Tipis Mohair de l'Erdre

Get out exploring the local countryside on the Chemins Creux walking route, which passes through the farm, or stay overnight in a tipi before returning to your hike on the long-distance St-Jacques de Compostela pilgrimage route. If you would rather avoid using the car to explore the region, join La Vélodyssée cycle route (10 minutes by bike), or ride along the tree-lined towpath of the Nantes-Brest Canal (45 minutes). Casson (five minutes’ drive) is a town known for its green credentials and artisan foods; visit to pick up local delicacies including foie gras, snails and honey from local producers. Slightly further away, admire the half-timbered medieval cottages in leafy Angers (55 minutes), where you can also take a free guided tour of the spectacular, twin-spired Cathedral Saint-Maurice and fly high over the magical plantings in Terra Botanica gardens by hot-air balloon. Lively Nantes (half an hour) beckons with entertaining rides aboard its famed three-storey mechanical elephant (book well ahead of time), tours of the imposing Castle of the Dukes of Brittany and posh shopping in the Neo-Renaissance-style Passage Pommeraye arcade.