be cool in the heat of the summer.

If your stay is in the cooler part of the year, there are still many sunny days when the countryside can be enjoyed and, in the coldest times, enjoy the warmth of the log fires and pleasant companionship.