Travel by air, rail or road is all feasible but you will need transport once you get to Fonsalade as it is remote with the nearest shops being some 4 miles away in Murviel-les-Béziers. For transfers from airports or the railway station in Béziers, Jean-Claude (who looks after the house) and other locals will be happy to assist. They charge €50 for a Béziers transfer and more if it is further afield.

There are various routes by air and most of the flights from London airports operate throughout the year. Flights from regional airports generally seem to operate from the beginning of April to September/Octoberer and therefore flying from anywhere other than a London airport in autumn and winter is not really an option. The following routes can be considered:

* below denotes seasonal services

There are two basic options when travelling by train. In either case, you will need to board a Eurostar at St. Pancras, Ebbsfleet or Ashford changing at Lille or Paris. Whilst trains via Paris are more frequent, Lille is easier as you leave the Eurostar at Lille, crossing the platform and boarding a TGV for Béziers.

Travelling via Paris means leaving Eurostar at Gare du Nord and then catching the RER (underground Metro) to Gare du Lyon. The transfer time is between 25 and 45 minutes depending on connections. From Gare du Lyon take a TGV to Béziers.

The journey time from St. Pancras to Béziers is 7 to 8 hours (depending on transfer times at Lille or Paris) and the journey from Béziers station to Fonsalade is about 30 minutes.

www.seat61.com is a helpful web site to assist with travelling on French trains and this includes advice on crossing Paris.

Train tickets have to be purchased in a window three months before the intended date of travel. It is usually cheaper to buy as soon as the the tickets are available and they can be bought via www.raileurope.com.

You can hire a car at Béziers airport or at Béziers station. There are various companies operating car hire in the area. Europcar are represented at Béziers airport and they are probably the best option of the stand alone companies but www.rentalcars.com seem to provide the best rates.

Crossing the Channel by Eurotunnel is the quickest and easiest method. The other option is by ferry and whilst there are other possibilities, the best route by ferry is Dover to Calais. (Portsmouth to Saint-Malo or Caen means a shorter journey time in France, but the jouney in England plus the time spent on the ferry makes this route significantly longer overall). Once in Coquelles (Eurotunnel) or Calais (ferry), the shortest distance is to take the motorway in the direction of Paris and depending on the time of day there are really three options.

Option 1: Take A16 West from Calais/Coquelles and head down to Paris skirting around the West side of the City. After Paris simply head South via the motorways staying on A75 for the final leg of the journey and exiting at Béziers. On a clear run, the driving time is about 9 hours (664 miles). You can also cut across country at exit 54 of the A75 which reduces the distance by 14 miles but has little impact on the jouurney time.

Option 2: Take A16 West from Calais/Coquelles and head for Rouen. Take the route to Dreuz after Rouen and then down to Orleans to rejoin the main motorways. There are less motorways on this route but the traffic generally keeps flowing so is a very good option when Paris is busy (which is most of the time). After Orleans, again take the main motorways South and either leave the A75 at Béziers or take exit 54 earlier and cut across country. The driving time should be about 9½ hours on a decent run and if you exit the A75 at Béziers it is 660 miles.

Option 3: Take A26 from Calais/Coquelles and head for Arras. Follow the route straight to Paris and cross Paris via the Boulevard Périphérique. Upon leaving Paris take the main motorways all the way to Béziers and exit A75. Again, there is the option to take exit 54 earlier for the cross country route. In theory, this is the route which has the best motorways but the B. Périphérique can be slow so avaoid unless travelling at night. The typical driving time will be 9½ hours and its 661 miles.

The other option is to avoid Paris completely and head down the Autoroute de Soleil via Reims and Lyon. Therefore the final options is:

Option 4: Take A26 from Calais/Coquelles but head for Reims. Then follow the main motorways to Dijon and on to Lyon. At Lyon, you can take the motorway straight through the centre of the City. However, at peak times it is better to drive the additional 8 miles around the motorways which bypass Lyon to the East. Finally, exit the motorway at Béziers and the total driving time should be about 10 hours for the 720 miles.

There are plenty of Service Stations and Rest Areas on French motorways. It is mandatory to carry hi-visibility vests for all passengers in the vehicle on French roads, a red warning triangle is also obilgatory and from 1 October 2012 a French approved breathalyser kit must be carried in the car. It is an offence in France to have a device which forewarns you of speed cameras!

The most competitive rates on car hire seem to be through rentalcars.com. Otherwise, Europcar, Thrifty & Hertz are represented at Béziers airport and most of the mjor car hire companies are at the other nearby airports. When returning a car to Béziers airport you will need a code to get through the barrier which should be provided when you pick the car up.