This detached house is converted from the former stables on the site of an ancient château, where the owners’ family have lived for generations in an enclosed estate bordered on one side by the tiny village of Croutoy, and on the other by extensive woodland. The grounds include several lawns where our children could play football, use the swings and find dens in the surrounding bushes. Outside the holiday home is a lovely terrace overlooking a secluded lawn. The owners have a good-natured dog and a cat.
All the main rooms of the house are on the first floor (the ground floor consists of two outer rooms used for storage and a central entrance, where there is also a washing machine available for tenants). Upstairs, there is a central open plan kitchen/dining room, with a double and a twin bedroom at one end and a lounge at the other (which also contains a fifth single bed). The kitchen has an electric three-hob cooker and oven, microwave, dishwasher, fridge/freezer and all the plates, glasses and cutlery you'll need. The house is fully furnished in a traditional country house style, with an eclectic collection of exposed wooden beams, old furniture (including rocking chairs) and French books. Everything you need is provided, from bedding and towels, to ironing board, soap, dishwasher tablets, washing up capsules and satellite TV.
The castle is owned by Monsieur and Madame de France, who strike just the right balance between being attentive hosts and leaving you to your own devices. They both speak English and are most helpful with everything from domestic queries to advice for places to visit. These include Compiègne, a typical old French town with a palace once occupied by Napoleon III, and its surrounding forest, which is great for walking and where you can visit the Clairière de l'Armistice, where both the World War I armistice and France’s surrender to Hitler were signed (there are many other World War I sites nearby, as Croutoy is near the Western Front). In the opposite direction is Pierrefonds, which has a medieval castle ‘renovated’ in the nineteenth century by Napoleon III. A little further afield are Paris, Chantilly, Reims and Amiens.
We would thoroughly recommend this holiday home to anyone who is looking for a peaceful stay at a traditional château in the French countryside with many places of historical and cultural interest nearby. We will definitely be returning soon.