A 1971 Airstream Sovereign and a cabin in the woods make up an exceptional outdoor space

A vintage airstream, a hand-built thinking space in the woods, acres of oak woods and meadows and a natural pool for splashing about: staying at Girard is a self-contained outdoors experience where you're free to roam and dream. With both the spaces all to yourself and no other guests around, you lack no comfort or convenience.

The restored 1971 Airstream Sovereign under the shady oak trees was rescued by Sara all the way from Jacksonville, and serves as bedroom, kitchen and living space. It also has a bathroom with proper hot shower, kitchen essentials like good olive oil and balsamic, and - an indulgent touch - the Nespresso machine. It looks towards the morning sun and the vegetable patch where you might pick chillies, courgettes, aubergines, peppers, or salad for a light lunch, though in autumn, ceps grow in the woods, a good few kilos of which Sara takes to her delighted local restaurant. Thirty seconds through the trees, and you stumble across a handbuilt cabin in the woods...The Writer's Cabin.

Your daytime cabin has beautifully simple furnishings inside; outside on the deck, a sun lounger dating from the golden age of ocean liners, ready for an evening apéritif. Go from cabin to caravan and back, as you fancy. Out and about, hire a Vespa and zip past the vineyards, or visit the historic villages of Castelmoron D'Albret and St Emilion to pick up a bottle of good Bordeaux, perhaps, as luckily you're right in the middle of sunny wine country.

The wildlife is just as extraordinary, and may often be spotted from your vintage desk, which looks out on fifty acres of woods and fields: yours (and the wild boar's) to explore. Birdwatchers will be in heaven here, with the Golden Oriels coming and going, and Girard is the ideal place to let your ideas flow: one of Sara & Stéphane's happy guests, a professional writer, says "if you can't write here, you can't write anywhere." For those who fancy scribbling away, paper, ink, a printer and internet access are provided; for the idlers, dreamers and lovers, there's the entire estate, plus a library of books and DVDs to explore from the comfort of the original 1940s club chairs.

• Esentials
• Getting there
• Eating & Drinking
• Things to do
• Booking terms
• Meet your hosts

The essentials

The important stuff

• Check-in is at 3pm
• Check-out is at 11am
• The Airstream is connected to mains water and power.

Sleeping arrangements

Kids & Pets

Cooking

• Oven and grill
• Electric hobs
• Fridge/freezer for ice
• Kettle
• Nespresso machine with unlimited capsules
• Kitchen basics: olive oil, balsamic vinegar etc.
• Outside eating area with large gas BBQ
• The vegetable garden for foraging in-season!

Washing

• Compact shower room with hot mains water & loo in the Airstream

Heating, lighting & bedding

• All bedlinen and towels provided

Entertainment

• Library of interesting titles in print & DVD
• Writing desk with printer, paper, ink & internet access all included

Getting there

Girard, 33790 Cazaugitat, Gironde, Aquitaine, France

By Car

The nearest big towns to head for are Bordeaux which is 1 hour away from the Writer's Retreat and Bergerac which is 45 minutes away. Detailed directions will be provided by the owners on booking.

By Air

The nearest airports are in Bordeaux which is serviced by Easyjet & British Airways, and Bergerac with Flybe & Ryanair.

By Train

The nearest train stations are in La Reole which is about 30 minutes away from The Writer's Retreat, or Sainte Foy La Grande which is a 45 minute journey.

From Paris, the train journey to Sainte Foy La Grande takes approx 4 hrs with a change in Libourne

From Bordeaux, you can get direct trains to La Reole (30 mins)

From Bergerac, the journey to Sainte Foy La Grande is between 15-20 minutes.

Collection from airports/train stations can be arranged at an additional charge.

