The Charente Maritime is easily accessible from the ferry ports along Frances northern coast. Bringing your own car is, in our opinion, the best way to travel to self-catering accommodation as you can ram it full of all your favourite things to enjoy a home from home. Plus car hire is not cheap especially in peak season.

There are various ways to get to the house by land, sea, air or tunnel and below are some recommendations.

If you want to keep the driving down to a minimum and enjoy a very comfortable travelling experience, we recommend sailing to St Malo with Brittany Ferries. This is only a 4 hour drive to the house and sailings are usually over night leaving Portsmouth at 8:30pm so you can combine an overnight stop whilst still being on the move.

Brittany Ferries have very comfortable ships with ensuite cabins, fantastic a la carte restaurants, wine bars, shops, live entertainment and cinemas so you will enjoy your time on board. You will dock at a sensible 7:30am and can have a very nice breakfast on board.

Sailing to St Malo is one of the dearest crossings but we have crossed in all kinds of different ways and when you add on the extra petrol, tolls and overnight hotel stops plus the hassle of 7 or even 10 hours behind the wheel, it can become a bit of an endurance test. Providing you can sleep in the cabin, this is the most comfortable way to travel to our part of France. *

*Although the cabins are clean and comfortable with ensuite toilet, shower and sink they may feel a little claustrophobic to some people. They usually have just 2 bunk beds and a dressing table and are compact (about 5 sq metres), remember you can control the air temperature in the cabins by using the dial on the ceiling. Getting an outside cabin is worth the upgrade, some are much larger and can even have Televisions. (We would like to point out to all travel companies that these are simply our own opinions.)

The time taken to drive to the house from Caen is around 5 1/4 hours. From Le Harve, its 6 1/2 hours. From Dieppe its 7 hours and from Calais a mind-numbing 10 hours! (Not too bad if you break the journey with a hotel stop, say at Rouen or Le Mans.)

Caen is serviced by another overnight Ferry leaving Portsmouth at around 10:30pm getting in slightly earlier in the morning at around 6am. This is another Brittany Ferries service. This crossing is again very comfortable with all the facilities of the St Malo crossing but with it leaving Portsmouth so late you don’t get as much time to enjoy the facilities, especially when it docks at 6am in Caen

Le Harve tends to be a fairly cheap crossing with LD Lines, they are normally daytime crossings and vary a bit with their timetable. Their new high-speed service takes only 3 hours to cross with simple enough petrol station type food on board, a bar, a gift shop and reclining seats. This ship was newly built in Australia in 2010 and feels very swish!

Dieppe crossings are from Newhaven and again are cheap and cheerful but with fewer onboard facilities. Hauliers and bikers tend to favour these crossings for their no-frills cheapness. They are served by Transmanche and LD Lines.

Calais is reached from Dover with Sea France and is a very short and cheap crossing (just over 90 mins). Honestly, we have never done this crossing so can’t make any comment.

You can take your car on the Eurotunnel also, with services running every hour you can plan your journey around you. Remember if you have booked to go on a certain shuttle at a certain time you must stick to the one you have booked. If you miss it there may not be room on the next one if they are fully occupied. We understand you can buy a flexible ticket (“FlexiPlus”) and go on any shuttle you wish but this can cost nearly 3 times as much as a standard ticket.

The Channel Tunnel journey takes only around 40 minutes until you pop up in Calais. As we said before, the drive at the other end is colossal and we wouldn’t do it again! A hotel stop on the outskirts of somewhere like Rouen or Le Mans would be advisable. “Ibis” are a large Travelodge type chain, and are usually around most large cities in France. Try looking online for the best deals. We recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment and to stick to the outskirts as near to the toll road as possible. Getting lost at one in the morning in often badly sign posted cities can be very frustrating.

Flights run from Stanstead, Southampton, Birmingham, Leeds (May to Sept only) and Newcastle.

At the time of publishing this, the companies offering these flights were Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Flybe, Jet2 and BMI Baby. They fly to La Rochelle (nearest to the house at 45 mins), Poitiers (1 hour 50 mins) and Bordeaux (2 ½ hours). Car hire can be collected from all airports. Flying is very fast indeed and if you are coming for just one week it would be a good idea, just remember you have car hire on top and can't bring so many creature comforts. We have found it not to be massively cheaper either.

You can compare all flights by visiting www.skyscanner.net.

