Travel by Air

There are two airports in SW France that are both 90 mins from Le Moulin. Toulouse and Carcassonne. The route from Carcassonne is the easiest to follow and goes through Mirepoix, which is worth a coffee stop over. Below are some of the carriers as of February 2015.

Ryan Air:              Fly to Carcassonne from the following airports

Stansted – March – Tues, Thurs, Sat.   from April Daily;  Liverpool – Tues, Saturday from March ; East Midlands Mon, Wed, Fri from April;  Glasgow – Wed, Sat from April ; Dublin – Tues, Thurs, Sat from April

Easyjet:                Fly to Toulouse from Gatwick and Bristol Daily

Car Hire:            We recommend you book your car hire separately over the internet, and when you pick it up, the driver is advised to let his/her partner supervise the luggage, and go straight through to car hire to be first in the queue. If you go with the airlines recommended company and await your luggage, you will be delayed !

Directions from the airport to the Moulin.

From Toulouse:  Take the directions to Foix by the Motorway (Initially the Motorway will be in the direction of Barcelona) See directions in “Travel by Car” below.   By Train from Toulouse. There is a train from Toulouse to Foix, which is only 25 minutes from the Moulin, you can be picked up from Foix for 25 Euros.

From Carcassonne: Turn right out of airport and take the road to Fanjeaux and Mirepoix (We recommend you stop for a coffee in atmospheric Mirepoix with its medieval square and church well worth a visit ) Continue on the road to Foix and take the directions listed under “Travel by Car” below.

Extra nights: If your flights do not fly you in on a Sunday and return you on a Saturday. You could consider a night & day to explore Carcassonne or Toulouse.  Alternatively, there may be room available at the Moulin for an extra night. Please make enquiries. We can advise where to stay, but using www.booking.com will get you a discount on most hotels.

Travel by Car / Ferry

The Moulin is about a 9 hr drive from most Channel ports.

The cheapest Crossings are from Dover –. It is worth checking them all to see the most suitable time for you. For those living in the West Country, Brittany Ferries do the longer, more expensive routes.

However I personally recommend P & O as they cross every 45 minutes and if you arrive early for a crossing they will let you on an earlier crossing if they have space, I recommend that, rather than risk the traffic round Paris, take the route via Rouen, Evreux, Dreux and Chartres. It also saves on some Motorway tolls!

Directions from Boulogne : Take the A16 south past Abbeville and follow the directions for Rouen. After Rouen take the A154 direction Paris, but then turn South on the N154 towards Evreux, Dreux & Chartres. Continue on N154 –  directions Orleans and pick up the A10 autoroute going South past Orleans. Transfer to the A71 direction Toulouse and continue heading for Toulouse at Vierzon where you pick up the A20 South that takes you past Chateauroux, Limoges, Brives, Cahors & Montauban. After Montauban take the A62 East – direction Toulouse and continue round Toulouse taking the Autoroute direction Foix, Carcassonne and Barcelona. About 30 kms East of Toulouse take the A66 south direction Foix and Andorre. Just before Foix come off the motorway, proceed through the centre of Foix and west on the D117 – direction St Girons. After 20 kms you pass through Le Bastide de Serou, continue on D117 for another 5 kms and turn right on the D15 – direction Durban sur Arize. After 500 metres you will pass the entrance to Le Moulin de la Materette on the right (Too tight to turn in). Continue a further 200 metres and turn in the road opposite a left hand junction and rubbish bin. Continue back and turn down the drive to the left, which is directly oppocite the Materette sign on the right of the road, and over the bridge into the car park. A cold beer or Kir awaits! !

A more relaxed option: If you have the time and wish to enjoy the French Experience more, you could allow time to visit the cathedral and medieval streets at Rouen and at Chartres. Then stay at an excellent Hotel/Gastronomique Restaurant midway through France – Relais St Jaques  www.relais-st-jacques.com  – just off the motorway north of Chateauroux. (4 -5 hrs from the Moulin)  Whichever route and time you cross we recommend you avoid Paris Monday – Friday. The weekend is much easier particularly if you have a Sat Nav.

You could also consider a night in the Dordogne, near Sarlat or Domme, particularly if you have never explored that area, if you do this you would leave the A20 at Souillac (South of Brive) This would leave you a 3 hr drive to get to the Moulin, next morning. For finding hotels I recommend you use www.booking.com  to get excellent discounts, unless you have found one in particular you like, alternatively you could consider staying an interesting stopovers listed in Alistair SawdaysFrench B & B – www.sawdays.co.uk where you will find anything from a Farm, Water Mill to a Chateau to stay in and greeted by the owner who will probably also cook an excellent evening meal. There are plenty of stopover villages (Villages Etapes) close to the Motorway as you approach Limoges and afterwards

Another option is to take the expensive 24 hr ferry to Santander in Northern Spain, but only recommended if you particularly wanted to visit this area as part of your extended holiday.

Do not hesitate to contact me for further help and recommendations. We have a facility for free calls to land lines in Europe, Australasia & North America.

If you are running late, or are getting lost, please phone us on 05 61 65 80 07 and we shall assist you.