Our French gîte: ‘stunning’ views from idyllic four-star riverside getaway

“I think it was the treatment, the care and the whole social network of France,” says Beryl Evans, explaining her decision to move to France.

Hailing from South Africa, she originally emigrated to England with her husband Gareth. 

Then they bought a property in France, splitting their time – three weeks in England and one in France – between the two countries. 

Just before the Covid pandemic hit, however, Beryl was diagnosed with cancer and her treatment forced them to choose just one place to settle. 

Would they remain in England or move to France? They chose the latter.

“Within a month Beryl had her first operation, followed by another a month later. Chemotherapy came next – all during the Covid confinements,” says Gareth. She is now cancer-free. It was not planned that way.

In 2017, the couple were looking for a peaceful retreat from their busy working lives in England. 

They wanted a small house. Instead, they fell in love with a 300-year-old water mill in Berneuil (Charente-Maritime). 

Except for the roof and walls, it was almost entirely in need of restoration. However, the couple saw its potential and bought the adjoining house to live in while they slowly worked on the main property.

Weeks were spent managing and directing tradespeople, ordering and collecting materials, taking on jobs themselves after the builders had clocked off, transforming the gardens and mastering French DIY vocabulary along the way.

The adjoining house came with three bedrooms, bringing the total across the two properties to nine.

Running a gîte

A friend recommended that they open a gîte, the first time they had heard the term.

"We honestly did not know what running a gîte was or what it involved,” says Gareth. “But we thought: ‘Why not give it a try?’”

Moulin Toucan took its first bookings in 2019, having secured a four-star rating from Limousin’s tourist board.

The accommodation comprises three bedrooms (including a Moroccan-themed master bedroom), a family bathroom and a fully-equipped kitchen. 

The Evanses organised the outdoor space around a dining area with barbecue, a play area with ping pong table and a swimming pool.

But the main attraction is undeniably the view. “Gorgeous”, "blissful"', “pristine”, “idyllic” and “stunning” are among the most popular superlatives left by guests in their reviews.

Taking breakfast on the terrace, the eye is naturally drawn to a weeping willow overhanging the River Vinco, lending the whole scene an air of serenity.

Popular with guests

Seven years on, the guests keep coming.

In that period the Evanses have learned to navigate the perks and pitfalls of running a business in a foreign country. 

The bureaucracy, they say, can be a headache, but so is any administration in a new country. 

Learning the language has also required patience; Beryl has been taking lessons for eight years now.

More generally, they warn that any tourist-facing business requires a certain type of personality.

“You need a hospitable mindset and strong service skills to make people feel welcome,” says Beryl. 

“Don’t go in it for the money,” adds Gareth, although he concedes “time flies when you’re having fun doing it”.

The couple have become part of the social fabric of Bergneuil, a place they now call home.

They started noticing a difference when Covid restrictions were progressively lifted and they travelled back to England and their old routine.

Their conversations took a strange turn: they began talking wistfully about France in the way they used to about their old life in South Africa.

“It’s the lifestyle in France that sold us. It’s very similar to South Africa in that regard – very outdoorsy, and not driven by money so much as by enjoying life,” says Beryl.

“We moved for medical reasons. We stayed for lifestyle ones,” she says.

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