Stay in a lovely farmhouse and have fun learning new skills in the Poitou-Charente, France

Details

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  Description

  My name is Keith and my wife is Hayley, we recently bought a lovely farmhouse, with land and outbuildings in the Poitou-Charente area of France. The village is lovely and the people are friendly. We feel we have really found our forever paradise. We currently divide our time between France and UK. We are in a rural area surrounded by Cognac vineyards.
  
  We are looking for people to stay with us and any help you can provide be it some DIY, gardening or cleaning will be welcome. I was a builder with over 30 years experience, so if you are looking to learn, I can help you. For fun there are local vineyards to visit, plenty of restaurants and cycling paths are every where. I enjoy painting and can teach you how to draw and paint if that is something that would interest you. We are a train ride away from Bordeaux, so visiting there is easy and stress free. You will currently stay in a caravan on site it is very comfortable and warm. We could accommodate a couple or a single person at the moment.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Events & social

  

  Pets

  

  Books

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Animals

  

  Water sports

  

  Cycling
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are always interested in meeting new people and learning about different cultures. We are trying to learn to speak French at the moment, so any help would be appreciated. Of course, if you are interested in learning any English or want to know more about England, then we will help you.
  I am happy to share skills that I have acquired over the years with you, if there is anything you want to learn met me know. I will help with you on different tasks, I don't expect you to turn up and do my tasks for me. Helping in a team is more fun.
  My wife is a great cook and enjoys baking, but if that is something that you like to do, I am sure she will step aside and let you create.
  I am also happy to share my experiences of living in a rural area, moving abroad and getting used to dealing with French tradesmen and companies.

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  Help

  The house is in a lovely area and the site is beautiful, the house does need modernising as the last time was probably about 40 years ago. However, we are comfortable there and have good neighbours. We are looking for help with gardening which would involve cutting the grass, pruning and possibly planting. We hope to start a vegetable patch soon and this could be one of the tasks we do. We also need help around the house, cleaning or basic creative DIY tasks. Or basically whatever you are interested in, if you want to learn a skill, I can teach you.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  We are trying to learn French at the moment so any help would be appreciated
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  Accommodation

  We have a comfortable caravan on site which you will stay in. It is fully equipped so would give you some 'private' time to yourself. By winter we will have more rooms in the house finished, so you could then stay with us in the house.

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  What else ...

  The area is lovely for walking and cycling. The local village is lovely with a good restaurant and bar and a weekly market. You can get the train from a local village to Bordeaux. I also play guitar and enjoy art so if anyone stays with those interests we can have a go

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a long driveway you could park, but we would need dimensions as a large camper may not fit in the gateway

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Lucy

  Jack Russell

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