Maison Vercoe - SOU101

The house is in a very tranquil location and has beautiful views over the hilly, forested Regional Park and the vineyards of Faugeres.

It is a ten-minute drive to the bustling town of Bédarieux, with its supermarkets and restaurants. The beautiful valleys of the Orb and Mare rivers are nearby, leading into the forested mountains and gorges of the Haut Languedoc. To the south, the wide sandy beaches of Valras, Serignan and Sète are less than 45 minutes away.

There are excellent local walks, past small vineyards, with stunning views of the surrounding hills and mountains and the coastal plain. Particularly pleasant is the walk to three sixteenth-century windmills, which stand on the hill above Faugères. There are numerous 'caves' in the vicinity where one can sample and purchase wine from Faugères or Saint-Chinian. Ancient nearby villages, such as Roquessels, dominated by a ruined castle, or the medieval villages of Villemagne or Boussagues, are well worth visiting.

Bédarieux has two supermarkets, and some good and one first-class restaurant (La Forge).

Slightly further afield, one is in the heart of Cathar country, with its circular and fortified villages and towns, ancient churches, abbeys and cloisters. The beautiful, man-made Lac du Salagou, on the eastern, Lodève side of Bédarieux, offers swimming and wind-surfing.

The Cirque de Mourèze, with its strange standing rocks, is a unique geological feature and has marked walks of varying difficulty, and the lively town of Lodève contains a small art gallery which often has exhibitions of international interest.

Nearby too is the huge Lerab Ling Buddhist Centre, set in a breathtaking landscape. To the west of Bédarieux are the spectacular Gorges d'Héric, and to the north the extensive and dramatic Gorges du Tarn.

Beyond lies the great Viaduc de Millau, and the regional park of the Grands Causses, the airy uplands of the southern Massif Central.

Béziers to the south, with its Spanish feel, sits on the Canal du Midi alongside which are delightful cycle rides. Beyond, about a 45 minute drive from Soumartre, are the wide, sandy beaches of Valras, Sérignan, and Sète, and the pretty marina at Marseillan.

Further afield, but within easy reach, are cosmopolitan Montpellier, historic Aigues-Mortes, the Carmargue, Marseille, Nîmes, and Aix-en-Provence.

In the other direction lie Narbonne, Perpignan, Collioure, the Pyrenées and the Spanish border.

Airports: Béziers, 28 kilometres (18 miles), Montpellier, 79 kilometres (49 miles), Toulouse, 169 kilometres (106 miles), Carcassonne, 88 kilometres (55 miles), or Girona, Spain, 232 kilometres (144 miles). Car: from Calais, 737 kilometres (461 miles), Dieppe, 657 kilometres (411 miles), Le Havre 656 kilometres (410 miles)TGV: to Montpellier, with connections to Béziers and Bédarieux. A car/car hire is essential.

Faugères is about a ten minute and Bédarieux a fifteen minute drive away. The Lac du Salagou, and in the opposite direction, Béziers, are both about half an hour away. Montpellier is around an hour, the Pyrenées within two hours and Barcelona about three-and-a half hours away.