By Car: The house is about 560 miles from Calais by road. Apart from the last 30 miles or so it is possible to drive this on motorways. We enjoy taking about a day and a half to travel from London, often using the excellent and relatively traffic free system of side roads through most of France. However it can be done more quickly if desired, about 9 hours driving from Calais using the Autoroutes.
By train: The most direct route is to Paris, then south to Clermont Ferrand and Aurillac. It is also possible to have ones car transported by train to Brive from Paris or one of the Channel ports). There is a bus from Aurillac to Mandailles (about a mile from the house) twice a day. The service is run by a local taxi service
By air: There is a small airport at Aurillac which has daily flights to and from Paris, but fares are expensive. It is possible to fly to Clermont Ferrand, Rodez and St Etienne [all 2 hrs drive from the cottage] and to Lyon, Toulouse or Bordeaux, although these are about a four hour drive from the house. Car hire is available at all the airports, and in Aurillac. The need for a car while at the house depends on the kind of holiday you are looking for. If you like exploring a region and seeing sights it will be essential to have a car. However if your main aim is to have a walking holiday and want to use the house as a base for that, then it is possible to do without.