This is a simple, elegant gîte in a charming old building in the middle of Pompadour attached to the rear of the house where we live . The large room has a Finlandek double bed, a couch, a shower and bathroom, a kitchen and a dining area or workspace, providing complete self-sufficiency. Wifi is free. Great ancient iron gates shut the property off from the road guaranteeing privacy and security in an enclosed courtyard. The windows give on to a wonderful garden with trees full of songbirds, so that there is a rustic atmosphere even in the middle of town.

Welcome to our maison de maître. What is now our home was for a hundred years a surgery, and before that a centre for distributing the fruit and vegetables which grow so excellently in the Corrèze. We are recent arrivals from Australia without agricultural or medical backgrounds - we are both writers, one a musician the other a poet, and we teach both at universities and in our own school. This area attracted us like no other has ever done, the mysteries of the Limousin, the beauty of the country, the clarity of the air, the liveliness of the town, and the unassuming specialness of Pompadour.

Across the road from us is the famous Chateau Pompadour, two doors away is an excellent boulangerie, across the road is a Portugese café, and a short walk away is the town centre with its shops and bars, the racetrack and the haras – centre for the horse events - the markets (twice a week) and the SCNF station. The town is in the foothills of the Massif Central, surrounded by mediaeval villages and stunning countryside. The magnificant ruins of Segur-le-Chateau are ten minutes drive away, where three restaurants on the banks of the river and weekly producteurs' nights attract a lively crowd all through summer.