The House
We are based in England and we have a key box at the property to access the front door key. The code will given to you a few days before arrival. We ask that guests lock the property on check out and return the key to the key box. We hope you have a lovely stay.
Keys
The front door key and shutter keys are found in the keybox on the exterior of the house as described in the access section. The barn door key (la grange) is hanging up on a hook on a wooden beam-you may need this to obtain firewood if you are staying in the winter.
Detached garden
To access the garden, you will need to come out of the house and turn right. Cross the Place de Platanes diagonally towards the communal well on your right. You continue straight on, passing the sign 'Chez Nicot' and then you will come to the garden gate on the right, opposite a barn. It is the third garden along with ribbons attached to the fence and an old chicken house just inside the gate to the left, opposite our barn. It is only three minutes walk away!
Internet
There is mobile phone coverage in the village and using your provider's mobile data or a mifi device for internet use is probably the best way to go. There is also a hotspot provided by Orange to access their wifi. You can purchase passes and the duration of these ranges from hourly up to monthly. For example, the 30 day pass currently costs €19.90. Note, you can only use one pass per device at a time, but you can share the login and password for use on other devices.
Heating
Guests staying in winter and early spring months will need to light the wood-burner for heating. Please could you sweep out the ash before checking out-leaving the ash in the metal bucket provided is fine. Firewood is provided in the barn (la grange) and the key for this is kept in the house on a hook at the bottom of the stairs- note the lock for the barn is a bit quirky, you will need to put the key in upside down and turn it to the left, the opposite way!
There is also a small electric fan heater usually kept in the attic room. This is in addition to the wall-mounted electric heaters. Please make sure all appliances are turned off each time you leave the building.
Bathroom
Only toilet paper can be put down the toilet-OTHERWISE IT WILL BREAK AND FLOOD. NO nappies, wet wipes or sanitary items to be put down the toilet.
Windows
In the attic room, it is very important to close the Velux window when you leave the house.
Hot water
The hot water is supplied by emersion heating. If the hot water has not been turned on for you, this can be done by simply flicking the switch which is on the back wall in the kitchen. You will know that the hot water is on because the light will be on. It takes about two hours to heat the water. You can turn the emersion off once the tank of water has been heated. Please ensure you turn the emersion off when you are leaving the house for day trips and before the end of the day. Please make sure that you turn off the emersion before vacating at the end of your stay.
Kitchen
If the electrics go off anywhere, the trip switch is in the cupboard next to the fridge. To use the oven, please select your desired function using the dial on the righthand side. You can set the temperature by turning the dial on the left towards the +/- for the desired temperature.
TV
To use the Sony TV, find the Sony remote. Press the green button to switch on.
Ensure the Sedea box is on. Then, select the appropriate HDMI input on the TV (currently HDMI 1)
Once you have a picture, the French channels start at 'Channel 1'. After the French channels come the UK channels starting at channel 1001. The box will show the last channel it was on before being turned off.
If you press the OK button in the centre of the remote control, you will see a channel list appear. You can either scroll one at a time using the Up or Down part of the 'ring around the OK button', or, you call press Left or Right on the 'ring' to scroll through 9 at a time. When the channel you want is highlighted, press OK to view it.
There is a button under the number 7 button which says 'TV', but in actual fact switches between TV and radio channels. The radio channels are accessed the same way as the TV ones. Simply press that TV button again to go back to TV (if on radio).
You can control the volume level via the supplied remote control.
To watch a DVD or Bluray, press the 'Input' button on the Sony remote and select 'HDMI 2' and then use the LG Bluray player remote. We usually stock a limited number of DVDs here.
Please note
Please take care as the stairs are rather steep.