Gîte de L'ancien Collège
Hérisson,
Allier
Self-catering
+44 (0)7836 332200
Visit owner's website
€290 - €500
per night
€2000 - €3500
per week
A generous house fit for a Bourbon duke; explore the village, scramble over castle ruins, walk in the hills and cool off in the plunge pool
8 beds
5 bedrooms
Sleeps 12
Children welcome
Pets welcome
Babies welcome
Your dates are available!
2 Guests 02 May 24 - 02 May 24
Direct with the owner
Visit the owner’s chosen website for availability, online booking or contact details.
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What part does Sawday’s play?
€290 - €500 per night
€2000 - €3500 per week
The Experience
Step into the sunlit courtyard and you’re in a fairy tale – complete with stone stairs spiralling to a room in a tower. Part elegant mansion, part medieval castle, it’s great for a group. The light-filled salon spans the whole first floor, with a cluster of squashy sofas for curling up with a book and a log burner in the grand fireplace.
Take a morning dip in the spanking new plunge pool in the glow of the 12th-century castle wall. The shady kitchen is cool in summer – breakfast outdoors to the sound of swallows – while underfloor heating keeps you cosy on long evenings gathered around the oak dining table.
You are the centre of this bustling village, where ancient turreted walls give way to bucolic views and visitors flock for music and theatre in the summer. There’s a local épicerie and produce market for supplies. Walk in the hills, drop into a café for coffee and sift through the bric-a-brac for treasures at the brocante.
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We think you'll love
- Feeling like you're in a fairytale castle – one that's filled with modern comforts
- Lazy lunches and afternoon dips in the shady, secluded courtyard
- Exploring the charming village, stopping in at the colourful wine bar and shopping at the market
You should know
- The spiral staircase that leads to the family suite in the tower might be tricky for some
- There's a ground floor room for guests who can't manage stairs
- Smiley Sylvia from the nearby village welcomes you and knows the region well – she is a phone call away during your stay
Essentials
- EV charger
- Self check-in
- Swimming pool
- Hot tub
- Garden
- Open fire / woodburner
- Breakfast included
- Breakfast available
- Meals available
- Vegetarian meals
- Oven
- Parking on premises
- Free parking nearby
- Accessible by public transport
- WiFi
- Television
- Central heating
- Limited mobility
- Wheelchair access
- Mobile reception
- Hob
- Barbecue
- Paid parking nearby
- Air conditioning
- Relaxation areas
- Washing machine
- Tennis court
- Microwave oven
- No smoking
- Credit cards
- Working farm
- Owner has pets
- Electricity included
- Dishwasher
- Pets welcome
Family friendly
- Baby monitor
- Books and toys
- Children welcome
- Babies welcome
- Stair gates
- High chair
- Fire guard
- Cot available
Nearby
- Pub/bar within 3 miles
- Restaurant within 3 miles
- Shop within 3 miles
Activities
- Bikes available
- Food courses
- Kayaking
- Other courses
- Sailing
- Surfing
- Wild swimming
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Pricing
- Nightly price
- from €290
- Weekly price
- from €2000
- Damage deposit
- €500
- 1 House for 12
- From €2908 beds5 bedrooms
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Information
Booking information
- Check in
- 5-6pm
- Check out
- 9-10am
- Other details
- Minimum stay: 3 nights, 7 nights in high season. Extra pull out bed available in family room to sleep up to 13 in total.
- Closed
- Never.
- No smoking
- Smoking not permitted anywhere in the property.
- Dogs
Water bowl provided.
Dogs stay free of charge.
Many walks from the door. There is a vet in the village.
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Reviews
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A large and well equipped house with a private courtyard and refreshing pool in the shadow of the dramatic castle ruins. A great place to stay in the area.
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My husband and I and 8 friends had an absolutely glorious week in this beautiful house in the heart of a charming historic village. There is plenty to see in the area, and on quiet days it was wonderful to chat and sun ourselves in the stunning courtyard. We had our dog with us and she enjoyed swimming every morning in the river that runs through the village. Fabulous views from the Midaeval castle bordering the house, and a lovely social club serving dinner in the village square were added attractions. Our host, Simon, could not have taken better care of us - a really special place to stay!
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Very comfortable, well appointed house with excellent facilities. Don’t be fooled by the size of the pool, with the jet pressure on, you will have done well to survive 5 minutes swimming against the flow. A really lovely stay ; countryside is beautiful with some excellent restaurants close by. We there for a week, wish it could have been a year.
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We had a glorious week at l’ancien College. The house accommodated our party of 9 perfectly with plenty of space inside and out. The pool was a great asset and the courtyard an oasis of peace and quiet after exploring the local area each day. The house is equipped with everything you might need, the beds are comfortable and the air con a real bonus in the attic bedrooms. Herisson has everything you could possibly want and the walks from the College are lovely. Altogether 10* accommodation, the owners have done a fabulous and sympathetic restoration job of this wonderful house.
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A spacious house, recently thoroughly modernised and restored, in the centre of a historic village. The village, which is stunningly pretty, straddles the river and has good local facilities with a small supermarket and 2 pub/restaurants. The house has a sheltered courtyard garden with pool for cooling off and views up to the stunning ruins of the castle .
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An undiscovered gem – Hérisson provides authentic French village life off the tourist circuit. Think sun on warm stone, hidden gardens, a shady walk along a river bank. Enjoy a restaurant, a bar, a village bakery all within a minute's walk. And return to a hideaway steeped in history where time seems to have come to a stop.
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Location
The neighbourhood
You're in historic Hérisson; the village sprawls from the hilltop castle ruins to the Aumance river. Head into the village for fresh bread, weekly markets and an apéritif at the local wine bar. The hills beckon cyclists and walkers, or drive 20 minutes to the lake at Vieure to swim or hire canoes. Moulins is 45 minutes away for museums, restaurants and a train station.
Local points of interest from Simon & Charlotte
- Herisson, french for Hedgehog, is so called because a duc of Bourbon saw the small animal on the ground and decided it would be a good place to build a castle. Herisson was one of the seventeen castles between the bourbonnais and Aquitaine.
- The castle at Herisson was besieged by the English during the Hundred years war and successfully resisted them.
- Herisson hosts the third largest brocante in France on the third Sunday in August each year; about 10,000 vistors come searching for bargains.
- In 2021 Herisson gained third place in the nationwide competioion to find "Le Village préféré des Français". Each region of France puts forward one village to represent them and Herisson represented Auvergne, Rhone Aples.
- L'ancien College became a school for boys in 1603 supported by the local church and parents were fined for their children's truancy.
- After the state took over responsibility for education, L'ancien college, being on the high street became a shop and its last role was as a blacksmith's forge on one side and the other was a locksmith
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Introducing
Simon & Charlotte
Siblings Simon and Charlotte went out of their way to visit this intriguing property while looking for a place in France. Looking down from a hilltop on the castle bathed in sunlight, they were enchanted. With a little help from some handy friends and a local builder, and taking great care to retain its historic charm, they transformed the house from just habitable to a generous, comfortable home.
We had a fabulous stay here. The accommodation provided everything we needed with a fully equipped kitchen and plenty of space to eat outside. The pool was great to cool off in and the courtyard a great sun trap. The owners were really helpful and answered any queries very quickly. We would definitely like to stay here again.