Accommodation | Le Couvent Roujan Bed and Breakfast Languedoc

Le Couvent is in the village of Roujan. Turn left at our big grey gates and a 5 minute stroll takes you into the vineyards. Stroll right for 2 minutes and you'll find 2 bakers (Harrods standard), 2 butchers (better than Harrods) and 2 grocers. Roujan eats well. You'll also find a pharmacy, Le Grand Cafe and a bank with a parsimonious ATM but NOT a bureau de change. Remember you're in France, which doesn't do fast food but does do siesta between 12.30 and 3.00.

For visiting cybernauts we have a free broadband wireless network to which you can hook up from any room in the house, plus there's a computer in Mother Superior's running Windows Vista and Office XP so you can surf all day if you insist.

You can borrow bikes, there are some gorgeous walks and we can tell you what markets or events are going on where. Borrow a book or ten - we have thousands. We can lend you a hair-dryer or an iron but do bring continental adapters if you need them.

The tap water is soft, safe to drink and, we're told, makes your hair go soft. We keep bottles of it in the fridge for you. Taxis are super expensive and buses infrequent, so it's essential to hire a car to make the best of the beautiful Midi.

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Accommodation

Le Couvent was built over time. The part beneath the Madonna in about 1650, and the bit that looks like an old French farmhouse was tacked on a century later. It has been a religious school, a rest home and, latterly, a working convent. Now it's the home of Lizzie Betts-Gosling and Ali Ballantyne and a B'nB from May to October.

We have 4 double bedrooms (2 of which can be twins) and 1 single bedroom all with ensuite bathrooms and long, shuttered windows. Crisp, white sheets, original modern art and pool and bathroom towels come as standard as does breakfast, oven-fresh from the village bakeries. We eat it at the huge kitchen table which groans with fresh fruit and jams made from garden produce and boiled eggs from our lovely hens when they're laying. Here we believe in food metres not miles.

There's a cool sitting-room with big, comfy sofas, books and DVDs where you can escape the heat. And there's a reading-room, known as Mother Superior's, full of dodgy art from the flea market, musical instruments to twiddle with, more books, and a stone balcony where you can enjoy the view with a glass or two. You can book Henny, our lovely masseuse, to rub your stress away here too.

In the courtyard you can laze in a hammock, pitch some boules or play ping-pong. The most popular activity in the top garden (we can't think why) is snoozing, reading a page, and nodding off again while working on a tan beside the delicious, chemical-free water of the swimming pool. The view is great and we don't take anyone under 18 so it's peaceful up there.