My Green Summer

I pretty much took a break from blogging this summer - partly I was too busy and something had to give and partly my internet connection was playing silly whatsits and was often so slow (or even dead) that it made working online almost impossible.  I am keeping everything crossed that will behave itself from now on.

So I though I would take this opportunity to share with you some of my green moments from the summer of 2017.  I'd love to hear what you have been up to too.

Family Time

The boys and Simon went camping in the UK for a while and when they were here we had some great times playing games such as Settlers of Catan and Molkky (Finnish skittles made from wood), visiting local landmarks including our favourite castle at Falaise (birthplace of William the Conqueror) and taking some lovely walks around the Normandy countryside.

Playing Molkky

My Sunday Photo - 28th February 2016

I recently visited the nearby Medieval city of Domfront and delighted in beautiful old buildings, ancient and more modern churches, a fantastic ruined castle ... and the best drain covers I've seen in a long while.  If you are going to have a drain cover why not make it a bit more attractive which is just what Domfront as done adding their coat of arms and city name. There are more Domfront pictures here.

The War Cemetery at St Charles-de-Percy

Scattered throughout northern Normandy are many war cemeteries where the fallen from WWII are buried in the country where they fell.  16 kms to the west of Eco-Gites of Lenault, just outside the small village of St Charles-de-Percy, is the most southerly of these where 809 British soldiers have found their final resting place.  They all died late in July or early August 1944 in the major allied thrust to get from Caumont L'Evente to the important town of Vire, driving a wedge through the German 7th Army and Panzer Group West.

As with all British war cemeteries they are maintained beautifully.  Each row of graves has a small area for plants around it, the edges perfectly straight and no weeds to be seen.  The grass is a perfect lawn.  A fitting place of calm for these brave men to lie after the horrors of war.  

Even in January, when I visited, there was colour and new growth to be seen, testament that their death was not in vain.  As was said on one grave I saw - "He died that we might live".  

Thank you brave soldiers.

Perfectly maintained beds

Heather at the ends of the rows of graves

Wych hazel

 Oxlip

Aubretia

For more details on other memorials please visit this blog on our website - Closest WWII Memorials to Eco-Gites of Lenault.

For more gardens post please do head over to Annie's lovely How does your Garden Grow linky:

Beach Walk - December 27th 2105

Boxing Day Beach Walk in Normandy. 

How did you spend your Boxing Day?

Sunrise in Normandy - Dec 20th 2105

In Normandy, the later part of 2015 has seen some fabulous sunsets to the point that with another fantastic evening light show the boys may just have yelled "Not MORE photos, Mum?!"

The mornings have not been without their moments too,  but often I have been in the car or feeding animals and I have not been able to snap the dawn glory.  Yesterday, however I was both up early (on a Saturday!) and had my camera to hand - there was no school run and the animals could wait as this sunset that was brightening up the sky needed photographing.

More orange and purple than red I am hoping it is not a portent to bad weather ... the forecast would seem to think not with the mild and dry spell set to continue and shepherds need not worry.

How is your December weather and have you had some sunrises worth getting up for?  Do tell.

I'm glad we don't live in ... Sunday 13th December 2015

In France, a commune is the equivalent in England of a parish so we are in the parish of Lenault.  For addresses, most houses actually in the village will just carry the name "le bourg" (the village).  We are, however, situated 2 kms outside of le bourg and for outlying houses the French give hamlet names.  Ours is La Causserie which just covers our house, although others may include several houses.  In the commune of Lenault, hamlet names include Le Hamelet, Le Jardin, La Saulnerie and La Fosse etc.  All I can say, though, is that I am glad we didn't find a house in Crapouville!

Lions on the flag of Normandy

If you are in Normandy you cannot help but see many flags flying with three in particular that are most prominant - the French Tricolour,  the European 12 star circle and the flag of Normandy consisting of 2 lions ... which bears a significant resemblance to the 3 lions of the coat of arms of England.

Normandy Flag (Image from Wikimedia Commons)

In heraldry terms the lions are in fact referred to as leopards and are in a position known as passant guardant.  It is said they date back to the time of William the Conqueror and represent the regions of Normandy and Maine that he lorded over and when he conquered England in 1066 he added the third which remained the coat of arms of the UK.  However, two facts prove this story to actually be false.  One, there is no evidence of the 2 lions on flags on the Bayeux Tapestry and the second, heraldry did not exist in William's time.  This story is actually most likely to made up and the first time they are known to have appeared in Normandy is on the shield of Henry Plantagenet or Richard I in the mid or late 1100's and depending on which source you read.  I have, however not been able to find out why 2 lions were chosen.

What-ever its history, Normandy is very proud of its 2 lion flag and you will see it flying in many places including Falaise Castle, William' birthplace.  The coat of arms of various towns also include one or more lions, including a single lion for Bayeux.   

The single lion on the coat of arms of Bayeux

The two lions also appears on food products such as Camembert, one of Normandy's local cheeses.

Camembert cheese with 2 lions on the box

Once you start looking you will see the lions everywhere.  Have you seen the 2 lions of Normandy on any other food products or elsewhere?  Or do you know why they were chosen in the first place?

