The Old Coaching Inn

What Penny thinks... 

This a wonderfully spacious and imposing 16th century house, which retains its history with original features such as the large high ceilinged rooms, wide sweeping oak staircase, exposed beams and original fireplaces. Its fantastic central location in the middle of the beautiful town on Rochechouart will give you the opportunity to explore one of the most beautiful and undiscovered parts of central France.

You will be able to take a gentle stroll through the cobbled streets to buy your fresh produce from the local shops, or stop for a quiet drink at one of the shady cafes under the lime trees. The local Chateau of Rochechouart is just a few minutes' walk away, as is the beautiful church with is spiral steeple.

Owners Garry and Annabelle, with their daughter Georgia and their two very friendly dogs, live on site (in a separate apartment) and provide a warm welcome to visitors of all ages. Annabelle, a former primary school teacher, is on hand to provide you with some babysitting or childcare and has a wonderful array of activities to entertain your small people, so that you can have some grown up time either round the pool or out at one of the local restaurants.

This is a perfect venue for several families to holiday together - the sheer size of the house and the access to the separate apartment will enable all to have plenty of their own space, whilst enjoying the company of others in the living areas and gardens.

One free night's babysitting with each booking. One free chauffer driven evening out to a local restaurant. Free local airport pick up and drop off. 

This property also has The Old Coaching Inn Apartment - this can be booked together with the main house or separately in the low season months. Sleeping a total of 16 plus babies. 

Over three floors, the main house consists of a large hall, kitchen / eating area, sitting / dining room, 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

You enter the house straight from the street, but being an old medieval hillside town, the streets are narrow and traffic moves (such as it is) slowly; it is definitely not busy, except on town fete days.

You are greeted as you enter the house by a very large and imposing hallway; here you have plenty of space to park buggies, and sit and relax on the large leather sofa in the cool of the centre of the house. From here, you enter a large fitted kitchen, with all the modern conveniences needed to support a large party of adults. There is also a kitchen table and chairs here, ideal for meals with small people away from the slightly more formal dining area.

Through the kitchen is access to the sitting / dining room, again well-equipped and spacious, with TV, DVD, Full Sky access and large leather sofas; this is just the space to unwind and catch up on a few missed movies. At one end of the room is the dining area, which is plenty big enough to entertain all house guests.

Back to the hall and up the wide sweeping oak staircase, you will almost feel the need to rush off and put on a long flowing gown to finish off the real sense of history here! Upstairs, and split over the next two floors, you will find 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

On the half landing between the ground and first floors, is a small loo before you reach the first floor, where there are 2 double bedrooms with an interconnecting Jack and Jill bathroom and a further single room. On the second floor, there are two further family sized bedrooms one with a double and single and the other with a double, a platform bed and a single. On this floor there is also a family sized bathroom.

All the bedrooms are very large and will easily accommodate cots or extra beds; with the exception of the master bedroom on the first floor, all the bedrooms can have the beds changed around too, making this an ideal house for several families holidaying together or multigenerational parties.

Parent points:

• Owing to the age and grandeur of the staircase, it is not possible to reduce the gaps in the balustrades and these are far apart. Parents must supervise children at all times between the stairgates which are placed top and bottom between floors.
• The property is accessed straight from the road and as such we suggest that the front door be kept closed and locked at all times.

Accessed from the kitchen, and running along the back of the house, is a 24m long shady terrace, wide enough to enjoy a sundowner or two, overlooking the views over the terraced garden to the back of the town. At the other end of the terrace is a separate entrance to the apartments; these can also be accessed from the street at the front of the house.

Wide sweeping stone stairs (gated top and bottom) take you down into the beautiful tiered walled gardens, each with its own purpose. The first garden, surrounded by mature hibiscus and other border planting, is a perfect spot to enjoy some alfresco dining using the barbeque or even treating yourself to some of the home made produce available in the local shops, whilst the children enjoy playing on the swings or in the little covered play area. The walled garden is a perfect suntrap for those warm balmy evenings and spending time with your friends and family.

The second tier is the enclosed pool area, where you will find plenty of space beside the above ground pool to enjoy catching a few rays; under the shade of the lime trees, the children can play happily here with some of the outside toys available.

Following the path down from this second tier you will find the lower garden, which is home to a wonderful children's play area, suitable for big kids and small - tThere is a trampoline, badminton and even enough space for a game of footie. Don't worry if this all sounds a little energetic, Annabelle has provided you with a sun lounger or two so you can take 5 whilst the children play!

During the main season, the outside areas and pool are shared from time to time with the owners and in low season, when it is possible to rent the house and apartment separately, these areas do become communal.

Parent points:

• Parents should be advised not to leave furniture against the terrace wall as this may encourage children to climb on to the wall and it is a large drop to the garden.

• The wall between the second and third gardens is in some places quite low and has a steep drop on the other side. Parents should be aware when supervising their children in the pool area.

• The very friendly and well behaved family pet dogs will be in the garden from time to time. However if you would rather that they were not, please just ask Garry and Annabelle.

• Enclosed above ground swimming pool
• Enclosed gardens
• Outdoor swing set
• Trampoline with safety enclosure
• Small covered outdoo rplay area
• Stairgates
• Bed guard
• Cots and cot linen
• Baby monitor with `walkabout` handset
• Microwave
• Steriliser
• Highchairs
• Booster seat
• Hand blender
• Plastic plates, cups and cutlery
• Potty
• Step
• Changing mat
• Bath toys

For the children...
The lower garden here at the Old Coaching Inn is far enough from the house to provide a wonderful 'away from it all' play area, but close enough to be supervised; the children will have plenty of space to run around, bounce to their hearts content on the trampoline or play any number of ball games.

The proximity here to the Lacs du Haute Charente also make this ideal for all sorts of fresh water watersports, such as sailing, canoeing, swimming and fishing. The wonderful woodland and pathways around the lakes also provide other adventures like horse riding and cycling.

Babysitting service ...
Annabelle a qualified primary school teacher is able to provide a babysitting service, which you can arrange with her directly.

The Old Coaching Inn is situated right in the heart of the old 15th century town of Rochechouart. Famous for its imposing Chateau that looks out over the beauitiful valley, it is now home to a modern art gallery. The quaint cobbled streets meander past some charming old houses, shops and restaurants, many decorated with fantastic floral displays. You will have no problem just wandering through the town immersing yourself in French culture from a bygone age.

Parc Bellevue near Limoges is a wonderful outdoor amusement park with attractions for all ages. It has fairground rides, go karting, an outdoor swimming pool, small train, toboggan run and lots, lots more. This is a perfect place to visit with your small people, take a picnic and make a whole day of it.

Just a few minutes away from The Old Coaching Inn, you will find the pretty beaches of the Lacs de Haute Charente. These are huge lakes that not only have the beaches for swimming but a whole manner of water sports, sailing wind surfing, canoeing and fishing. Miles of beautiful woodland surround these lakes providing cycle trails that the whole family can enjoy.

A great attraction for the whole family is Vallée des Singes (Monkey World), a fantastic park with over 300 monkeys living in the trees above you as you walk around. There is a petting zoo, an adventure play area and even a place to stop and have a meal or just a coffee whilst the children play.

Just up the road from the town of Rochechouart is the old Roman Thermes site at Chassenon; recently redeveloped, it is a fascinating look back at history and the importance of the Roman occupation of the area. 

Before booking, please read our Terms and Conditions.

Bookings are generally taken for full weeks and the calendar below shows 7 night blocks; however many Owners are happy to consider bookings for additional nights and to consider different starting and departure dates outside of the busy periods.  Please enquire by clicking on an available period in the calendar below.