Jenny, Kit, Jo & Vivien - Edinburgh (GB) 29/07/00

"What a wonderful holiday we have had !! We just love the Mill and it's beautiful grounds - Jo & Kit each saw a Coypu and our record for fish in the kitchen pond was 3 x 6" !! Jason & Marie-Laure have been perfect hosts - also mines of information ! We particularly appreciated the delicious meal on our first evening when we arrived fairly shattered from Edinburgh !

We have thouroughly exploited the area which is both beautiful & fascinating. When the weather was very hot, we enjoyed 2 days at the seaside - Ile de Ré & Ile d'Oléron... La Rochelle is a wonderful old seaside town &the bridge into Ile de Ré from there is quite a feat of engineering !

Closer to home we enjoyed visits to a chocolate factory at Merpius and a paper mill, both near Angoulême, and a working windmill in Villefagnan (rencently restored & opened) where there was also a fantastic plan d'eau, definately worth a visit if you have kids & enjoy lake swimming.

Wine & food have also been terrific. We've enjoyed using the barbecue on sultry Summer evenings, and also eating out - the restuarant in Paizay-le-Tort is excellent & the people who run it are lovely ! The Auberge in Brioux-sur-Boutonne was nice & the Côte de Boeuf in Melle gave us about the best steak Kit & I have ever eaten !

All in all the whole holiday has been super - I think Vivien (11 mths) & Jo (4 yrs) have had just as good a time as us ! There's masses to do around Melle & the surrounding area - it is also very condusive to doing nothing if you want to relax completely !! We'll definately be back. Thanks again." Jenny.