Important Points for parents of young children

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Here at Les Vallaies, we have striven to provide a family friendly environment and you have no doubt read already about everything we offer to provide a fun and relaxing place to stay for all the family. However, we do not profess to have properties specifically designed to accomodate  young children, the property was originally a stone barn and has to conform to the planning regulation demands. We have done what we are able to avoid obvious hazards but also we have to accomodate the needs of all our guests, those without children as well.  No property could be completely free of hazard but you should be aware of them prior to booking.

1, STAIRCASES - The staircases at Les Vallaies are made of wood. In Baleine and Vierge these are closed tread and of European standard steepness. In Cassiopee and Cygne the staircases were handmade to fit and are open tread and steeper than you may be used to. This may not suit a family with younger children or perhaps with a grandparent with limited mobility. We can provide stairgates or barriers for all of our staircases, however in some cottages a stairbarrier will only fit as it is designed when used across the bedroom doorway or after the turn at the base of the staircase which will leave 3 or 4 steps unguarded.

2, GARDEN The garden is 'screened' from the lane by a wall, gates and trees, bushes and brambles, however the property is not completely enclosed as it would not only be impractical but would also take away from the essence of where we live, in that we don't 'need' to be enclosed - the lane is quiet by uk standards but is used as a through route and cars can travel at some speed. Your toddler is prevented from running directly into the road to chase a ball but it is your responsibility as their guardian to ensure they are suitably supervised at all times and are not given time to wander off.  3, SWIMMING POOL Our swimming pool is fully enclosed with one access gate which is self closing and has a child proof latch and is alarmed. This conforms to the current french regulations for preventing a child younger than 5 yrs old from accessing the pool area alone. You must make older children who are able to open the gate by themselves fully aware of the dangers of a swimming pool and express upon them never open the gate for a younger child and never enter the pool area without an adult.   4, POOL and GARDEN ACCESS Two cottages face the garden and two face the pool. Parking is provided to one side off the lane. In order for families staying on the pool side to access the garden and visa versa, you have to exit the gate and walk past the parked cars and next to the lane. This is obviously not recommended for young children alone, they will need to be escorted by a responsible person. For this reason we recommend families with young children to let the garden side cottages and families with sensible older children to let the pool side cottages. 5, TILED and WOODEN FLOORS Cygne has a tiled floor, the other cottages have wooden floors (Cassiopee has a tiled entrance area) These are obviously hard, if you drop something it will break, if you fall, it will hurt. They become very slippy when wet, so don't allow children to run in from the pool and mop up spills immediately. Do not use external plastic garden chairs inside as they will slip. All the second floors are wooden floorboards, these are not insulated and can be noisier than your floors at home. 6, WINDOWS Due to the old nature of the propety and its previous use as farm buildings some windows are very low. All our low windows have been fitted with window locks or chains to prevent them from being opened fully. All other windows are at the regulation height and do not have locks.

Contact Chris and Wendy Blakeman on oo 33 546330902 or email us at wendyblakeman@googlemail.com