Le Tilleul Gites - holiday cottages in Western France

24/06/2023

A few venues to choose from near here to see the Olympic Flame .... not long to go now!

Exciting news for next year!

25/04/2023

Saint-Hilaire is the most beautiful church, one of 3 romanesque churches we are lucky to have in Melle. Worth a visit but the guided tour sounds like a good way to find out more about the church

Découvrez l'histoire et l'architecture de l'église Saint-Hilaire de Melle au cours d'une visite guidée de Melle

07/04/2023

Happy Easter ... sending good wishes this Easter weekend

05/04/2023

Our local town of Melle ... the market place lit up

31/03/2023

Celebrating Easter in France

From uniquely French traditions and regional specialties to egg hunts and chocolate bunnies - here’s how the French celebrate Easter or “Paques”.

01/03/2023

24/12/2022

Wishing all our lovely guests and friends a very Happy Christmas and all the best for 2023 - Vicky and Bill x

26/11/2022

What's your favourite? Mine is a millefeuille ... as long as I don't have to ask for it as I can never pronounce it 😄

31/10/2022

La Toussaint national holiday actually represents two holy days - All Saints Day and All Souls Day - and it is one of the most respected national public days in France.

During this bank holiday, French people traditionally pay respect to their relatives but La Toussaint is also an occasion to get together and spend time with the family.

November the 1st is a national Jour Férié in France, so most of the shops, restaurants, schools and businesses are closed.
Although deeply rooted in the Catholic religion, La Toussaint is actually widely respected in France.

On this day French people attend the All Saints Mass to remember the Catholic Saints as well as honour their late relatives. Then they will usually visit the cemetery and lay a bunch of chrysanthemums or wreaths of 'immortelles' (everlasting flowers) on the graves of their loved ones.

Because chrysanthemums are so closely linked to La Toussaint the French never give them as a gift.
So although they are very beautiful flowers, remember never to give chrysanthemums to your French friends!

01/10/2022

19/08/2022

Chateau de Javarzay ... well worth spending a couple of hours visiting.

09/08/2022

A 20 minute ride on the boat bus from La Rochelle to Minimes ... the beach was fairly quiet and the sea looked very inviting. A lovely place to go

24/07/2022

Looks like fun for all ages and Lezay is only a few km from us.

Lezay land en mode playa transats soleil jeux aquatiques pour tous les âges

14/07/2022

Happy Fête Nationale from a hot and sunny France.

10/07/2022

Good to see Niort Market is mentioned in the top 10 of French Markets.

Il est bon de voir que le marché de Niort est mentionné dans le top 10 des marchés français.

The results are in! Here are the top 10 best markets in France for 2022 as voted for by the French…

09/07/2022

A visit to our local vineyard to buy wine for our guests' welcome packs. It's a lovely, scenic 20 minute drive there and as well as wine they have Cognac, Pineau and other delicious flavoured aperitifs to buy.

03/07/2022

The perfect way to start a Sunday morning is with freshly baked bread. There are so many different sizes and shapes of bread to choose from in one of our local boulangeries ... as well as home made chocolates, lots of patisserie and you can also sit and relax with a coffee and pain au raisin, pain au chocolat or croissant

26/06/2022

It's great that we can go back to visiting Zoodyssee and see the animals again. These two little bears look like they could be fun to watch play.

Less than half an hour's drive from here, Zoodyssee is a lovely day or afternoon out for everyone 🐻🐻🐻

C'est génial que nous puissions retourner visiter le Zoodyssee et voir les animaux à nouveau. Ces deux petits ours ont l'air d'être amusants à regarder jouer.

A moins d'une demi-heure de route d'ici, Zoodyssee est une belle sortie pour tout le monde. 🐻🐻🐻

🐻❤️ BIENVENUE !! ❤️🐻
Nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer l'arrivée de 2 jeunes oursonnes à Zoodyssée !!!
🏔 Elles rejoignent la famille des pensionnaires de notre Odyssée des Montagnes.
Venue d'un parc de Suède, les petites nouvelles se sont installées dans leur enclos de 7000 m² et elles y ont déjà repéré quelques coins-jeux en tout genre !
👉 Venez leur rendre une petite visite !
ℹ️ Le Parc est ouvert tous les jours de 10h à 19h - www.zoodyssee.fr

21/06/2022

There will be music in the centre of Melle tonight, from 1800 hours, together with a market with local producers and creative artisans and food available.

☀️ Today is the summer solstice and here in France we're celebrating the Fête de la Musique with live events across the region 🎤

Check your local press, mairie and tourist office for events that are happening near you. We hope you have great fun this evening 🎺

18/06/2022

Hot, hot, hot today .... well it has been all week. Les Hirondelles ready to welcome our lovely returning guests, Janice and Jennie, today.

Hope you have a lovely holiday ladies!

04/06/2022

It's been a strange day weatherwise today with thunder, rain and sun .... and then a beautiful rainbow appeared.