Trains run out of the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras straight into Paris Gare Du Nord in just over 2 hours. Then you have the tricky Metro (underground) to deal with to get you to the connecting station in southern Paris. This experience can be culturally exciting (lots of hustle and bustle) but can be a little difficult and stressful if you are not able to read/speak a bit of basic French. Your connection then takes 4 hours at a reassuring 186 mph on the TGV to Surgeres (direct from Paris) This can be a nice relaxing option, with comfortable spacious seating, plug sockets for your lap top, toilets and buffet cars. Car Hire can be collected then from Surgeres (failing that stay on the train until you get to La Rochelle) Surgeres is 15 mins from the house.

When exiting the airport follow ‘Toute Directions’ and bear left onto the N237 duel carriageway. Follow the N237 for approximately 10 minutes and take the slip road exit (to your right) towards Surgères (D939). At the roundabout turn left, continuing towards Surgères on the D939.

After approximately 20 minutes, passing though several small villages, you will arrive at Surgères. Turn left at the first roundabout (third exit) – if you go past an Intermarche you have gone too far and will need to turn around (and turn right at the roundabout).

Almost immediately you will come to a second roundabout. Turn right and follow the sharp left / right bends (past the TGV station) until you reach another roundabout. Take the third exit (you will pass a Rugby training ground) until you reach a crossroads. Go straight on. You will shortly encounter a second crossroads – turn left here towards St Felix (D115).

After approximately 15 minutes on this scenic road, passing though several small hamlets, you will arrive at St Felix. Carry on straight through the village, keeping to the D115 until you reach Tout Y Faut (you’ll pass over a level crossing along the way) and a major crossroads. Turn left onto the D150 towards Niort.

Follow the D150 for not quite two miles to Villeneuve-la-Comtesse (you will pass a Boulangerie, Pharmacy, Total Garage and Restaurant on your left). Take the left turn onto the Rue des Allées (D121) towards Centre Ville and Doeuil-sur-le-Mignon.

Very shortly you will pass a large hangar – Maison Du Puits is then the second house on your right (Le Petit Logis is to the rear of Maison Du Puits).

At Junction 33 on the A10 Toll Road take the slip-road exit on the right (E601/N248) and follow it for just over a mile. Take the slip-road exit on the right towards Beauvoir / Niort (D650).

At the roundabout turn left (fourth exit) onto the D650. Follow the road for just over 10 miles* (passing though Beauvoir-sur-Niort – the location of your nearest large supermarket – and into the department of the Charente Maritime) until you reach Villeneuve-la-Comtesse.

As you drive through Villeneuve-la-Comtesse you will come to a turning to your right signposted for Centre Ville and Doeuil-sur-le-Mignon (D121). Turn onto this road – Rue des Allées – and very shortly you will pass a large hangar; Maison Du Puits is then the second house on your right (Le Petit Logis is to the rear of Maison Du Puits).

* The D650 becomes the D150 as you approach Villeneuve-la-Comtesse.

Heading north-bound on the A10 Toll Road take the slip-road exit on the right at Junction 34 towards Surgères / St Jean d'Angély – at the roundabout take the third exit onto the D939.

Go straight on at the first roundabout (second exit) then take the slip-road exit on the right towards Niort. At the roundabout take the third exit onto the D150 (and go straight on at the next roundabout, continuing on the D150).

Continue on the D150 for approximately 10 miles (15 minutes), passing though the villages of St-Denis-du-Pin and Loulay, until you reach Villeneuve-la-Comtesse.

You will pass a Boulangerie, Pharmacy, Total Garage and Restaurant on your left. Take the left turn onto the Rue des Allées (D121) towards Centre Ville and Doeuil-sur-le-Mignon.

Very shortly you will pass a large hangar – Maison Du Puits is then the second house on your right (Le Petit Logis is to the rear of Maison Du Puits).

If you want to really take in the scenery, then stick to “N” and “D” roads (single carriageways in the main) where you can travel toll free. This is a significantly slower way of doing it as you will be trickling through villages and countryside (expect to at least double the time of the journey) but if you want to see some of hidden France, stop off at a nice little sleepy restaurant and get into the French way then good on you! Just don’t forget your phrase book!

Also, keep an eye on your Petrol. Petrol stations are few and far between off the beaten track so we recommend never letting your tank get below 1/3rd full. (Yes, we did once run out of petrol but that’s another story!)