Big 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 occasional deer if you are lucky! During the summer months you will be surrounded by fields of corn. Sleeps 14 in 7 bedrooms, upstairs there are 4 doubles (1 en suite) & 1 single, 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 too. 2 of the doubles also have a wash basin. There are 2 further double bedrooms & 2 more bathrooms downstairs. There is another toilet within the utility room. Dog & child friendly enclosed front & rear gardens, parking for several cars. There is English satellite TV in the lounge; 3 of the upstairs bedrooms plus in 1 of the downstairs bedrooms. There is a large lounge with a log burner, 3 good size comfortable sofas (one of which is a double bed settee for occasional additional guests). There are 2 kitchens, a utility room with large capacity washing machine & tumble drier, large party room/dining room – ideal for large gatherings/dining or even club or group get-togethers. Off the dining room is a games area in an old barn – ideally 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. A cot and high chair are available. The water supply is from a well – not recommended to drink, so bottled water is advisable. For outdoors you will find a fixed large table close to the kitchen door, plus other garden tables/chairs/parasols and loungers. On arrival there will be a welcome pack to get you started containing milk, fresh coffee, tea bags (English), sugar, water, bread & butter, and some toilet rolls for your first day. The beds will be made up and towels provided to 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 logs for the fire. End of stay cleaning can be provided – ask us for details. As is usual there will be a security deposit to pay, refunded on departure minus any cleaning and/or electricity.
For everyday provisions it is only 4k to each of the small towns of Le Teilleul & Fougerolles du Plessis, both of which have supermarkets (& fuel), boulangerie patisserie, butchers, bars, restaurants etc. There is a lovely little lake (plan d'eau) in Fougerolles which is a great local dog walk, with children's play area and equipment & fishing (licence available from local Marie).
30-40 minutes from stunning sandy beaches; 40 minutes to the World Heritage site of Mont St Michel; less than an hour to the D-Day Landing beaches, operation Overlord, War Cemetries and the Mulberry Harbour remains at Arromanches.
St Hilaire de Harcouet is about 10 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, 2 big supermarkets and a brilliant tourist information centre. There is a post office & several banks.
Mortain and its waterfalls (petite and grande cascades) and the historic Hill 314 and Petite Chapelle is 6 km away. The medieval city of Domfront with its Castle and Abbey ruins 20km away. Do not miss Fougere with the biggest intact medieval castle, and its stunning moat, mill and parks. Lovely eateries and bars right next to the castle about 1/2 an hour away. Amazing forest walks in Fougere forest just on the outskirts. We understand that for the second year we will be close to a stage of the Tour De France. 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! Bliss!! 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), 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 there is not always open) and rock climbing. At nearby Ernee there is a super park with mini golf on the river Colmont (with activity area for kids of all ages including zip wire) with ample parking, and for some culture visit the park Louis Derbre and marvel at the local sculptor's huge and incredible sculptures. The award winning ville fleurie village of St Friambault