Silent Sunday - November 29th 2015

Guest Post - Sunken Lanes of Lenault

This post was originally published by Paul Willis (Worthing Wanderer) on his blog and is re-printed here with his permission. 

Eco-Gites of Lenault

 
"This year we have had holidays that are short but more often as we found in the past that going away for extended periods of time was actually more tiring than relaxing.  We hadn't been on holiday for October half term for a few years and were keen to remedy that so we could enjoy the autumn in all its glory.  Ironically our destination was the same as the last time we went away at this time of year - to Eco-Gites of Lenault in Normandy, just a short distance away from the city of Caen in Calvados. 

Sunken Lane

Despite the fact that this was our third holiday to the gite the one thing we had never really done was gone for a proper walk in the local area and now the children are older we were very keen to put that right.  It was the sort of day that couldn't really make its mind up; with sunshine and cloud in equal measure, but we decided that we could still enjoy the autumn colours whether the sun was shining or not. 

Nature Taking Over

Rosie and Simon from next door kindly supplied the walk leaflet that was handily in English.  We decided upon the one from the pack that we could start from the gite so as not to have to drive.  In order to help out a bit we also took their dog with us, the first time we have ever had a canine companion on one of these blogged walks.  At the back of the grounds of La Causserie (the whole building of the gite and owner's residence next door) we turned left into one of the sunken lanes that the walk is named after.  These pathways I imagine have been here for centuries, allowing access between the small farms in this very rural part of Normandy.  This particular lane seems rather insulated from its surroundings, such was the enclosed nature of it.  There were still blackberries and rosehips fruiting in the hedgerow although the former were surely rather insipid and not worth picking.  The late ones seem to have no flavour - maybe the sun helps them develop that?

Onward

Beyond the hedge we could see some maize crops that had not yet been gathered in but otherwise the countryside was ready for the winter as far as crops were concerned.  More of the landscape was pasture and occasionally we saw a field with cows in them.  Dairy farming is more common in Normandy and much of the fresh produce goes into making delicious creamy cheeses (Camembert originates from not far from here).

Autumn Colour

Our path crossed a road and the track kept going in almost a straight line between fields.  Occasionally we got some brilliant views across the surrounding countryside and sometimes we were hemmed in by bushes and trees.  Whichever it was we felt like we had the whole countryside to ourselves as we saw barely anybody about.  Eventually we came to a road but even then our progress was unhindered and we continued onward through an ever narrower lane that became even more enclosed by hedgerows either side. 

Threatening Clouds

Eventually we came to another road and turned left to head towards the small village of Lenault.  By now the sunshine had disappeared entirely and the clouds looked rather threatening for a while.  Our walk along the road was interrupted only once by a car which was a relief.  On the way to the village we passed by a large crucifixion - these are very common in France, especially by road junctions.  This particular one looks well cared for and impressively big.  I am not sure if this is a common style but the cross seemed to be made of concrete and yet was styled to look like a tree?

Croix

A little further on and we came to the village itself.  Even by French standards Lenault is very small, with only a small collection of houses and yet it boasts a church and Mairie (what we might refer to as a village hall).  There wasn't any sign of life in the village as we passed through but the sun put in a welcome appearance just as we passed by the church.  This little 16th century church appears to have come through the World Wars unscathed - in fact I am not even sure the armies much bothered with this little corner of Calvados - there isn't really enough here to fight over.  We didn't look inside the church; partly on account of the dog with us and partly because we weren't sure whether it was the done thing to do this in France?

Lenault Church

Once through the village we headed down the most sunken lane of the whole walk - it felt like a tunnel for most of the way down to teh property of Le Hamel.  Here we were greeted by a lot of barking dogs and a fairly dirty look from the owner who clearly did not want his peace disturbed.  We didn't hang around though continuing quickly past this spot as we didn't want the dogs barking for any longer than was necessary.

St Jean-Le-Blanc Spire

As we wandered on views across the area opened up once again and over to our right we could see the distinctive spire of St Jean-Le-Blanc church across the tops of the bown and gold trees of the woods between our position and the village.  The delights of the views didn't last long though as we plunged down into a small valley with a very wet path caused by what looked like a small stream running down the middle.  As we descended down into what felt like a gully a large herd of cows came galloping across the adjacent field to check us out.  When they arrived they seemed friendly enough but I couldn't help wondering what on earth they thought they would find when they arrived?

GR221

We reached the small collection of houses called La Saulnerie and took the most delightful lane southwards.  Although bound by trees with little view out the path was particularly attractive and wide enough to suggest that it was once more of a main route than some we had used.  It now hosts the route of the GR221; a long distance path that links Coutances on the coast of the Coentin peninsula with Pont D'Ouilly in the Suisse Normande crossing some of the finest countryside Normandy has to offer.

Almost Back

Eventually we reached the road that we had crossed further north in Lenault and almost double backed on ourselves to reach a small valley.  From here it was back on to our original sunken track back up hill to La Causserie and a welcome cup of tea.  This five mile walk was enough for the girls but by the time we got back the sun was shining quite strongly and I felt like I had only just got going so after a short break I headed out to explore some more.  I think if we are to come back to this place again we may just focus on walking next time.  The countryside is delightful and we were glad that we had some walks that we could take."

