Ferme auvergnate restaurée, grande salle de jeux

Everything you need is there...

We had a fantastic week at Maison Southby over the Christmas/New Year Period. We were able to ski every day, (the resort was just a 15 minute drive away), and it was fantastic to return from the slopes to such a gorgeous house. The house had everything we could wish for and more. A very well equipped kitchen, (I was very impressed by the creme brulee tool!!), beautiful bedrooms, and the most luxurious, relaxing, sunken bath I have ever had! The kids loved sleeping in the mezzanine bunks - and with a games room too they were in holiday heaven. Many thanks for letting us stay in your fantastic house! The Lockwoods

Maison Southby is a tastefully renovated traditional farmhouse in the peaceful hamlet of Viragues. The extra few hours to get to this remote-feeling part of France are well worthwhile, the driving not taxing at all. The sight of English cars is a rarity, the locals welcoming, treating us more as a curiosity, than foreign tourists to be tolerated. The house is extremely spacious with an open plan ground floor. The kitchen is well equipped and can easily cater for large numbers. The bedrooms are comfortable and the top floor games and sleeping area provides a hide-away for the younger members of the party. In the depths of winter heating was efficient - the open fire a pleasure rather than a necessity - and hot water plentiful. The house seems to swallow up large numbers of people without feeling crowded. Murat is just 5 minutes drive and offers all the food shopping you’ll need. If you are a cyclist then you will probably have to make the difficult decision between bringing your road bike and your mountain bike. If you are lucky enough not to have to face this quandary, then bring both. The road riding offers fantastic scenery, and long climbs and descents which are so rare in Britain, whilst the off-roading is almost limitless and you’re likely to have the trails to yourself. The kids say as follows: “We love the table tennis and table football tables, and the single bunks which make good dens. We sledged down the field opposite in the winter, and in the summer we played cricket. The surroundings are really good for walking and cycling. The new swimming pool at Saint Fleur was brilliant, especially the current. The skiing is good for kids.”

Wow! What a place! At one stage on this holiday there were 21 people in the house - 10 adults, 10 children and one baby, and yet we never felt on top of one another. Maybe that was because the fabulous weather for the fortnight in July meant that we coudl all spill outside into the garden or further afield to the stream for picnics. Or maybe it is because the cleverly designed layout of the house means that as well as everybody having their own comfortable and individual bedroom space, there are also three other communal areas to be in, depending on what you want to do. The open plan living room/dining room/ kitchen meant that whoever was whipping up a feast was still very much a part of the holiday fun. The card table/salle des jeux cleverly set into an alcove at the back of the main room offers the perfect teenage hideaway. The laptops were out making good use of the wireless broadband connection in the 'internet corner' whilst the younger children played in the playrooms on the top floor, or unwound in front of a DVD in the tv area on the first floor. This is a rural part of France and as such appeals to those who like being outdoors. Walking, exploring the volcanoes, cycling and lots of activities up at Le Lioran (including ice skating, mini golf, luge, ropes course) featured heavily in our holiday. So too did fine food and wine, and we enjoyed a fantastic meal on the terrasse overlooking the Puy Mary at Auberge Aijean - highly recommended. Have we run out of things to do after a fortnight? No way! Orienteering at La Maison de la Pinatelle was sufficiently challenging to have us going back to try again, velorail at Allanche was great fun - pedalling a truck along a disused railway to a waterfall and swimming hole (fantastic), and next time canoeing beckons along with the hot springs at Chaudes Aigues, and exploring some of the historic Chateaux round about. Get in quickly for next summer because we will be going back, and with 15-20 fitting easily in the house the price is a bargain!

This was my third visit to Maison Southby in Virargues, having previously been skiing at Le Lioran at Christmas-time. This time I brought a group of friends and we came to enjoy some summer weather. The house was able to cope admirably with the 10 of us, and could have housed many more with ease. All the group loved their bedrooms - each one is different and has its own charm. We also loved the open plan living area and the large games room - lots of table football tournaments and table tennis matches each evening after a day spent outdoors enjoying the fantastic scenery and fabulous walking and cycling available. We cycled into Murat each morning for the croissants and pain au chocolats - a big climb back up - the less fit may prefer to take the car! We also spent lots of time at Le Lioran on the ropes course, and went canoeing. All in all a fantastic venue for a superb holiday. I will definitely be back!

From the moment you walk in to this welcoming family home, you know that the hosts have renovated it with quality and care. Built in the early 1900s and derelict (until recently) since the end of the second world war, this is now a very large and stylist farmhouse around 1.5km from Murat. There is a large openplan kitchen, dining and lounge area; many bedrooms and a tv area on the first floor and (wait for it) a table tennis/table football area and more bed spaces on the second floor. The great thing about this is that, if you go as a group, there is plently of room for everyone but also enough space (and quiet corners) for everyone to do their own thing. All the hosts are waiting for now is a Peter Mayle-style book deal, so they can share the stresses and strains of making the house so attractive (and I am sure there were many). For the visitor, it is a pleasure and a luxury to share the results of their handiwork. And, since it is off the main tourist trail, you get a taste of real authentic France into the bargain.