Sainte Cecile near Gabian , Hérault

This is a family home with all leisure facilities. Wide-screen TV with Sky, table-tennis table, trampoline, a billiard room, wireless broadband, several bikes, Linn stereo system, BBQ, large terrace with marble table and stunning views. No plastic furniture!

A fully-fitted kitchen with two large fridges, two freezers, oven, cooker, microwave, steamer

More adventurous types will find plenty of things to do in the region. There are tennis courts less than a ten-minute drive away, a golf course in the pretty spa town of Lamalou-les-Bains, countless walks, horse-riding, canoeing down the Orb river, picnics at local beauty spots, the Mediterranean coast, cities such as Montpellier, Beziers and Nimes to visit, as well as picturesque towns like Marseillan with its pretty port and delightful restaurants.

This is the house we dreamt about when we first decided to move to France. We had seen a lot of dreadful places during the year we spent looking but driving up the small, windy road that leads Sainte Cecile we both had a very good feeling. The air smelt of thyme, the sun was shining and there wasn't a housing estate (or even a house!)for miles around.
As well as fulfilling our romantic ideal of where we wanted to live, the house is also very practical. There are six large bedrooms (three double) and two mezzanines so you can comfortably sleep twelve people. The house probably works best with either one or two families. There is a fully-fitted kitchen, a terrace with beautiful views over the surrounding hills, a drawing room, a dining room, a library that doubles as a television room – complete with Sky television and all the sports and film channels and a billiard room. There wireless broadband throughout the house. The garage has a washing machine and tumble dryer, as well as a table-tennis table. Sainte Cecile is as close as you can get to those lovely films Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources. Our water supply even comes from a spring (so please use it with care).
The garden is huge and depending on the time of year you can pick figs from one of the four fig trees in the garden. Every week during the peach season a farmer delivers a tray of succulent fruit.
A 10-minute walk away is our almond grove where you can go for picnics or just sit watching the river go by.
This is not your average rental holiday home. It is equipped with the best linen, towels, crockery and probably the best English library in the Languedoc.
To read more about the house and the region buy Notes from the Languedoc by Rupert Wright, the owner of the house. A welcome pack of six bottles of white wine and six bottles of red awaits you, to be drunk chilled on the terrace as the sun goes down.