We GUARANTEE you won't find the same horse riding holiday at a lower price through any other source... and if you do, we promise to refund the difference!
from £1,280 or €1,455
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Note: Children are welcome from age 13yrs at time of their stay upwards.
Note: Rates are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations, please refer to our ‘Terms & Conditions’ for full details.
Included – All the riding, full board accommodation, drinks, wine & beer with meals.
Excluded – Flights, transfers & tips
Aveyron Farmhouse also offers wonderful, fun packed Festive breaks over Christmas and New Year, see the ‘Please Ask About’ section for more details.
Plus, specialised trail rides on certain dates, the Belcastel Trail and Adventure Week, please also see ‘Please Ask About’ section for more details.
Open all year round.
Aveyron Farmhouse is a flexible riding holiday – you can book anything from 3 nights to a full week or more, with riding out every day. We recommend 7 nights to make the most of your trip. You can arrive and depart any day.
Aveyron Farmhouse: Getting There
There are international flights into Rodez, Toulouse and Brive. Toulouse is the biggest of all the airports and offers more flights in and out of the city.
By Sea & Car
There are loads of entries by port including Calais, Dieppe, Le Havre, St Malo and Le Shuttle (Channel Tunnel). Driving on French roads and Auto Routes is pretty easy and more enjoyable than in the UK & Ireland because the roads are far less busy. The journey can easily be undertaken in a day but we can also recommend overnight stops en-route.
By Train
The nearest train station is Capdenac Gare where there is a free car transfer to the farm. You can get to Capdenac Gare easily from Paris on an overnight sleeper, or during the day with a simple change at Brive. There are also plenty of trains from Toulouse to Capdenac.
Transfer
We think it’s a good idea to hire a car if you fly over, but equally we can easily arrange a transfer to pick you up.
Airport Transfer Fees
Please pay directly on arrival in cash.
Don’t forget our Horse Riding Holidays GUARANTEE. You won’t find any of our Horse Riding Holidays in France at a lower price through any other source… and if you do we will refund the difference.
France is the perfect place for a horse-riding holiday. At Aveyron Farmhouse there is mile upon mile of tracks and pathways awaiting and the French approach to horse riding and the use of land ensures that they are kept open and in good condition. It’s also less populated than the UK so you can still ride all day without seeing another soul. This particular area of France, the region of Aveyron is steeped in history and culture with ancient towns, galleries, artisans and a number of iconic French Chateaux in close proximity to the farmhouse.
At Aveyron Farmhouse, you will be able to enjoy a fantastic riding experience, in a charming setting. The horses at Aveyron Farmhouse are fit and forward going and the surrounding countryside allows for riding through quaint French villages and unspoilt woodlands with an abundance of wildlife such as deer, wild boar, red squirrel, hares, buzzards and kites. There are also rivers and gorges leading down to open valleys where riders can let loose and canter over rolling landscapes. There really is a different trail of differing terrain in every direction.
In addition to the thrilling and diverse countryside riding at Aveyron Farmhouse, there is also a training & jumping paddock, should you want to have some tuition and a small, fun cross-country course, with just over 10 rustic fences. There’s also the opportunity to learn and play ‘Horseball’, which is really popular in France and even try your hand at driving a trap.
At Aveyron Farmhouse your hosts, Derek and Amanda, are English but have lived in France for many years. They are warm and welcoming hosts, with a vast experience of horses and the area, which contributes to this being such a great riding holiday destination. Derek is respected by all that visit for his very natural horsemanship skills, he really is a true horseman.
The weather around Aveyron Farmhouse is another bonus, whilst the North of France shares similar weather to the UK, the Southwest enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate with long hot summers, cool winters and limited rainfall… often during the winter months it is possible to awake to a beautiful white frost and later eat outside in the warm sunshine!
Aveyron Farmhouse: Horses – A very well cared for herd of 25 horses, made up of English Thoroughbreds, Andalusians, Anglo Arabs, Appaloosas, Selle Francais, Hispanic Types and French Trotters, some of which are homebred. Heights range from 14hh to 16.2hh.
There are types to suit all abilities and levels and all of them will ride out in front or behind, or in a line. These are versatile mounts and not nose to tail trekking horses. At Aveyron Farmhouse they all live out, and benefit from daily hard feeds and hay in the winter.
Aveyron Farmhouse: Level of Riding & Pace – Novice to Advanced.
Tack – English tack, mostly snaffle bridles.
Weight Restriction – 15 and 1/2 stone / 220 lbs / 100 kgs.
Aveyron Farmhouse: Group Size – Maximum 10.