Thank you, Paul, for this blog post and we look forward to you coming back so you can do some more of the local routes - there really are so many.  Why don't you come and have a walking holiday in Normandy too?

Eco-Gites of Lenault - Normandy - France

Silent Sunday - November 15th 2015

8 reasons to visit Normandy in Winter

I may have said this before but a holiday is not just for summer.  Winter breaks, and I am not talking skiing, can be just as fun and give you a real boost in the darker time of year.  If you are wondering where to go, then might I suggest Normandy?  Come and stay in our gite - Eco-Gites of Lenault.

8 Reasons to Visit Normandy in Winter

Winter walks

Wrap up warm, done your wellies or walking boots and head out for a winter walk.  A huge network of paths start right from the gite's back gate taking you through stunning countryside whatever the season.  With no leaves on the trees the wildlife can be easier to spot and you may be lucky to catch sight of red squirrels, deer, hares as well as birds a plenty.

Eco-Gites of Lenault is also only an hour from the beach if you fancy a seaside stroll to blow away the cobwebs ... maybe you'd even be as brave as the boys and go for a winter dip.  Would you?

Less crowded tourist sites

Many of Normandy's main tourist sites are open virtually all year including Mont St Michel, The Bayeux Tapestry, Falaise Castle (closed Jan) and towns such as Honfleur, Deauville and Caen will all be much quieter with fewer tourists around.  I have been to the Tapestry in Bayeux in summer when I queued for a hour to get in and was pushed round at quite a speed by the crowds and then in winter when I walked straight in and could admire the Tapestry at my leisure.  I know which visit I preferred.

Do always check opening times, though, as a few places close for winter maintenance and many have shorter opening hours.

Shopping

Why not visit Normandy for a pre-Christmas break and stock up on French Christmas presents?  You will find delightful markets where you can buy from local artisans and in towns the shops windows are beautifully decorated.  You could take home local cider or Calvados, French cheeses to adorn your festive cheese board and any number of other local food delicacies.

 
After Christmas you have the winter sales (soldes d’hiver).  In France shops are legally obliged to runs sales from a specific dates starting in January for 6 weeks.  You'll find some fabulous bargains with much stock reduced by 30-50% and often as much as 70%.  Stores are not allowed to bring specific stock on for the sales and so the reductions will be on merchandise that was already for sale in the preceding weeks/months.  It really can be a fabulous tome to pick up some fantastic bargains on everything from clothes to DIY supplies.

Food

Just because it is winter most restaurants* will still be open and you will have no difficulties getting a reservation at your favourite.  You can also treat yourself a typically French January dessert of a galette des rois.  Traditionally this desert is served on January 6th but it is available to buy all through January and consists of a double payer of buttery puff pastry with a almond paste sandwiched between the two.  

The reason it is even more special is on account of the small fève hidden inside.  A fève is a broad bean seed which used to be hidden in the galette but has been replaced by a small figurine nestled in the paste.  Who-ever gets the slice with the fève inside becomes King or Queen for the day and gets to wear the crown that is always supplied with the galette.  Whilst all supermarkets sell these desserts I would recommend paying a bit more and getting one from a local bakery as the quality will be infinitely better.  Our local bakers in the next village (Aux Delices De Saint Pierre) has recently come under new management and their bread and cakes are superb.  I know where I will be buying my galettes des rois this January coming!  Oh and if you are not keen on almonds most places also sell fruit versions.

*Our local pizzeria in Lenault (yes, we now have a pizzeria in the village called La Table des 2Ifs) is not open in the winter but book yourself a trip here from April onwards and it will be for Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime pizzas.

Events

Normandy does not close down for winter and there are still lots of events, exhibitions and festivals taking place.   How about an evening tour of the villages and town taking part in the Christmas illuminations or The Granville Festival in February?  Many towns like Falaise also have pre-Christmas firework displays.

Cheaper Travel

If you are travelling to France from the UK then ferry and train prices will be less than in peak summer period.  Don't forget that we have a code to give you up to 20% off with Brittany Ferries and if you are bring a dog then some of their ferries into Le Havre have dog friendly cabins.  The roads will also be very quiet so you will have no queues going through the tolls. 

Warming wood burner

With night falling early and after your walk, you have the perfect excuse to curl up in front of the wood burner with your favourite drink.  You can watch a film, play a board game, read a good book (or a really trashy one!) and totally relax .... remember too that with the hour difference between France and the UK if you are used to it falling dark at 4pm, here in Normandy that won't happen until 5pm so you can make that walk a bit longer if you want.

Lambs

Our sheep are due to give birth in late winter and who can resist seeing adorable lambs when on holiday?

If you want to take advantage of a trip to Normandy in Winter, Eco-Gites of Lenault is open all year to warmly welcome guests.  A week will set you back just £360 which for 5 people works out at only £10 per person per night.   For couples we also offer a discount of 15% if only 2 people stay (which can include an infant under 12 months).

Please click here to visit our website or send us an email for more information by clicking here.