What attracted us to Aou Roques was its rural yet connected setting, so while we are surrounded by farms, rivers, and nature, we are not far from the town of Plaisance with all its amenities. The main house itself has been well restored by the previous owners matching the traditional with the modern and this can also be seen reflected in the gite which has top spec facilities providing every comfort. Indeed, we lived in the gite when we first moved here.
We love being at the heart of two wine growing areas (Madiran and St Mont), and not very far away from others such as Cotes de Gascogne and the famous Armagnac area. The local food is fantastic and Gascons are very proud of their gastronomy. The markets here are wonderful to explore and offer all sorts of local produce in the form of seasonal fruits and vegetables, cheeses and of course the famous duck products such as magret and foie gras.
As a musician, I love the fact that Marciac with its world-renowned jazz festival (Jazz in Marciac) is so close. But since coming here I have discovered some 15 other music festivals going on in the summer with everything from latin to classical and country and western. These can easily be reached from the gite.
One thing which appeals to everyone who moves to this area is not only the proximity of the Pyrenees with all its sporting and wildlife options, but also the relatively easy access to the coast around Biarritz and to Spain, the latter reachable via motorway or via the many mountain crossings.
But for nature our immediate area is hard to beat with close proximity to two rivers and a nature park (with visitor centre) and kilometres of paths which can be walked or cycled along. Of course, some sections are popular with canoeists, starting from Plaisance or Aire sur l’Adour.