Tamniès, Aquitaine, Address available on request

An authentic country house with sweeping views, nestled in the Périgord Noir area of France, on the Camino de Santiago pilgrims' way. Back in the Middle Ages, the property was a knightly dwelling that was well known in the Périgord region as a noble house. It has kept many architectural traces from this period of history - both outside its thick walls and inside them. The edifice lies on the edge of the land that belonged to Sarlat abbey, which Commarque priory and fiefdom also belonged to. This fortified house was the property of Gaillard de Beynac, the son of a seigneur of Commarque, according to a successional distribution in 1255. In the mid-1970s, a statue was discovered here during a large-scale renovation of the house. This statue represented a pilgrim holding a shell, which gave credit to the theory that this site was not just a stronghold near the local priory, but also a refuge often used by pilgrims walking along the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrims' way. The house stands in a commanding position: it looks down at its two neighbouring villages and along its valley of prehistory. A driveway of plane trees leads up to the house, nestled among the fruit trees that dot the one-hectare meadow surrounding it. The dwelling comes into view gradually, its noble appearance and quaint charm becoming clearer as you get closer to it. The dwelling has a large main section with annexes at a right angle to it and outer walls enclosing the complex. Its exposed stonework is laid in opus incertum and opus vittatum patterns. Stone tiles from a local quarry cover its roof, the steepness of which changes in accordance with the roof's weight upon the walls. The small outbuildings include an annexe, used as a workshop with a 25m² floor area, a few medieval ruins and a bakehouse on the outer side of the walls. Because this semi-circular bakehouse was built outside the walls, it ensured that the main house was protected in the event of accidental fires.