Chez Wills Anduze: Well-equipped, low-cost country retreat with cable+wi-fi broadband and nearby town buzzing with life in the summer

My wife Patricia and I are offering for rent a spacious 1-bedroomed gite (see interior photos) in a garden that overlooks vines (see main photo), 2 km from Anduze.

This is the historic market town in the Gard department of southern France (see distance photo) at the edge of the Cévennes hills locally famed for its café terraces (photo), a holiday buzz throughout the summer and old market place (photo). It's a bit quieter in the other seasons; but for us these are the months when we get out for our rambles with friends, and otherwise enjoy the unhurried pleasures of French country life and culture.

The gite is a modernised and well equipped self-catering cottage. It sleeps 3 but is ideal for 2. It adjoins our 133-year-old 'maison de maitre', but guests' privacy is assured.

Without a pool it is modestly priced from EUR 280/week (low season: Oct-Apr) to 370 (mid-season: May, June & Sep) and 450/wk (high season: July-Aug). Or there is an attractive low-season option for monthly rents at EUR 950 (plus EUR 3/day for central heating, adjusted to the current price of oil).

For a full description and how to book see www.frenchconnections.co.uk (property ID 3986, "Cottage Hide-Away, Tavion", with a calendar showing dates available). But here is a summary of some of the things you'll probably want to know:

§ We are 60 minutes' drive from the university town of Montpellier, and 50 minutes from Nîmes, the historic capital of the Gard department with its well preserved Roman ampitheatre and temple.

§ Though holiday-makers may describe our 2-acre garden as a rural retreat, Anduze is not a remote location. It is served by a low-cost local bus service, there's a railway station at Alès (30 min by car/bus) and international air and rail connections at Nimes (50-60 min), Montpellier, and Marseille (2 hours). North-south motorways can be reached within 1.5 and 2 hours.

§ The cottage has cable+wi-fi broadband access and a computer desk. There is satellite TV, a DVD player, a radio and five central-heating radiators. And for those who are keen about conserving energy, the water is solar-heated.

§ We take pride in ensuring our guests find all the kitchen equipment they need (and we'll add to the range if there IS a gap!). Otherwise the key list is: electric hot plates and oven; microwave; top-loading washing machine plus iron, ironing board, drying frame and external line; fridge.

§ In the bedroom there's a double bed and a single. The bathroom has a WC, a washstand and a small bath with overhead or hand-held shower rose.

§ Immediately outside there's a south-facing shaded patio (photo) with a big wooden table where guests spend a lot of time in the summer. (One guest actually said it's the view from here (photo) that'll bring him back!) At the back you have access to a private garden under trees where you can cool off on lounge chairs if it gets too warm.

§ We really mean it when we offer 'rural calm' because nightingales and orioles DO favour our garden in the spring. And one keen birdwatcher counted 41 species he'd seen or heard. But 'rural' also covers occasional noise from machinery, of course: a neighbour cutting his grass for hay or sawing wood for the winter -- all part of life on our sparsely populated hillside ...

§ The climate? It's a Mediterranean one, and the book says we have 2200 hours of sunshine and 130 cm of rain per year. Our own thermometer (°C) tells us summer temperatures are normally in the upper 20s, occasionally rising to 35-36. In the winter mean monthly temperatures may drop to 1-4, with up to 40 overnight ground-frosts; and in 25 years we've had only 6 snowfalls, lasting just a few days. But long-established neighbours often comment "This is an unusual year" whatever the season. In other words, expect exceptions to the rule!

Well, that seems to be about it, except to say we've been here long enough to know the really interesting places to visit, whatever your tastes. So let's say we look forward to welcoming you, finding out what these are, and then pointing you in the right direction.

Basics:

Number of Bedrooms 1	Number of Bathrooms 1	Number of Offices 0
Surface Size 63 Sq. Meters	Suited for 3 people	Property Type Cottage or Country Home

Availability:

Available from Friday, March 01, 2013 until Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Minimum Stay 1 week(s)	Flexibles With Dates Yes	Comments on Dates see www.frenchconnections.co.uk/ for booking calendar