This is a large rural stone Normandy farmhouse built in 1603, in the Pays-de-Loire region of Basse (lower) Normandy, on the border of Manche/Mayenne. The house is reached via a private lane in a tranquil setting adjoining a working arable farm – no cattle or sheep nearby, although you will see the deer and boar if you are lucky! During the summer months you will be surrounded by fields of corn and cereal crops. Sleeps 14-25 in 7 bedrooms. Upstairs there are 3 doubles (1 en-suite), 1 triple room which has a single bed plus bunk beds, a small double room which can also be changed into a twin room with 2 small childs' beds, 2 bathrooms – 1 with a shower, basin & toilet, the other has a roll top bath with hand held shower, basin & toilet. There is an additional separate toilet upstairs. 2 of the doubles also have their own wash basins. There are 2 further double bedrooms & 2 more bathrooms downstairs 1 has a bath with shower over, wc and basin, the other a shower, wc and basin. There is another toilet within the utility room. Dog & child friendly enclosed front & rear gardens, parking for several cars. There is English and FrenchTV in the lounge; UK TV in the upstairs double bedrooms plus in 1 of the downstairs bedrooms. The large lounge has a log burner, 3 comfortable sofas and 2 armchairs. There are 2 equipped kitchens (1 of which is set out as a bar), a utility room with washing machine , dining room with 2 sofas and a large dining table. Ideal for large gatherings/dining or even club/group get-togethers. In an out building is a games area for the summer months located for children to play separately but near enough to keep an eye on them!! The house is centrally heated if it gets chilly, and each bathroom including en suite has a heated towel rail. Additional portable electric radiators are available if required. 2 pop up cots and 2 high chairs are available on request. The water supply is from the mains which is drinkable but you may prefer to use bottled water. Out side you will find a fixed large table close to the bar kitchen door, plus other garden tables/chairs/parasols and loungers. There is a large BBQ plus a 2nd small BBQ. Throughout summer there is a plunge pool (5 metres diameter @1.5 metres deep). On arrival there will be a welcome pack to get you started containing milk, fresh coffee, sugar, water, bread & butter, and some toilet rolls for your first day. The beds will be made up and towels provided for each bedroom. There will be tea towels in the kitchen too all included in rental. An initial amount of electricity is included in the rental as are the initial logs for the fire. End of stay cleaning can be booked in advance for an additional €150.
For everyday provisions it is only 5kms to each of the small towns of Le Teilleul & Fougerolles du Plessis, both of which have a supermarket, fuel, boulangerie/patisserie, butcher, bars, restaurants, a lovely little lake (plan d'eau) in Fougerolles which is a great local dog walk, with children's play areas, exercise kit, a zip wire, & fishing (licence from local Marie). St Hilaire de Harcouet is about 12 km away with it's lively Wednesday morning weekly market, beautiful lake with walks (plan d'eau), a good range of cafes, bars, eateries, shops, several supermarkets and a brilliant tourist information centre. There is a post office, several banks and an indoor swimming pool.
40 minutes from stunning sandy beaches; 45 minutes to the World Heritage site of Mont St Michel; 1 hour to Caen with it's WWII Memorial, a bit further on to the D-Day Landing beaches, operation Overlord, War Cemetries and the Mulberry Harbour remains at Arromanches-les-Bains.
Mortain and its waterfalls (petite and grande cascades) and the historic Hill 314 and Petite Chapelle is 10 km away. Travel past the Grande Cascade to Le Neufbourg where there are many voies vertes for walking and cycling. The Hotel l'Abbaye in Le Neufbourg offers friendly fine dining. The medieval city of Domfront with its Castle and Abbey ruins 20km away. Do not miss Fougeres with the biggest intact medieval castle in Europe, and its stunning moat, working water mills and parks. Lovely eateries and bars right next to the castle is about 1/2 an hours drive away. There are amazing forest walks in Fougeres forest just on the outskirts and on your way in to Fougeres. There is also a leisure area within the forest with a lake, water activities and horse riding. Falaise, slightly further away, is the site of William the Conqueror's castle, with lovely walks around it plus a pretty lake walk. Don't miss the great Saturday market there. Bagnoles de L'Orne is a wonderful destination day out with it's stunning lake, shopping, for a very reasonable price treat yourself to a coffee shot with coffee ice cream sitting outside looking over the lake! For our four-legged friends you will find lots of walks along 'voie verte' essentially following old railway lines (check out Barenton, St Jean de Corail, Domfront), A must for doggy and human days out is Fosse Arthour (St Georges De Rouelly, just past Barenton) with fantastic woodland and lake/river walks (take a picnic as the Auberge is now closed) and rock climbing. At nearby Gorron there is a super park with mini golf on the river Colmont (with activity area for kids of all ages including zip wire and high wire in the tress for the daring!)) with ample parking, and for some culture visit the park Louis Derbre and marvel at the local sculptor's huge and incredible sculptures. The pretty (award winning ville fleurie) village of St Friambault offers a beautiful walk around its lake, woods and children's play area plus crazy golf & picnic tables. In the summer months there are pedalos for hire opposite the friendly cafe bar (buvette), Mayenne and Laval both with great shopping and river walks along their tow paths, Flers is relatively close by and the Chateau (now the Mairie) Gardens and lake are worth a visit. There is an English owned and run pub in Desertines (5kms away) - the Red Lion (see their FB page) open from Wednesday – Sunday if you hanker after a Sunday roast, great food in general. Dog friendly, open mic. nights monthly (maybe closed all February). Other bars nearby worthy of a mention are Le Jardin de Froulay in Coesme Vauce, Le Bar du Pecheurs in L'Epinay le Compte, The Jug & Jazz in Gers (open on Monday too! On Monday evening a pizza van for a fresh oven baked pizza is in the square which the bar encourages you to eat on their premises), The Sercret Knight in Champs Secret.
Travel;
Nearest airports are Dinard & Rennes which are each about 50 minutes drive. Accessible from all ports; Nearest is St Malo 50mins; Caen just over 1 hour drive; Cherbourg 1 1/2 hour drive; Le Havre 2 hour drive (economy ferries have pet friendly cabins so your 4 legged friends sleep in the cabin with you). Calais and the Euro tunnel are a 4-5 hour drive away. We can offer you a 10% discount if you book with Britanny Ferries (we will give you our code when you book).