Eating & drinking

At The Writer's Retreat

A writer herself, Sara provides everything you need to feel relaxed and welcome at The Writer's Retreat, leaving all your energy to devote to honing your creative skills. Tea, and Nespresso coffee in four styles, never runs out. Every cupboard hides an extra treat: kitchen essentials such as good olive oil and balsamic are provided, as well as seasonal delicacies such as homemade pesto and fig jam. Guests can help themselves to the bountiful organic vegetable garden a few steps down the hill, where you might find chillies, aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, beans, onions, peppers, and herbs, according to season. Free range chickens roam nearby for fresh eggs, and bread, delivered daily to Girard, can be arranged for guests too. In mushroom season, ceps grow in the woods. Last year Sara collected 20 kilos from the forest floor under the oaks, which a delighted local restauranteur was glad to receive.

Extra provisions can be arranged at an additional cost.

Out and About

There are restaurants and cafes in the surrounding towns and villages which serve up delicious french cuisine and suit a range of tastes and budgets.

Things to do

Should you wish to leave the tranquility of the estate, Castelmoron D’Albret, the oldest village in France, is a 5 minute drive or a slightly longer bicycle ride or walk away. It has lots to explore such as the old washing building and the defense walls. For a hidden gem, go to the Mairie and ask them to show you the defense cellars which were also used as jail cells and are dug into the ground below.

St Emilion is only half an hour away and can be likened to an amazing open-air museum. It also has an extensive network of underground galleries dug out of solid limestone as well as a remarkable monolithic church. It is also one of the main red wine producing areas of Bordeaux and a great place to try the nectar. There are a selection of vineyard tours some of which include a visit to a wine château with wine tasting.

The laid back, but cosmopolitan city of Bordeaux can be reached in under an hour, and it is only 1 hour 45 minutes to the stunning Cap Ferret on the coast or less to the Bassin D’Arcachon.

Lake Caumont, pictured in the gallery, is only five minutes away and teems with fish - Gironde-wide fishing permits can be obtained in advance; they cost €15 for two weeks, and you will need to email your photo in advance.

Sara is on the way to adopting a beautiful powder blue 2CV, which in future she plans to lend to guests who wish to pop out and pick up a fresh baguette or a copy of Le Monde. Vespa hire can be arranged if zipping about is your thing.

Meet your hosts

Sara moved to France many years ago in search of an idyll she remembered from childhood. After looking for the perfect spot to call home, she finally settled in Girard in 2011 with her husband Stéphane, who built the writer's cabin and is always occupied with some handy project or other. Together, they've worked hard to turn Girard into the perfect retreat and a deeply creative place. A writer herself, Sara is also a bit of an expert when it comes to antiques, with a passion for fragments of the past and a great eye. The St Michel market in Bordeaux has supplied many new finds, a select few of which have been incorporated into the space.

Privately located amidst stunning countryside, at the end of a tiny rambling lane, lies Girard. This 50-acre estate was once a small hamlet - as the ruins testify, though nature is busy reclaiming them - and the old farmhouse restored diligently by Sara and Stéphane is surrounded by countryside, vines and woods. Fenced for many years, it has become an enclosed haven for wildlife, including a family of eight wild boars, who despite being shy are sometimes glimpsed near the house.

There were no habitable dwellings on the property when Sara and Stéphane moved here with their children, so they imported an airstream from Jacksonville to live in whilst they restored the old farmhouse. Short of a challenge, they decided to convert the airstream into a wonderful living space for guests and built the writer’s cabin to go with it. Together, the two spaces just 'fit': one chrome, one wood; one relaxing, one inspiring; one catching the morning's first rays, one basking in the evening sun.

No pesticides are used on the land at Girard and Sara believes strongly in recycling. She loves reusing old things – virtually nothing except the Nespresso machine is without a past life somewhere.

The bird life here is truly extraordinary: a huge variety of species pass through, including several nesting pairs of bright yellow Golden Orioles, considered to have the most beautiful of all birdsong. In the valley by the stream there are a variety of interesting mosses, ferns and orchids. Girard is a unique landscape of woods, parkland, heather and gorze, where you may find deer, foxes, badgers, wild boar, birds, insects, lizards and much, much more...