Mas des Gardies

Bring the gang for a convivial holiday near the Cévennes National Park. It’s wild and rugged here: stroll through forest and under aromatic pines, canoe down fast-flowing rivers or hop onto Robert Louis Stevenson’s trail – a journey he undertook by donkey in 1878.

Back at the house there’s heaps to keep everyone from toddlers to teenagers occupied. Toys, board games, table tennis, boules, DVDs, and the pool house set up for outdoor living – fridge, cooker, plenty of loungers. Eat outside on the terrace. Inside it’s equally easy-going, an open-plan kitchen diner with plenty of everything; step down to the snug living room with an open fire for chilly nights. Spread out in big comfortable bedrooms, four doubles (three have en suite showers) and a single upstairs, two doubles down.

Visit medieval villages, Vézénobres is a ten-minute drive. Stock up at foodie markets – Uzès (twice weekly) is excellent. Go antique and brocante hunting at weekends.