We are the Meekings family and we have owned Moulin de la Barde since April 2011. We moved to France from London with our two daughters in July 2012, quitting our long-term jobs to embark upon an adventure and a new chapter in our lives together.
We began the renovation of the gîtes in January 2013, with a target completion date of Spring 2014. We finished on time and within budget, and the gîtes were officially opened by the local Mayor on 28 June 2014. Our first Summer season went really well and we were almost fully booked. We met some wonderful people, made some new friends and received some excellent feedback. We have continued to build on this and each year aim to increase our bookings and extend the season, sharing with our guests everything that the area has to offer all year round.
We have settled in well to our new lives in France. We love the outdoors life and enjoy nothing more than a Sunday afternoon stroll and ‘nature watch’ – so far we have spotted deer, wild boar, coypu, woodpeckers, jays, kingfishers, cranes, owls and other birds of prey. We also have our own chickens and ducks and grow lots of our own fruit and vegetables.