23/05/2022

We had a long overdue re visit to the Ile de Ré .... lunch and a walk round St Martin de Ré, plus a bit of shopping in the gorgeous shops there. A walk round the fortifications blows the cobwebs away. Built under Louis XIV from 1681 to 1691 by the military engineer Vauban to defend and shelter the local population of the island against a siege and enemy landing, the fortifications are unique by their scale: 14 km of ramparts on a semicircle of 1.5 km radius. The fortifications are also classed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

A visit to a market is also worth doing. Each village on the island has its own market and each market has its own atmosphere, whether it is the medieval market in La Flotte, the chic markets at Ars-en-Ré or Portes-en-Ré, the ever-popular market in Bois-Plage, the family market in La Couarde or the intimate but lively market in Loix.

There is plenty to see and do on the island - a great place to take bikes and park up and cycle to the different villages, or a visit to one of the lovely beaches.

20/05/2022

Today is World Bee Day ... a day to raise awareness about the essential roles bees play in supporting people and the environment

We have lots of bees buzzing around at the moment in Le Tilleul's garden - they particularly like our sage, campanula and purple pansies. Perhaps purple flowers are our bees favourite colour ... who knows?

You can create your own bee friendly garden
Choose bee-friendly flowers and trees. ...
Plant flowers that are in bloom at different times of the year. ...
Avoid using pesticides. ...
Avoid plants with lots of petals. ...
Don't get rid of all the weeds. ...
Make bee hotels. ...
Provide a good source of water for the bees.

Happy World Bee Day

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

19/05/2022

Our local town of Melle is well known for having three roman style churches. The Church of Saint-Hilaire is the best example but the other two, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Savinien, are also interesting to visit.

It is listed as a UNESCO heritage site, in part because of its role as a historic pilgrimage destination and was often visited by pilgrims in the middle ages on their way to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in Spain.

There are several features of interest on the outside of the church, including the stonework of arches, columns and carvings of the facade, the charming series of curved chapels that make up the rear of the church, the cornice around the church, the carvings around the door in the north wall.

One of the best is the statue of a horse and rider inset in the wall above the north door. This statue is thought to represent the Lord of Melle in the 12th century.

Unusually, you descend a flight of stairs to reach the main entrance, and then there is a further flight of stairs inside, presumably an unavoidable consequence of building on a slope!

Inside the Church of Saint-Hilare has a simple traditional layout, with a main nave and two side naves, a transept, and an apse with three chapels. This apse and chapels is of course what gives the outside of the rear of the church its distinctive appearance.

💎 Admirez l'église Saint-Hilaire de Melle, dans les Deux-Sèvres, joyau de l'architecture romane !
⛪️ Elle doit son nom au premier évêque de Poitiers, mort en 367. D'après une charte du Xe siècle, l'église dépend du prieuré bénédictin de Saint-Jean-d'Angély. L'édifice d'origine,en bois, est remplacé au XIIe siècle par l'église actuelle, dont le plan complexe facilite la circulation des pèlerins.
🤩 L'église Saint-Hilaire est classée au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO depuis 1998, en tant qu'étape des Chemins de Compostelle en France.

😍 Découvrez notre album photo des plus belles églises romanes de France 👉https://bit.ly/Album_eglisesromanes

12/05/2022

Holiday?
That would be lovely ....
We would love to welcome you to Les Hirondelles @ Le Tilleul.
Les Hirondelles is a gorgeous barn conversion, sleeping 4 in 2 en suite bedrooms - perfect for a family of 4 or 2 couples.

We have just had a cancellation so now have availability between 6th and 15th August ... please get in touch if you'd like to find out more - email [email protected] or see our website www.le-tilleul.com

19/04/2022

Today is National Garlic Day.
“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”

Those are famous words from the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, often called the father of Western medicine.

Although garlic is a popular ingredient in cooking, throughout ancient history, the main use of garlic was for its health and medicinal properties. It is thought to be good for the heart and lowers cholesterol, as well as being a good remedy for colds.

And of course, it keeps vampires away

Being in France, many recipes include garlic in them.
Aïgo Boulido is a French garlic soup which is often served after big feasts to help aid digestion and help with hangovers! It's also low in calories and is a great detox soup.

Here's a recipe if you feel like trying it
https://www.pardonyourfrench.com/provencal-garlic-soup-aigo-boulido

15/04/2022

Wishing all our followers, guests and friends, a very Happy Easter from a very sunny and warm France.

03/04/2022

When the babies are born at Asinerie du Baudet du Poitou, only a short drive from Le Tilleul Gites, it's always a thrill to visit and see them.
All the donkeys are worth a visit .... a great afternoon out.

😍 Et non, vous ne faites pas erreur ...
💌 Une petite nouvelle est arrivée le 26 mars, Chanelle, sa maman en est toute chamboulée.

❤️ Elle se prénomme Maraîchine du Parc.

👉 Maintenant que l'Asinerie est ouverte 7j/7, elle est désormais visible avec sa copine Manigance (qui va bientôt fêter ses 1 mois 🥰) !

20/03/2022

Today is the first Day of Spring and also International Day of Happiness. With the awful things happening around the world at the moment, here at Le Tilleul Gites we are thankful for what we have and mindful of those who are suffering at the moment. The sun is shining and the birds are singing - we wish everyone as Happy a Day as possible. And Welcome Spring!