After pootling around country lanes on a bicycle, you flop into a hammock and rest your sun hat on your chest. Dappled sun from the trees above warms you, a breeze gently rocks you into a light slumber. This is The Good Life in France, a boutique lakeside glamping site where the adults-only policy means the peace and quiet of the place is perfectly preserved.
There are just two canvas-covered glamping lodges on this site, each set up for a couple. And while the life you’ll experience here will be a charmed one with lazy days, relaxed evenings and well-cushioned nights, you’ll see another kind, too. Glamping site owners Steve and Jane are known among their friends as 'Tom and Barbara', after characters from the 1970s British sitcom The Good Life. Like Tom and Barbara, they aim for a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle by growing their own veg, curing their own meat and looking after their environment as best they can. Come here and you’ll not only see their garden, but you’ll eat from it, too. A welcome pack includes a taste of whatever is in season, and you are invited to book in for a wholesome meal “en famille” during your stay too.
It’s all rather inspiring and the pair, who’ve spent 20 years in France, are happy to share their knowledge in a range of courses, from bacon curing to breadmaking. But they are equally as happy to send you out into the local area armed with tips on places to eat, drink and visit. The site is in the Vendée, in the far west of middle France; an area of undulating countryside, wooded valleys and canals that’s not too far from the west coast for you to visit the beach. The region’s biggest attraction is the historical theme park, Puy du Fou, where visitors are wowed on a daily basis with spectacular theatre-style shows and tableaux.
The drama and excitement are quite the contrast with the peaceful scene that awaits you back at The Good Life in France, where your glamping lodge has a kind of brocante-style elegance thanks to vintage fabrics, wicker armchairs and white-washed furniture. There’s basic cooking equipment, a barbecue and fire pit at each lodge and there are shared kitchen facilities for anything more involved. Washrooms are also shared and a short walk away. And all of this looks over that lovely lake where two hammocks sway temptingly in the breeze.