The House

The house is in a great location-being in quiet countryside, yet also only 2 kms from the local town of Sourdeval. It's easily accessible-close to main roads, and all facilities including local schools. We have stunning views from all sides-we can see across to Sourdeval, and also towards the forest. We have a fast broadband connection and also the choice of free water via the local water source, or mains water from the town (which isn't free!)...

The property also backs onto the local 'voie verte' (see separate blog entry), and has enough land (total 9,075 m2 surrounding the properties) for self-sufficiency, or horse grazing. There are a total of 5 outbuildings plus a further detached garage. Planning consent obtained to turn one of the buildings into two self-contained houses/gites.

The house is South-facing with a large utility room at the rear. There are adjoining attics which would provide easy scope for further extension. The house is presently for sale with a couple of local estate agents-we also have it available for private sale so please leave a comment if you would like me to contact you with further details.

The Kitchen (before renovation)

Hmmm...it was always going to take a fair bit of work to turn this into the lovely kitchen we both had in our minds (see next entry). Previously, it seemed most of the cooking had been done on an open fire in the large granite fireplace, so you also have to imagine the smell of old wood smoke...we actually left this room for a little while whilst we had a 'summer kitchen' in the utility room-which gave a chance to really consider the planning...

The Kitchen (after renovation)

The kitchen has been restored to a professional, modern standard-eg there's a total of 17 sockets. This is a lovely light family style room-bright and airy in summer and cosy in the winter. The woodburner/boiler makes a centrepiece here. As well as the dining table, there's also room for a small settee. We relocated the sink so that it looks out across the drive and towards Sourdeval. We kept the alcoves on either side of the hearth-they've been lined, shelved, and illuminated, and are great for storage and display. There are plenty of cupboards and drawers-which are also complemented by the walk-in larder in the hall.

The hallway (before renovation)

actually, these pics were taken after we'd removed the first lot of heavy plastic-y wallpaper which was concealing yet more yucky stuff. We had to take down the ceilings because they also (it turned out) contained pretty yucky stuff, too. Lovely! But never mind-because this gave a chance to put in some insulation, and conceal some wiring and plumbing. There is no cloud without a lining...The original flooring (the small tiles-some of the local shops are tiled with identical ones) turned out to be literally as slippery as ice if they were even slightly damp. We've replaced them with heavy duty large non-slip tiles throughout the kitchen and hallway area.

The Hallway (after renovation)

well-the cat loves sitting on the bench in the hall now, keeping an eye on the world (as he sees it). There are two cupboards under the stairs which I use for cleaning items. Not shown in these photos is the walk-in larder which also has a tiled floor and, being on the back, north-facing part of the house, is a lovely cool area to store provisions. The shelves (on your right as you come in through the back door) were fitted by Martin.

The Heating System

Our central heating is powered by this wonderful fire (a Coalbrookdale Darby) which has a back boiler to heat the water-which is then circulated via a small electric pump round a total of 7 radiators situated throughout the house. It's a poweful system easily capable of heating more radiators if required and either coal or wood can be used as fuel. There's a certain amount of work involved in cutting and carrying the wood etc, and tending to the fire, but I can honestly say that during the winter, once this fire is going, we have the cosiest and warmest house I've ever visited in Normandy. For convenience, we also have thermostatic electric heaters fitted in the bedrooms and bathroom. Our hot water is heated via an immersion tank (a 'ballon'), situated in the attic-this is wired up so that it automatically heats the water overnight, taking advantage of the low overnight electricity tariff here in France.

The Surrounding Area

The house itself is located in a quiet countryside setting, yet also within easy access of all local facilities. This part of Normandy is very popular with tourists-Mortain with it's history and waterfalls is only about 10 km away, and Mont St Michel only about 50 km away. Our nearest town, Sourdeval, can seem quiet during the week-yet it becomes very lively at weekends, market days, and at holiday times. Information on events in Sourdeval can be found at
www.Sourdeval.fr
From the house, Sourdeval is only a 2km drive-or a 25 minute walk away.
Sourdeval has a good mixture of shops, small supermarkets, a small cinema and town hall, and good schools.
Caen, with it's ferry port at Ouistreham is only 1.5 hrs drive away, and it's also only just over an hour's drive to the seaside and elegance of towns along the coast like Granville.

Sourdeval's town band turns out for all the regular festivals such as the town's annual flower festival when floats covered in paper flowers go through the town, and are then illuminated for the evening, and followed by a firework display.