We absolutely loved our 12 days at La Bergerie &, as the temperature when we arrived was something like 42C, we really appreciated the 10 metre pool where we spent a lot of time the first few days as had no energy in the extreme heat to do much else.
The pool is now far better shaded & tiled than appears in this accompanying picture and is a very comfortable place to spend the afternoon with a good book and a swim every half hour or so.
The gite itself is excellent with a very well equipped kitchen and a vital (for us) outdoor BBQ as we mostly ate outside in the evening when it was cool enough to do so. And very few, if any, mozzies! We got only a couple of minor bites whilst we were here despite me being usually a mozzie-magnet & an extreme reactor.
The bed was fabulous! Large and firm & although we had the fan on most nights as the temperature was high, we slept amazingly well - better than at home. Fan noise was a bit like sleeping on a plane with a background engine noise which is somehow lulling. The shower was also excellent. I dream of a shower as good as this in my own home.
We have stayed in this area 4 or 5 times now over the last 10 years (but not at La Bergerie before) & it never ceases to fascinate. Interesting cities like Montpellier, Narbonne, Sete, Agde, etc. within painless driving distance. Interesting towns like Meze, Clermont l'Herault, Pezenas nearby but also amazing geoligical formations. You can look them all up in your guide book. Pont de Diable is my favourite swimming as you can swim for kilometres down river very calmly. Lac de Salagou also amazing swimming but can get quite rough when windy.
Most of all, we appreciated the company of the Lalor family, Fintan, Pat, Michelle & Charlotte, who own this gite. We usually go for very private places with no contact with the owners but think the Lalors may have changed our minds on this! We very much enjoyed our conversations with them and the ease with which they accept total strangers into their lives.
EVEN IF, they didn't have their gorgeous dog Nala, the black Labrador, we would come back here. We can't have a dog ourselves so Nala was the perfect holiday dog. Never over-presumptuous but very interested, in a non-pushy way, in our evening BBQs. Well, OK, quite pushy when meat was involved.
I am sure we will be back.
Pam & Martin Roberts