Outside La Cotte

The Grounds

View of the grounds As a former farm, La Cotte is still surrounded by its farmland, which extends to 40 acres. Fields previously cultivated have now been colonised by a range of flora, predominantly oak trees and beautiful wild flowers, which are seen at best advantage in the spring. The area is home to wild boar, deer, grouse and pheasant which are hunted in the autumn by local people. A small stream runs along the western boundary of the property, from which a variety of wildlife can be spotted, including beavers, ducks, teals, and kingfishers


The Village

View of the boulangerie Half a mile from the house is St Viātre, an attractive, typically Solognote village, characterised by its abundance of buildings made from red bricks with contrasting white pointing as well as some beautiful half timbered houses, dating from the 17th Century. Previously called "Tremblevif" after the aspen trees native to the area, it changed its name in 1854 following an outbreak of an illness which caused those afflicted to tremble uncontrollably, and adopted instead the name of the saint whose bones were housed in its church and who was said to be able to cure the illness.

It has excellent facilities, including a bakery, a chemist and a butcher's shop, a general store, two flower shops and two hairdressers. The post office has recently closed, but a replacement service is now being offered at the Mairie (town hall) . There are also a variety of places to eat, including the auberge "le Creusard", the "Lion d'Or" and the recently renovated bar "Le Viātre".

The Immediate Area

View of Romorantin Lamotte-Beuvron is a small town only 5 miles away, with banks, an outdoor swimming pool, two medium supermarkets and a large market each Friday morning. It is also home to the French National Equestrian Centre. There are a number of good quality restaurants, including "Le Tartin", where the famous 'tarte Tartin' was originally made. Slightly further afield are the villages of Nouan-le-Fuzelier and Salbris, both of which have excellent restaurants with Le Dahu and La Sauldraie repectively.

The closest large town is Romorantin-Lanthenay, which boasts a variety of convenience shops around its outskirts such as supermarkets, DIYs and gardens centres. It also has some lovely traditional French shops in its centre and an excellent market on Wednesday mornings. For facilities available in the wider region, go to the Region page.