It’s typical rustic, Gite style accommodation, which lies adjacent to the original farmhouse. There are five en-suite rooms each individually decorated in French style with antique furniture and authentic paintings. There is a mix of double, twin and family rooms and can cater for single guests or parties of up to ten. The rooms all lead off into the main sitting and dining area with Free WIFI.
There are lovely dining areas with sun terraces on three sides overlooking the wooded valley and out across the Aveyron plain, which is just a perfect place for having lunch and alfresco dining which is possible for most of the year. And on cooler evenings or on wintry days you can sit by a roaring fire of logs gathered from your hosts 58 acres of woodland. This helps to make Christmas and New Year breaks here really special.
There’s also a really lovely swimming pool which gives you the opportunity to have an early morning swim, a cooling dip at lunch time or a late afternoon chill out before dinner.
On the food side of things, you won’t be disappointed, Amanda loves cooking and takes great pride in making sure all her guests are well fed with really great local French produce. Ingredients in this part of the country are especially varied due to the climatic conditions, terrain and traditional farming methods passed down from father to son.
And then there’s the wine, the Southwest produces a host of interesting yet lesser-known wines. The best known of the southwestern wines is Cahors, a full-bodied red wine which has a history dating back to the Roman times. The popular Gaillac wine region covers 2,000 hectares and is located about an hour’s drive south-east at Asprieres. The vineyards lie between the beautiful hilltop towns of Cordes and Albi, the former home of artist Toulouse-Lautrec.
Please Ask About
Xmas & New Year Holidays
Belcastel Conques Trail Ride
The ride goes through some of the most beautiful villages in France and travels along-side 4 rivers, the Alzou, the Aveyron, the Dourdou and the Lot, and covers around 190km.
Adventure Week
A fun week for those who enjoy high spirits. Lots of riding out, a possible overnight camp weather permitting, Pony Club Games, TREC, Orienteering, Cross Country & Horseball, with an end of week, prize giving evening, rosettes, speeches, the lot! Perfect for a group of friends or family celebrating a birthday!
Dates & Prices for above, please request.
We can also customise for any weeks if you want to come with a group of friends.
Golf
Fishing
The Aveyron has 7000km of class I & II waters and 38 lakes open to the public. Over 200km of waterfront are developed for night angling. So if you are an enthusiastic novice or an experienced angler you can fish for Salmon, Pike, Carp, Perch and other white fish.
Mountain Biking
In addition to the extensive tracks and trails enjoyed by cyclists and horse riders around Asprieres, there are also the following dedicated mountain-bike trails available.
Kayaking, Canoeing and Sailing
There are hundreds of kms of accessible rivers in the Aveyron in classifications I, II and III as well as artificial lakes. This makes the area perfect for white water rafting and dinghy sailing.
Hot Air Ballooning and Hang Gliding
Book a balloon flight in the picturesque setting of the Rocamador valley or enjoy hang gliding at Cahors or Millau which is without doubt the hang-gliding capital of the world.
Walking
The Aveyron region has over 900km of hiking trails or ‘Grande Randonnee’ and a network of 2800km of smaller trails. We are happy to recommend routes that will allow you to meet up with the riders for a delicious picnic lunch.
Culture & Historic sites
The Aveyron region is steeped in history and culture with museums, galleries and some of France’s finest religious buildings and historic sights within a short driving distance. The medieval hilltop villages and bastides are unchanged since the times of the pilgrims. The region also has many Grottes or caves to visit, featuring wonderful formations and underground lakes.
Wine Tasting & Eating Out
Aveyron is famous throughout the world as the producer of most of France’s finest foods and wines. Many local producers including the famous Roquefort cheese caves welcome visitors.
We are also happy to discuss arranging dual based Winter holidays that combine riding in the Aveyron and skiing, either in the Massif Central or the Pyrenees.
The riding here is wonderful with access to woodland, open countryside, river valleys and some of the most beautiful villages in France.
A typical day’s riding comprises of two to three hours in the morning, a break for a gourmet picnic lunch with home cooked food using fresh local produce and regional wines followed by an afternoon ride back to the farmhouse.
Guests can also choose to jump in the paddock or ride round the small cross-country course.
Zara’s Planet Horse Riding Holidays Guarantee:
All our horse riding holidays hold a price guarantee. We believe in your piece of mind on price when you book one of our horse riding holidays and will refund the difference should you find the same horse riding holiday elsewhere at a lower price.
If you are having trouble finding exactly the right horse riding holiday for you from our horse riding holidays collection, please contact us directly using the form below and tell us in your own words what you would like to do and we will use our extensive knowledge to make sure we find that perfect horse riding holiday.
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