Accommodation: 'B & B' accommodation is available, with optional evening meal. There are two rooms, both with wash-basin; one has 2 single beds, the other a double and a single bed.

The Upper Barn: 8m x 4 m, wooden floor, lighting & power points (extension cables available). Shuttered (but unglazed) windows opening onto garden and surrounding countryside. Access by wooden staircase from lower barn. [Please note: this space is unheated]

The Crypt: 5 m x 4 m, stone floor, lighting. Power supply by extension cable from lower barn. Unheated except by overhead pipes, but a gas heater is available for hire. Access by stone steps from lower barn.

The Garden: 800 sq m, including a dedicated 'quiet area'. Access from the lower barn (two small stone steps).

Refreshments: We are pleased to offer coffee/tea & biscuits 'on arrival' and/or mid-morning, and tea/coffee & cakes mid-afternoon or prior to departure. Please let us know your requirements in advance. Visitors are welcome to bring their own 'picnic lunch'; hot water is available for making drinks.

A Bar-Restaurant is located a short walk away. La Charette Restaurant Bar hours of opening: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11.30-15.00; 18.00 -22.00; Sunday: 12.00-15.00. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Telephone 05.45.30.04.82, e-mail lizzie.clugston@wanadoo.fr 
There is also a boulangerie (closed Wednesdays).

A Casio key-board is now available for use in the centre. It has piano, harpsichord, vibraphone, electric piano and pipe organ features together with a set of pre-recorded classics. This can be used in the upper room of the barn or in the crypt as required.

Benest is situated on the contemporary Pilgrimage Route to Compostela, which traverses the Poitou Charente from Montmorillon, via Angoulême to Aubeterre.

The historic abbeys of Charroux, Nanteuil and St. Amant-de-Boixe, and the Pilgrimage Church of St. James at Tusson, are all within easy reach. The Church in Benest was formerly a Priory Church of the Abbey at Charroux. The Confraternity of Saint James in London publishes a regularly updated series of practical guides to the Spanish camino and some of the French routes leading to it.

Rates:

Half-day
Whole-day
2 consecutive days
3 consecutive days
each additional day thereafter

12 euros
20 euros
37 euros
50 euros
10 euros

Refreshments:

Coffee/tea & biscuits   1,50 euros per head
Afternoon tea & cakes 2,00 euros per head

Hire of gas heater: 10 euros per day

Accommodation: (per room per night, continental breakfast included): 1 person - 27 euros, 2 persons - 31,50 euros, 3 persons  - 36 euros. Optional evening meal « en famille »:  14 euros per head

Reservations: We are happy to accept bookings at any time of the year, but strongly recommend that organisers pay a preliminary visit, if possible, to discuss requirements.

Bookings should be accompanied by a non-refundable deposit of 10 euros. The balance, together with numbers for refreshments, is required one week before the event. Should cancellation be necessary, a refund of 80% will be made, if notification is received 24 hours in advance

Please note: bookings for B & B accommodation must be made separately by the individuals concerned, accompanied by a deposit of 10 euros per room per night.