Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
29 May 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
28
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
About us :
Hi, we are a Franco-English family of 4 who moved to the Dordogne from the UK in 2016 to renovate an 18th century farmhouse into our home and holiday accomodations.
Mike is British, Sylvie is French, and our home language tends to be English, sometimes "Franglish", but we all have a good command of French.
We have a dog (beagle), very friendly but very lively (she loves a lot of attention and patting) and a cat (who loves to find beds to sleep on).
We live in a small town, with shops within walking distance, very busy in the summer with night markets and lots of events, quieter in the winter, but still lively. There is the weekly Sunday market, voted best market in the Dordogne in 2019.
Own transport is not essential as the train station linking Bordeaux to Sarlat is also within walking distance, reaching Bordeaux in 2hrs 1/2, Bergerac in 1 hr and Sarlat in 15 mn. The closest airport is Bergerac (about 1 hour away).
We are a few km away from the River Dordogne, which you can easily cycle too; in the summer, it's great for swimming, kayaking, fishing, and in the winter time, great for dog walking, rambling...
The Dordogne is a beautiful region of France, with plenty of historical sites, from castles to caves (Lascaux caves are about 45 mn away), but also indoors and outdoors activities for everyone, so there is plenty to explore in your spare time.
We are smokers, but never in the house, only outdoors, no matter the weather!
About our project :
Update Nov. 2024 : We are currently mainly working on renovating our part of the house (the main bathroom is nearly completed), then we will be carrying on one of the bedroom, so there is a lot of various work going on, from insulating to plaster boarding, electrical & plumbing work, and then painting and decorating.
We have a fairly big garden (around 7.000 sq.m) , with a small orchard of fruit trees, which need looking after : collecting & cutting dead wood, picking up fruit to make jam (depending on the time of year, of course).
We have a lot of trees in need of pruning, which we aim to do during the winter, weather permitting. We will also be preparing our new "potager" (vegetable patch) for next spring / summer (we grew tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, aubergines and sweet patatoes last summer) and would like to extend it for next year.
In spring 2025, we'll be finishing the landscaping around the swimming pool.
During 2025, we're planning to complete the renovation of the second part of the barn attached to the house into holiday accommodation; one accomadation is already fully functionnal.
Sylvie likes to "collect" pieces of furniture and objects to try and give them a second life, so if you like fixing things, repairing, etc, there will always be a "project" for you!
Overall, we are a open-minded "busy" family, but we love to spend time chatting and exchanging about all sorts of topics around the dinner table.
Our project involves a lot of different jobs, depending on where we are in the work and the weather (for the outdoors). We are happy to welcome anyone without specific knowledge, as long as they're willing to learn , give it a go and become part of the family :-)
We look forward to hearing from you and happy to set a WhatsApp chat to discuss things "face-to-face".
Merci et à bientôt ;-)
Sylvie & Mike
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
As we are a bilingual family, we could help with your learning French and English, but we also tend to take from both cultures, food or traditions. We have regular visits from our respective French & English families.
Meal times are very important for us, as we like to spend time around the table not just to eat, but to talk and to catch up with one another.
We tend to cook a variety of meals, not quite typically French nor English. Sylvie likes cooking casseroles dishes and Indian food and Mike likes to experiment with new recipes. We are, however, not so good with vegetarian food, but we would love to learn new recipes and try new foods.
Help
We are looking for some help in our renovation projects, which includes plasterboarding, insulating, painting, decorating, and some work around the garden & outdoors area, cutting wood, collecting fruit, helping set up a vegetable patch as we would love to grow our own vegetables ... we already have fruit trees and we are getting good at jam-making!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
Dutch: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
1 private bedroom with a double bed and a wardrobe (situated on the other side of the house), with the use of a private bathroom.
Meals will be shared with the family, as well as, whenever possible, family outings. We have regular visits from our French & English family, so it can get quite busy at time, and we enjoy spending time around the table, talking and exchanging about lots of different topics.
What else ...
There is lots to see and do in the Dordogne, historically and culturally. Because we are close to the train station, transport is not an issue, and the town centre is within walking distance. You will not feel isolated, yet you will be able to experience the French countryside way of life, still being close to all services!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Feedback (14)
Toby was… read more
I spent most of my time with Mike and (un)official project manager Maxim outside in… read more
Layla is a very happy, kind… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
Toby was… read more
I spent most of my time with Mike and (un)official project manager Maxim outside in… read more
Layla is a very happy, kind… read more
But still I got to walk with Lilou a few times , such a lovely dog
Did some plumbing, electrical and woodworking, now the engine room is tidier.
Thourghly recommended to any one, thanks for looking after me and… read more
Zoe was of great help in the garden, she especially rescued, and cared for, our tomato plants which had been “slightly forgotten" by us… read more
We laughed a lot and it was just great!
Thanks for this unique time with you !
I will come back again… read more
Not only has Paul fantastic professional skills as a carpenter, he is also very thorough and very meticulous.
He also… read more
Wenche is a very easy going person, very kind and very helpful in all aspects, she joined in all the family daily life tasks and cooked for us a fantastic… read more
That was life changing experience! I have life aim now, is to collect some money and live next to guys in beautiful Dordogne!) And this desire came not only because of beauty of landscape, nature and historical places, but first and foremost because of attitude this family to life itself. I didn't feel any job as a job, it was fun and… read more
Maksim is a skilled, hard worker and very meticulous; he also works very well independently.
He is a very sociable person… read more
Although she is young, Caroline has great and interesting experience to share. She is very mature, thoughtful and hard worker, happy to help with any… read more
Gabriel is a very skilled and very knowledgeable person, keen to share his knowledge and experience. He helped with tiling the… read more
Since I wanted… read more
Collins is also a very pleasant and sociable young adult, easy going and interesting to exchange with.
He is a very… read more
George is keen to help, very easy going and very sociable.… read more
Mark is a very sociable person, very relaxed, very easy going and has a fun personality, interacting well with all the family, including 2… read more
They were very generous in helping me with my French and buckets of information and advice about the local area and living in France. For me it was invaluable.
Their renovation project is exciting and a great project to be part of.
They are a friendly, welcoming and fun family… read more
Emmet is very friendly, easy going and he fitted in straight away with our family ... we… read more
Tom helped us in the garden, pruning trees… read more
