Andrew and Jackie welcome you to La Platriere. The perfect place in the heart of France to spend your well-earned holiday or time out amongst the peace and tranquillity of rural life, beautiful countryside, abundant with wildlife and cultural heritage. The area offers much to see and do, from swimming, cycling, canoeing, to walking, riding, fishing, para-gliding, hot balloon rides and wine-tasting to name but a few.

The area of Auvergne has a special meaning to us, having visited it first just under 3 years ago. We found ourselves undergoing a healing process. The horizons go on forever, and whilst experiencing this incredible feeling of space, we took stock of our lives and reflected on how we would make our dreams a reality.

La Platriere is that reality. It is our own residence so importantly we are "on site" for our guests, to answer questions about the area, to deal with any property maintenance that occurs, and to generally be around should you need us.  It is our wish to share the beauty of La Platriere with others. We want to offer you the opportunity of finding a new sense of discovery and freedom that can only be found ‘far from the madding crowd’. La Platriere can be for you a well earned family holiday, time out retreat, specialised group activity holiday (i.e. ramblers, bird-watchers, anglers, artists etc).

About Andy: Andy's background in property maintenance and building served him in good stead whilst renovating La Platriere. Now that the renovation is complete, he is starting to establish a property maintenance business here in France. Andy is also a very keen angler, and in his spare time he can usually be found by one of the many lakes in the immediate surrounding area, fishing. He enjoys  catching "wild carp" and having been used to fishing the well-stocked lakes finds the natural large lakes a real challenge. He is always keen to share his interest with others, so if you would like to "have a go" as a beginner or are serious angler then he would love to help. Whilst he waits for that big catch, he enjoys watching the wildlife and has a wealth of knowledge about birdlife.

Andy has worked overseas in the Philippines and Brazil building houses and getting involved in community work with Signpost International, a Christian charity.  He has also (in his youth) served in the Coldstream Guards, and looks back on this experience as a pivoting point in his life.

About Jackie:   Jackie's training in social work and psychotherapy serves her in good stead when it comes to leading the life-coaching workshops and de-stress weekends at La Platriere. She has first hand personal experience of how stress can impact on individuals and believes that La Platriere can provide an opportunity to de-stress and re-harmonise with nature. Jackie can offer sessions with individuals and couples who feel that time-out in a residential retreat setting would be of benefit. Jackie is also able to offer a relaxing Indian Head Massage to guests during their stay at La Platiere, and is in touch with other complimentary therapists who are able to provide health treatments.

A keen gardener, Jackie enjoys the challenge of growing vegetables for the kitchen and is developing the organic vegetable and fruit garden. Overall she has enjoyed the challenge of learning new skills such as building work, painting, decorating, vegetable and fruit growing and last but by no means least cooking using delicious French recipes!!!

The whole experience for both of us has been an enormous challenge and taught us many things about ourselves and each other! Our joint task now is to master the complications of the French language.....so watch this space.......