Rental Private chalet Gîte dans ferme permaculture et ses animaux

About

GENERAL PRESENTATION

La ferme du Brairet offers you a charming gîte in a mountain chalet in Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval for seasonal rental.
The gite "Le Brairet" is a duplex of 100m2, with 2 bedrooms, with a total capacity of 6 persons (+ possible baby) with access to the adjoining farm and its animals.
Are you looking for a traditional mountain chalet where you can warm up by a wood stove in winter? Isolated in a small quiet hamlet, surrounded by mountains, forests and alpine pastures? But still close to the ski slopes (Nordic and Alpine) and hiking trails? ... you are in the bull's eye!
And if, in addition, you wish to experience life in a farm of Haute-Savoie of yesteryear, filled with animals, while enjoying the comfort of a rustic and cozy accommodation, then you have everything won.
It is an old farmhouse entirely renovated by its owners using noble and local materials: old wood, original stones, travertine tiles, lime...
We live a few steps away from the gîte "Le Brairet", in the hamlet itself, with our two children and our numerous animals. In this gîte, integrated in a space where the animal world reigns, you will be able to hear the crowing of the roosters and the cackling of the geese, the morning greeting of the donkey ....


THE ACCOMMODATION AND ITS EQUIPMENT

On the first floor, the main room is a spacious and bright "loft" with many windows, glass doors and light-colored travertine stone tiles.

In the dining area, a magnificent wood stove will warm up your winter evenings while simmering your favorite dishes cooked on a wood fire.

In the fully equipped kitchen, you will find all the necessary utensils for your culinary preparations. A large cooking piano will allow you to take over from the stove to prepare your meals requiring more space!

The living room will surprise you with its warm lights integrated in the wood-stone alloy. And especially, the lighting on the floor emanating from a large glass tile fixed. This one is integrated in the parquet floor, just above an original cellar, accessible by a small staircase hidden under a marine pulley hatch!

The bedroom part of this loft presents a magnificent wooden double bed. Wedged between old stones and original wood, it will invite you to sink into a calm and rejuvenating sleep by the fire.

A simple and functional bathroom will offer you the comfort of a good shower after your mountain adventures.

From the living room, you will access the upstairs bedroom by a small wooden staircase, as if you were climbing into a cabin! Up there, you will feel like in a mountain refuge : small cocooning room all in wood, bunk beds and double bed, with cosy comforters...

All the beds are equipped! All you have to do is let yourself slip into the arms of Morpheus.

From the entrance area, you can access the toilet. Just next door, a small door will give you access to a world typical of the authentic farms of Haute-Savoie: the old stable! Refreshed and renovated, it still keeps its soul with its original paving stones. This large space allows you to store the wood you will need to feed the stoves in the living room. You can use this space to store your ski accessories, bikes, etc.
A laundry room adjoining the stable will offer you the possibility to use the washing machine and to hang your clothes in a space dedicated to this purpose.


Outside, a small sheltered terrace will allow you to take the fresh air of the mountains.
As soon as the snow melts, the garden will have no limits! You will be able to access the nearby nature (meadows, forests, gardens, rivers) in just a few steps! You will never really be alone: wild and domestic animals are omnipresent in this landscape!


THE CLOSE ENVIRONMENT

Located 2.5km from the center of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, the gîte has direct access to the cross-country ski trails and a magnificent panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.


SKI

To begin with, you can get equipped in the village and rent your winter sports equipment at the Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval center. Alpine ski passes are available at the foot of the slopes in Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. Cross-country ski passes can be purchased on the slopes (when you pass the ski instructor) or at the village tourist office.
Forget the car and put on your skis from home: in winter, Nordic skiers can access the slopes directly from the top of the hamlet (300 m from the gîte) to reach the Nordic sector in the direction of the cirque du Fer-à-Cheval (located 6 km away). In the opposite direction, you can slide down to the village of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval or go on a long trip of about ten kilometers through villages, rivers, forests and large areas of breathtaking scenery. You will reach Samoëns or even Morillon! If you are too tired to make the return trip, a free shuttle will take you back to Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval.
For the alpine skiers, you will access the Grand Massif domain, by free shuttles (see link above) dropping you off at different departure points (Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, Samoëns, Morillon).
You don't ski? Put on your boots or your snowshoes and follow the numerous marked itineraries starting from the hamlet or elsewhere in the Giffre valley.



ACTIVITIES IN THE OPEN AIR

From the hamlet of Brairet, you can go in many different directions for hiking (from a few minutes to a few hours...to several days!).
If you don't like walking, there are many other options available to you: Mountain biking, electric biking, rafting, canyoning, caving, rock climbing, via ferrata, horseback riding, etc. Find all the offers of the valley on the websites of the tourist office of the Giffre valley as well as the one of Samoëns.



OTHER ACTIVITIES TO DISCOVER NATURE IN A DIFFERENT WAY

Perhaps you are looking for something different to experience in this exceptional setting? We offer you some suggestions of experiences to try in our valley.

Nature photography course with a passionate and inspiring photographer. Marie will make you discover the mountain landscapes from different artistic angles. With her, you will capture the poetry of nature, from the rising to the last breath of sun.

Visit of local farms. The agriculture of the valley opens its doors to the curious who wish to discover the traditional cheese productions of the valley. Here you will find different addresses of farms producing cow, sheep or goat cheese.

Discovery of the heritage. Different peasant museums in the valley will immerse you in the traditional Savoyard life of yesteryear: Le clos Parchet, guided tours in Sixte-fer-à-Cheval or in Samoëns with the heritage guides.

A walk with stories about edible and medicinal plants. This family walk starting from the hamlet of Brairet invites you to connect with the surrounding mountain plant world through stories, anecdotes and sensory experiences.



SETTING AND PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE AT BRAIRET

You only need to take a few steps outside the gîte to understand that the place pulses with the rhythm of its inhabitants' lives. Our animals, most of them free range, go about their business during the day, within the perimeter of the hamlet. Hens, roosters, geese, ducks, pigeons, rabbits, pigs, donkeys, mares, sheep and goats (depending on the season), cats, bees... I'm sure I'm forgetting!

Indeed, all this small world requires a little work: feeding (the famous "tour of the animals"), cleaning (the droppings!), changing and remaking the parks, cutting the nails, etc. We do not get bored!

If the animal world is so present, the same is true of the plant potential. The local nature, powerful and abundant, offers us a potential of diverse and varied pickings until falling asleep under a coat of snow. Medicinal and aromatic flowers, roots, tree buds (aromatherapy), fruits (plums, apples, peaches, red berries, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.). We might as well tell you that when summer comes, we dry them, macerate them in alcohol, oil, vinegar, make jam, etc. It is not unemployed!

The vegetable garden, with its numerous mounds of culture on living earth as well as its greenhouse cultivated in permaculture come to add exciting activities!

The summer season is also the time of the lumberjack! In order to heat all these buildings during half of the year, it is necessary to start early to cut the necessary wood stock. Here again, between skidding, cutting, stacking to shelter the reserve, there is plenty of fun to be had!

To be sure not to get bored, comes also the haying period! And there, it's always the same story: every year you have to "watch" for the right weather window. That it is warm enough to dry the grass in a few days while avoiding the torrential thunderstorms at the end of the scorching summer days!

As you can see, our philosophy is our way of life. To be close to the earth on a daily basis and to live according to the rhythm of the seasons. Working and observing life to participate in this symphony of life at our scale, trying to impact as little as possible the native fauna and flora.