La Coterie Lodges

Pack your swimmers, your bike, your walking shoes, your fishing kit… this area is known locally as Limousin’s lake district, and there’s plenty of scope for related activities. Chatelus-Malvaleix lake and Chenerailles lake are both within a 20-minute drive for beaches, swims and walks, with the larger Vassivière lake about an hour away. Golf, horse riding and a treetop adventure park can be had within a half-hour drive of La Coterie, and there’s some good fishing at the area’s ponds or along its 3,000 kilometres of riverbank. If your French sojourn is incomplete without a château visit, head to the 12th-century Château de Boussac, 20 minutes away by car, or the waterside Château de Crozant, 45 minutes away. Other day trips locally might include Les Loup des Chabrières wolf sanctuary, a walk around the Pierres de Jaumâtres rock formations or poking around in the markets of Guéret – all are within a half-hour drive.