“Delightful, “peaceful and idyllic”, say visitors this year to this long-time Guide favourite. Owned by one family for over 300 years, now run by the “charming” Patrick Hamelin and his Canadian wife, Marie Josée, it stands peacefully by a trout stream in pretty countryside north of Sarlat. The creeper-clad former forge is fronted by a stream with pools and weirs. Bedrooms are in the main house and a nearby annexe. “Ours, luxurious, had first-rate lighting. The bathroom had a spa bath and high-tech shower.” Another room was “beautiful, comfortable and spacious”. The lounge has a large open fireplace, where logs are burned and ducks are smoked. Dining is in two interconnected rooms. The chef, Ludovic Lavaud, serves “cooking of the highest order”. “Canard foie gras was superb. Service is formal (lids lifted, ingredients recited, menus without prices for the women). Staff were impeccable: efficient and congenial.” Summer meals are served on a flowery terrace by the water, ducks in attendance (“as dusk fell, candles were lit, music played softly”). Breakfast is a copious buffet. The swimming pool “is in a kind of secret garden, behind hedges”. The Lascaux caves are near