Once upon a time... The story of the lovers of Les Sucs and the Haute-Loire
It is already almost 80 years since our family has been opening its doors and its heart to tourists and locals alike...
How were the Bed and Breakfast "Les Fermes du Château" born?
We decided to perpetuate the family tradition of hospitality with the creation in 2007 of our 2 guest rooms.
More than a sudden desire, it is a real life project that we have built as a family.
It is above all a human adventure that we wish to share with our guests, a desire to share our love of the region, the traditions of Auvergne, the history of Pilat, all around a beautiful table.
I, Agnès, have left my job as European HR Programme Manager within an international group to devote myself to my family, then the running of bed and breakfast accommodation in 2007, and finally the gîtes from 2015. I was then also very active with local volunteer missions, and also spent time developing gastronomic recipes for our table d'hôtes.
François, my husband, is Sales Director of an Anglo-Saxon unit. In the evenings and at weekends he trades his suit to become a gentleman farmer.
Maubourg here we are!
Until then, this farm, like others belonging to the hamlet of MAUBOURG, was part of the same estate. When we bought this building, it was not by chance... La Désirade, which did not yet bear this name, was the farm next door to that of François' grandfather, Alphonse Rabeyrin, which had already been owned by the previous generation. »
In 2003, while we were living in Lyon, we decided to leave the city to settle permanently in MAUBOURG in our "farm" renamed La Désirade.
The birth of the "Désirade
It would seem that this farmhouse is one of the historical bases of the castle (as indicated by the external cornices, the porch of the neighbouring building dated 1760, and a door lintel 1621).
The residential part of the farmhouse of yesteryear (now rented) was very basic: 2 rooms on the ground floor serving as a kitchen with an "inglenook", as well as a salting room for sausages and a bedroom on the first floor. There are no amenities and only one water point in the kitchen, which communicates directly with the cowshed to transfer the heat from the animals to the farmer's dwelling.
François started the first works in 1996. They consisted of completely redoing the housing part of the former farmer's house, which became Le Cantou gîte in 2015.