The Good life in...

The Good life in... Riberac

We talk to British expat Linda James who with her Husband Alex runs Le Pommier gites and a cake making business in Riberac, Dordogne department, Aquitaine, south west France. What inspired you to move to Riberac? I originally came here on holidays with my family in the 1980s as my cousin and her husband moved here with their three children. I fell in love with the sunny weather, the stunning countryside, being able to swim in rivers and lakes, the beautiful villages, markets, fêtes and the food. Although my cousins moved back to the UK for a short while, they couldn’t keep away and returned to France. There are now four generations of our family here as my aunt moved over just before us. She was 91 a couple of weeks ago! We searched a much wider area for our property but decided we might as well be close enough to pop round for coffee, or meet up at the market. And after some property viewings further down in the Dordogne, we decided we liked it better here. Tell us about your gites and cake business Our property consists of a three bedroom house, one bedroom apartment and two bedroom gite. The gite is popular through the whole season as its a comfy space for couples as well as the families who come in the school holidays. The house is bright and spacious with a new bathroom that gets the response ‘wow!’ from guest. The large stone terrace overlooking the pool and garden and countryside are perfect for aperos and the spectacular sunsets we get. We’ve also launched a cake business. The idea started when I made cupcakes for a wedding last year, then a café in Ribérac needed cakes to serve with tea and coffee. Coffee and Walnut cake is really popular. We have several walnut trees and shelling them is a time-consuming process so I often do it in the evening while watching telly! I’m beginning to take orders for