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Chambly |
“Swallows and Amazons with croissants” |
A riverside holiday home to rent in the Jura region of France near Lac Chalain. Geneva 1hr 20 minutes by car. Channel Tunnel 6 ½ hrs by car. |
The house in early spring |
The garden looking towards Lac du Val in early summer |
From the river towards the house |
The house from Lac du Val |
Kayak |
River Swim |
Relax in the hammock |
Comfortably accessible in a day, our house is situated on the banks of the Herisson River. |
On the door-step:- Step out of the garden for a paddle, a swim, or perhaps catch a trout. The riverbank really is right on the doorstep. There is an enormous network of exciting mountain bike tracks (VTT), footpaths and an abundance of wildlife. For the fisherman the Herisson river and Lac du Val have excellent fly, coarse and troll fishing. A permit will allow fishing on quite a number of the local lakes and rivers including Lac du Val. These permits are available in Doucier. |
In the Area:- It's perfectly feasible to park your car for the duration of your stay and get about on bike and by foot. The local town is Doucier, which is five minutes by car or 10 minutes by bike. Doucier has a mini super market, boulangerie, patisserie, excellent delicatessen, pharmacy and a cash point. 10 minutes by car is the water sport lake of Lac Chalain with its sandy beaches and indoor/oudoor swimming pool/slide complex. Plenty of kayaking and horse riding are available locally. Five minutes up the valley are the superb Herisson Falls , best visited after heavy rain! Within easy walking distance is the Bison Farm which has a good family restaurant. |
Restaurants and Cafes:- The nearest place to eat, which is within walking distance, is an open air cafe specialising in trout which you can catch for yourself. Doucier has a number of restaurants from the fairly basic to the rather up-market. Our favourite Sunday outing is to ride a bike to the base of the Herisson Falls (10 minutes) and then ascend on foot to emerge at the superb Auberge du Herisson. Take a long, lazy lunch on the terrace and then head back down. If you fancy something very up-market you could try the 2-Michelin-starred Jean Paul Jeunet Restaurant in Arbois, or perhaps one of the restaurants offering a sommelier menu. In this formula the meal includes an appropriate glass of wine with each course! Tourism in the Jura is an important industry and so there's a fantastic choice of eateries within a half hour's drive. |
Further afield:- Besancon, the capital of Franche Comte, has an oustanding Citadel complete with zoo and up to 8 markets per week. A trip to Dijon, Lyon, Geneva or Lausanne is an excellent way to spend a day. Switzerland is about 35 minutes away and has a very different feel and a very different look. At La Cure you can buy a combined train/ferry ticket. From La Cure catch a train to the shores of Lake Geneva and then board a ferry. Many of the larger ferries serve gastronomic food. If you're interested in science and education you might visit the Large Hadron Collider at C.E.R.N. near Geneva. Don't forget your passport! |
Sailing and Boating:- If you have any sort of rowing boat it is possible to use it to fish on Lac du Val, just beyond the end of the garden. Any non motorised boat can be used on Lac Chalain but a sailing dinghy or a kayak are ideal. If you fancy boating on a grander scale the 35km Lac du Vouglans (Snake Lake as we call it- take a look at Google Earth) is about half an hour away. Here you can sail, powerboat or waterski. |
Pedaloes for hire on Doucier Beach at Lac Chalain |
Chess at Lausanne |
Ferry on Lake Geneva |
This bridge links our house to the hamlet of Chambly |
The bridge from the garden |
The twin bedroom |
The sitting room with lake view. |
Hire a motor boat on Lake Geneva. |
Toddlers and Young Children:- Whilst we do not advocate children being left unsupervised we believe the house and garden are reasonably child friendly. At the front of the house is a large smooth area which is great for bikes and trikes and conveniently close to the hammock for a grown up. Outdoor meals around the picnic table are pretty stress free and the sun loungers outside the lake-view doors afford a view of our large, flat, grassy area...........as well as the lake! The house is laid out and equipped (no stairs) to allow little people to play whilst the big people relax. To date, we've had quite a few guests with very young children and the feedback has been entirely positive. |
Fishing:- The Herisson river and Lac du Val are just a tiny part of the fishing available locally. Trout, Perch, Pike and Black-Bass are fished and eaten locally. |
" A wonderful place to visit with children and a fantastic place to visit without them!" |
The House:- Located in a quiet valley 200m from Lac du Val on the edge of the hamlet of Chambly, the house is set in half an acre and sleeps 6 people in a double bedroom, twin bedroom and a bunk bedroom. There is a well equipped, open plan kitchen and sitting room with a magnficent wood burning stove and shower room with separate toilet. Equipment includes dishwasher, washing machine, TV, DVD, and CD player. Outdoor furniture, barbecue, boules, hammock and a selection of childrens' bouyancy aids. |
Walking:- Put on your boots and step out of the house! For some there's enough on the doorstep. For the more ambitious the Haut Jura is just a short drive away. There's a huge variety of landscapes from woodlands teeming with wildlife to the rugged Jurassic mountains complete with fossilized dinosaur footprints and breath-takingly beautiful rivers and waterfalls. A number of jurassic cave networks are around and about. Some "managed", some not! |
Swallows or Amazons? |
Fish the river or the lake.If you have a boat, you can do this. |
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Winter Sports Downhill Skiing and Snow Boarding are available from around December through to the end of March. Les Rousses is our regular destination and is about 55 minutes from front door to "bum on lift". The runs are not of the length, or difficulty, of the big alpine resorts but are fantastic for families. The ski passes can be purchased relatively inexpensively and the lifts queues are short to non existent. At Balancier, it's possible to the park car (with picnic) right on the edge of the piste ready for the lunchtime rendevous.. Chic it is not! ..........fantastic fun, family friendly and inexpensive it is! |
Cross Country Skiing. Ski Randonnee is BIG in the Jura and starting points are available around half an hour's drive from the house. |
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"bum on lift" |