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Possibly my favourite place in the world to write from

I’m facing our return to the UK, with the usual mix of sadness and a bit of anticipation about favourite, familiar things. As usual, we’ll have eaten too much, drunk over our weekly units, and discovered some new things and places to eat.

I’ve spent a total of 10 weeks in the Charente Maritime and really love this area. So much to do and so much good food and drink. We’ve stayed in a gîte each time, mostly a group with others, and for 7 out of the 10 weeks had the most amazing times. Two of the not so good weeks we took a house out on its own, which I don’t really recommend for those with children who love the company of others.

But for the vast majority of time, we could not have been in a better place and that generally comes down to two things: great hosts and great people who were strangers when we first arrived. Or one or the other. Both being best.

We’ve only stayed in one place two years running, which tells you everything you need to know about our hosts. We would return like a shot. Our best “neighbours” have usually had a Celtic extract, especially those from Northern Ireland and Ireland in year one, who lived up to the reputation for drinking. And left all the bottles outside our door each morning.

We’ve had informal, impromptu meals that were full of laughter, quite a lot of drinking, some interesting cooking and a few disasters (we cannot forget Andy and Lee’s stuffed chicken à la Ainsley Harriott which took about 3 hours to cook). We’ve had meals out together, and tried new things together, like the barbecued mussels last year.

You can eat out, you can eat in. If you wanted to transport the contents of your fridge and freezer to your new home, but where’s the fun in that? I would say it’s the perfect food lovers break, as every day, certainly round here, is a gift of food exploration.

We’ve always booked directly with the owners, and of course it’s a bit hit and miss, but there are plenty of sites and opinions you can track down. I would only recommend Gîtes Beaumont out of those we’ve stayed on, and I would stay here again and again.

 Although after 10 weeks, I think there are new food adventures to be had next year, so feel free to book my slot!