Our set up  Our policies

Who we are

After a fortuitous first visit to the Alpes Maritimes in 2001, we (Mel Jones & Liz Lord) decided that life in the Mercantour was a must.

The glory of being surrounded by mountains, with every conceivable outdoor activity; and just an hour from the hot bed of the French Riviera…

What we're about

Our sincere aim in coming here to the Mercantour has been to

• ...become integrated in the rural community in the Vésubie valley
• ...to generate sufficient income to be able to continue contributing to the development of sustainable tourism in the community here
• ...to share our pleasure in being here with like-minded guests, while creating a more environmentally orientated base

We have been successful in the majority of our wishes and now have a small, personal and professional business. Looking forward we expect to attract up to 1000 visitors a year working in conjunction with Denis and Christian.

Our accommodation continues to develop, and we have the intention to create another gite within the house in Berthemont, plus adding yurts to the land. The house will be fuelled by solar panels, wood burners, and geo-thermal heating. An increase in our veg production and the introduction of more four legged creatures will make us as self-sufficient as possible.

In time we will be delighted to offer an environment of inspiration, relaxation and perspiration for all lovers of the great outdoors with a need to recharge their batteries.

How we're set up

Your protection

Our operations are based in France, and are conducted through a French SARL (the equivalent of a UK Ltd company).

We also have a UK company (Spacebetween Alpine Adventures Ltd) through which we market our services in the UK and abroad

Therefore if you travel with us, your contract, and therefore your protection will be with the French company.

In order to operate, we have to hold an "habilitation de tourisme", an official sanction issued by the French government office responsible for tourism. Apart from having to hold defined qualifications, the other very important pre-requisite is that we hold operator failure cover, and public liability.

Our habilitation de tourisme number is HA.006.06.0007, and our cover is arranged by Mutuelles du Mans Assurances, Contract No : 18039 for failure cover, and Contract No : 114725105 for public liability.

Your safety

To us, your safety is paramount. We do not take any risks with the security of our guests.

Mel is an International Mountain Leader and qualified to work in all our locations.

Whomever we work with locally are professionaly qualified in their particular field of work, and hold their own liability insurances through their respective associations, and we ensure that they are remunerated at the current "going rate" that reflects their qualification.
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Mel

The only Welshman in the Vésubie valley – is an outdoor adventurer of many years, and an International Mountain Leader/Accompagnateur.

Liz

Francophile in orientation, having travelled much of the world, is dedicated to growing awareness of the region.

Our local partners

Denis Longfellow

A native Californian, has been in the Alpes-Maritimes for almost 30 years. His life and love has been the shepherding of goats, cattle and now, horses through these fabulous mountains.

Christian Lorenzetti

An "accompagnateur", affiliated to the Mercantour National Park, Christian is also an expert of the history of the Vallée des Merveilles, and is passionate about communicating "contes" about all the marvellous living creatures of the area.

Pierrot Fiorucci

Pierrot – the driving force behind the excellent Via Ferrata at St Dalmas, an experienced Guide de Haute Montagne, and very focused on the development of the area.

Patricia Roux Guisto

Patricia – an "accompagnatrice" of many years standing - has proved to be everyone's favourite with her knowledge of her native countryside - and full-on charm.

Our policies

Responsible travel

The Mercantour National Park, which is France's largest and most recently created, has remained remarkably untouched by both French and foreign tourists alike, despite its proximity to the French Riviera.

As the first British company based in the area, Spacebetween's goal is to build awareness and grow revenue for the area, whilst maintaining its' cultural and natural integrity which affords it such charm and splendour.

Spacebetween will bring life to the area by :

Economic Responsibility.
Working exclusively with local French partners who have an indepth knowledge and appreciation of the Mercantour. We do not use volunteer, nor poorly paid, transitory staff. Residing all year round in a depopulating area where there is a high percentage of secondary homes using local artisans to sympathetically restore a former farmhouse.
Creating an engaging environment for guests.
Utilising the wealth of organic product available in the hamlet of Berthemont les Bains supporting locally run facilities

Environmental Responsibility.
Guests will be encouraged to offer nothing but respect to the Park, through pre visit information.
Spacebetween are delighted to be promoting Alpha - "the time of the wolf" Scénoparc in Le Boréon. Since its opening in the spring of 2005 the park has proved to be a great success, creating awareness and respect for this elusive creature.

Social Responsibility.
To enable more people to enjoy the Mercantour, Spacebetween will actively be seeking to promote holidays for wheel chair users in the UK, and trips for "urban kids".

Our efforts to "practise what we preach" have been acknowledged by www.responsibletravel.com - the fastest growing travel company in the UK, with whom we are working successfully.

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Privacy

We are committed to providing you with the best information on our business at Spacebetween, and to protecting your privacy.

Newsletters
As part of keeping our customers and other interested parties updated about the most recent developments here, we provide a monthly newsletter by e-mail. It is our practice to provide this to all new potential first time clients. Following from this, we will only send you information that you have agreed to receive, and in order for us to be able to do so, we will only collect from you what is relevant and needed. You may decline to provide this infromation, and decline to receive further communication from us at any time, and should you do this, we will honour your request immediately.

Should you agree to subscribe to our newsletter, and therefore provide us with the information required, we will not sell or lease your details to any other party.

We will not track individual persons' activities.

Change of Policy
In the event that this policy is changed at any time in the future we will notify all members by e-mail, and provide you with an opportunity to opt out of subscription if you so wish.
Should you have any questions about this policy, please don't hesitate to contact us on contact@space-between.co.uk and we will do our best to ensure that your queries are answered in full.

When you contact us to enquire about our products, and when you book.
We use the information that you give us to ensure that we are able to provide you with all the details that you need to enable you to make a valued judgment about our services.

We will normally follow up this first contact. Should you wish no further contact after this, please tell us so by e-mailing us at contact@space-between.co.uk. We will honour your request with immediate effect, and remove your details from our files.
We will not sell or lease any of this information to a third party.

When and if you book with us, we will only ask you to provides us with what is necessary for us to be able to ensure that you have an enjoyable, safe and worry free holiday.

We will not sell or lease any of this information to a third party.

Mel Jones & Liz Lord - Directors. Spacebetween Alpine Adventures Ltd, SARL Spacebetween.

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