In 2017 Michael and Anita Swain left Bermuda for the riverside bed and breakfast they’d bought in southwestern France.

Both keen rowers, they’d been lured by its prime position on the river Lot. Rowers on the men’s and women’s squads of Oxford University have used the Swains’ stretch of the estuary to practise as have the French national rowing and kayaking teams.

Their tract in Temple-sur-Lot is also popular with “multiple clubs from France and the UK” and has been selected as the preparation area for rowing and kayaking for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Swains “snapped up” their cottage in 2015 with a plan of “retiring” to France and operating it as a B & B.

Mr Swain, a Bermudian who began rowing at the age of ten and is a qualified instructor, was eager to continue the coaching work he’d been doing since 2004, when he founded the Bermuda Rowing Association.

“I was a national champion at college, selected to row for England, and then I competed a few times at the Head of The Charles for Bermuda, which is like the world championships where there are 10,000 rowers,” he said.

It was one of several international competitions that Mr Swain, “a highly qualified and experienced rowing coach with USRowing” represented the island in before he and his wife decided to relocate.

“It was time,” he said. “We felt we couldn’t really retire to Bermuda, because it's too small – there are only so many rounds of golf you can play in a day. We wanted to spread our wings and explore Europe.”

Since 2017 they’ve run a sculling school out of their B&B, Beau Rivage. Archery lessons are also available on-site and there is carp fishing, cycling, kayaking and many other activities to keep guests entertained in what is a rural area.

“We actually bought the house about 18 months, maybe two years, before leaving Bermuda because it was right on the river and on this perfect piece of rowing stretch which is famous throughout Europe. So the house came up and we came over and snapped it up,” he said.

The chartered accountant, who had been “a keen volunteer for charitable organisations” while here, said it was tough to say goodbye to the Bermuda Rowing Association in particular.

“I built up the Rowing Association and we had left it with 90 members, and a junior programme in the works and I'm afraid it's all sort of crumbled since I left, because there's no one else qualified; no one who has the experience really.

“It was almost painful because it's something my wife and I built over ten years. I was coaching four, five, six times a week as well as a day job. So it was difficult to leave, but life must go on.”

Temple-sur-Lot offered an opportunity to continue the coaching he knew he would miss.

“A lot of rowing camps, they stay in a small hotel somewhere and they have to get a minibus to the water which can take a while, and then they get into boats. But here at our home, they basically roll out of bed.

“We have a rowing breakfast and then straight into the boats and away. That's right on the doorstep.”

This year the couple decided to expand their offerings. At French Chateau Sculling, guests can also roll out of bed and have lessons on the Lot, which is “very calm 90 per cent of the time with next to no boat traffic and stream”.

The Swains’ website describes it as “a unique camp where scullers of any ability can improve with dedicated coaching while enjoying a fun-filled experience”.

“We’re now setting up the chateau rowing, but we've had rowing from our own home since we landed and I've been coaching various people from there,” Mr Swain said. “We only have a two-bedroom B&B. It's more targeted for two or four individuals, whereas the chateau can take many more.”

On-site are six Olympic-standard sculling boats.

“I coach at any level and I'm qualified up to an Olympic standard with USRowing. I love teaching newbies because the wow factor for them is huge, but [we offer it] all the way up to a high competitive level.

“So, if they want to go the extra stretch, and really improve their competitiveness, then we coach that as well. And we can either do that on an individual basis from our home or we can do it on a group basis from the chateau.”

It’s an athlete’s paradise, he believes. “The river is sacred for rowing, but also for triathlon training because [it] is perfect for distance swimming and because it's 100 per cent clean.

“It’s tested every week by the river authority and they're very proud of how clean it is and they're encouraging swimmers and everybody to use the river.”

The Swains have had a few Bermudian visitors but are hopeful for more. Yoga lessons are available in their converted barn and Bordeaux is only about an hour-and-a-half away.

“If they're coming to Europe, they can come here for a few days if they want to learn to row or improve their rowing or they want to come for triathlon training, because we can find the bikes as well. They can come here for a few days and then carry on with a tour of France or Europe.

“I suppose the big draws here are the wine and the cuisine. We're near St Emilion and Bordeaux. Bordeaux is just over an hour away. It’s a great way to have an active and relaxing holiday.

For more information visit www.beaurivagesurlot.com and www.frenchchateaurowing.com/