Nicholas GILLARD's selection of French property for sale

About my area

I live almost exactly between Bordeaux and Toulouse - 90 minutes from either airport - on the southern fringes of Lot et Garonne just as it meets the Gers and the Landes. The landscape of these departments differs greatly. We have the Lot et Garonne with its spectacular fields of sunflowers and plum trees soon to be transformed into pruneaux d'Agen. Then, there are the green rolling hills of the Gers with an occasional glimpse of the snow-capped Pyrenees. And finally, we have the pine-forested Landes with its National Park stretching west to the Atlantic coast and northwards to the elegant city of Bordeaux. In fact, a good tip for exploring this part of Aquitaine is to get off the train in Bordeaux. There is a high-speed rail link from Paris, which gets you there in just over 2 hours. So this is a land of great contrast. But one thing that unites them all is Gascony - the mythical and historic region of south-west France that galvanises and criss-crosses the modern map without ever quite losing its identity - especially when it comes to food and drink. In truth, nobody really seems to know where Gascony begins or ends but as with its great charm, somehow you know it when you see it. Perhaps it’s the duck fat chips? Or is it the vineyards of Bas-Armagnac? Either way, Gascony has one of France’s highest rates of life expectancy. So that’s an added bonus! I look forward to welcoming you to this beautiful and fascinating region of France.

About me

I was born in Scotland, moving to London where I worked as a commissioning editor in the book publishing industry for nearly 20 years. This took me all round the world but Gascony feels like home now and it’s great to find a new pace of life here. Actually, the countryside reminds me of the Scottish Borders. Both places are just as fanatical about rugby too!