Cooking and Painting

Course Venue

INTERACTIVE IMAGE
Mousse over areas of the buildings in the photo above, then click to see images of the interiors.

DordogneBreaks is based at our former farm whose buildings date from 1606...

It is set in its own land on a gentle south-facing slope with no immediate neighbours, surrounded by 7 acres of fields and woodland.

Built in 1926 of local stone on the ruinous foundations of an existing 400 year old structure, the barn was originally intended as a store for grain and animal feed, but its use was constantly revised over the ensuing decades.

Changing times...

Then, after the 1939 war, as the farm's prosperity waned, the barn was utilised as a crèche for the family's four remaining cows, and sometime during the 1970's it was converted into a tobacco-drying hangar.   Then, sadly, the last remaining inhabitants died and the farm fell into disrepair.

A fresh lease of life...

So, for the past quarter century the farm has lain uninhabited...until now. Through hard work and lots of elbow grease (and sometimes just grim determination!) the farm and its barn have been given a fresh lease of life and a proud new role - as the venue for our fun friendly hands-on cooking and painting courses.

Gone are the cows and tobacco-drying apparatus to be replaced with...

• A 10m x 6m fully-equipped kitchen:

  • four stainless steel gas hobs

  • semi-industrial five burner Smeg gas hob with extra-wide fan oven

  • three washup areas

  • stainless steel cooking utensils

  • ergonomic central food preparation island

  • 1st Aid and fire prevention equipment

• 12m x 6m first-floor lounge:

  • comfortable modern furniture

  • large dining table seating up to fourteen

  • full central heating

  • wide-screen TV with UK satellite channels

  • HiFi, DVD and VCR equipment

  • Internet and Email access

  • 5m high vaulted ceiling

  • great views

• Four large ground-floor bedrooms:

  • central heating

  • en-suite toilets and showers

  • American standard plumbing

  • tea and coffee making facilities

  • cool in summer, warm in winter

• Seven acres of lawned grounds:

  • 10m x5m pool (open air, seasonal)

  • green lanes to wander in

  • apple, plum, fig, pear and cherry trees to pick from

  • safe and secure rural environment free from the stresses and strains of modern life