The Station – Sleeps 10 People
Welcome to la gare de Sos, your home for your holiday. Opened in 1897 by the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Midi, a branch line from Nérac to Mont de Marsan and closing to goods traffic in 1969, with passengers being hoofed out of here in 1938. You can still follow the unsurfaced former track bed, walking or cycling to Poudenas or Mézin from your station door. Or set your sights a bit further and undertake a section of EuroVelo Route 3, La Scandibérique.
Back to the station – Madame Dupont, installed here during the 1950s, was the last Station Master to live in la gare de Sos, living up on the first floor. Your front shower room was her kitchen and she would draw well water for her cooking and washing; imagine hoicking pales of water up the oak staircase every day as well as running the goods station! Fortunately, you can take it at a far easier pace and enjoy a leisurely holiday here, with hot running water and everything! The beds are made up for you & towels provided. There are two double rooms and one twin room on the first floor along with two shower rooms, one has a bath with lovely views of the catalpa trees when having a long soak. Up in the huge attic space are four more single beds with an ensuite shower room. You will find both the station kitchen and the outdoor BBQ kitchen well equipped for cooking indoors or out. Away from the hustle & bustle of busy working lives you can unwind at this old station, relax and just sit down a while. There’s an abundance of green, natural space around the station and plenty of spots to sit quietly or go explore, observe the natural wildlife or fall asleep in a warm spot. Take a dip, play ping pong, drink tea, sip wine, crack open a beer, grab a book, become aware of your free time. Enjoy your croissants and fig jam à la platform for breakfast, tear up a baguette with some a fresh brebis cheese for lunch with a chilled glass of rosé and get the poolside BBQ sizzling for evening dinner.
Quick view videos on our YouTube channel
The Station Exterior
Scroll through the station images to get an idea of the space available at la gare de Sos. There are 2 outdoor eating areas, one directly onto the former platform, perfect for breakfasts and the other is down at the pool, our covered BBQ area. There’s a huge driveway, illuminated by two original railway lamps from England and plenty of gravelled parking space. The station is surrounded by greenery, huge plane trees at the front entrance and catalpa trees to the side. Where the track used to run, there’s now a mowed grassy expanse of land and a swimming pool and poolhouse. Help yourself to any herbs that we have growing in pots on the platform – usually plenty of thyme, rosemary, sage, mint and basil in the summer. If you look forward to sunbathing on your holiday we have plenty of patio space and sun loungers waiting. The pool is lovely for a refreshing dip when the temperatures rise and if the weather should turn we can close the glass cover and you can swim beneath the glass. See further down the page for pool photos.
The Station Interior
Have a look inside the station, redecorated in 2020. Note the original ticket hatch, now the kitchen, and look through into the open plan lounge, which was the former waiting room. If you are very interested in trains and railways then you will find plenty of holiday reading in the waiting room, in English & French, and a selection of railway dvds and a huge film collection on dvd too. The bedrooms and bathrooms are on the first floor, up the original oak staircase from the kitchen and the extra sleeping space and third shower room is up a further set of stairs to the top floor. The well equipped kitchen has a Neff electric oven, a gas hob and a large fridge. A store cupboard off the waiting room houses a freezer for stocking up on icecreams and if you need more fridge or freezer space, you can load the pool house fridge freezer with wine & beer & icecream too. The dining table seats 12 comfortably and the crockery and cutlery can cater for large parties of several courses. All the bathrooms have showers and one has a bath with views of the intriguing catalpa trees. The bedrooms are flooded with natural light from the traditional tall station windows and the beds are made up for guests’ arrival. There is a log burner to keep you toasty when required and a collection of blankets for nights spent star gazing outside.
The Station Pool & Pool House
The pool photos show the pool before and after the arrival of the new pool cover which was fitted in October 2021. During the summer months the cover will be open providing the usual access to the pool. The new extended timber framed shelter provides a wonderful eating area, seating up to 12, with a gas barbeque and external sink area. Internally, the pool house has a toilet, shower, double sink, fridge freezer & summer kitchen utensils. Pool towels are provided and there is a washing line behind the pool house. The extended patio area and privacy wall enables relaxation all day on the loungers. “Time for a game of ping-pong anybody?” There is a table tennis table too – not just for youth clubs apparently.
Autumn swimming under glass
The Station Pets
We have a Manchester Terrier Cross dog, Daphne, and a black station cat, Clarence. They both lived in the station for a few weeks when we moved here in 2020 but they now live with us in The Old Warehouse next door. They wander around the grounds here and will sometimes investigate any open vehicle doors, open doors to the station, open doors to the pool house. Daphne will follow her nose to any source of nourishment and Clarence seeks out warm laps and White Company duvets. Daphne will bark protectively initially when she hears a new arrival but she soon calms down and is well trained. Clarence is a cat!
Our friendly neighbours, 200 metres away from us, have a beautiful, super sociable male dog called Pasha. Folks who have holidayed here before will know that Dave’s and the neighbour’s dogs would often pop round to have a nose at the station goings-on. Young Pasha is no exception and delights in giving chase to vehicles and cyclists up and down the avenue.
So please consider any allergies or pet dislikes before booking your holiday here. They are part of our little station family and whilst we do our best to keep them with us, this is your advance notification!
We do not accept pets on holiday in the Station. We have the former Pump House property, (available from Summer 2022) over the road from the Station and one small to medium size dog can be catered for here. (Additional charge applies) There is a third of an acre of grassy banks down to the river Gélise at the rear of the property. Please note that the Pump House property has a privacy hedge but also an open access area from the road (our road is very quiet though despite now having the grand name of “Route de la gare”).
