Le Manoir de Kerledan, a luxury French B&B

When I showed you pictures of Brittany yesterday, I promised to tell you about a wonderful place to stay.

Le Manoir de Kerledan is more than just a beautiful stop over, it is also the story of how a  talented couple embarked upon a huge and daunting project to create this haven of peace and beauty.

Today Kerledan is all about sweeping gravel drives, manicured gardens, sumptuous bedrooms and fine dining, but when Penny and Peter first found the property it looked .......

more like this .......

and today's beautiful façade looked like this!

It took them years of clearing rubble and bulldozing land to create the picture perfect home and gardens that they own today.

The garden has been created around 'rooms' of colour with hornbeam hedges, a potager, a topiary garden, a croquet lawn and a rose garden, as well as the parkland and walnut garden.  Central to the planting scheme, this rather wonderful wild boar presides, keeping an eye on the perfectly trimmed alleys and lawn.

Indoors, Penny and Peter have created an exceptionally elegant home.  Peter served for many years in the British army, and Penny learnt from their 13 moves how to single handedly furnish and decorate each new home.   They have two children who came to Kerledan with them and who were part of the renovation project, and who today are starting out on their own exciting lives.

The kitchen plays a central role as Penny prepares wonderful dining for their guests.

Guests to Kerledan are welcomed with open fires,

and stunning bedrooms furnished with French antiques and fine linens

Downstairs there is place to relax before dinner, or read the paper after breakfast

or maybe stroll back outside to check on the boar!

 Le Manoir de Kerledan is situated in cenral Brittany and provides a fantastic base for visiting the region.  If you'd like to know more about staying there, just drop Penny a mail, and she'll  give you the details.

all photos thanks to le manoir de kerledan, you ca also visit kerledan on facebook

a French day out

One of my favourite towns in Normandy is Lyons La Forêt.  Surrounded by beautiful green countryside and forest, the town centre is small and unspoilt.

A great place to drive to for lunch, a little brocante shopping.  A place to wander and soak in the atmosphere.

My favourite spot for lunch?  In the winter the Grand Cerf Hotel

and in the summer, the garden of La Licorne

after lunch a little brocante shopping

and some goodies from the farm shop

My idea of a happy day!

playtime in France

How many hours can be whiled away with a game of boules or petanque?  Played by all generations in every corner of France, taken seriously, played for fun, it rarely fails to please.

Of course it helps if you can play on a perfect boules ground with the finest sand and gravel, surrounded by stone walls, ivy and the sound of cigales, but failing that a regular gravel drive works well too.  We have had memorable boules evenings here, with teams, trophies, champagne and a lot of loud French discussion over winning points.

If you've never played,  you may enjoy this light hearted extract from Le Gendarme de St Tropez.





It helps to have a minimum ability to aim, and if you get to a good level you can start flourishing your arms and using key phrases such "je pointe ou je tire?"  ("do I roll up to it, or do I shoot it out of the picture?").

Whichever way you play, whatever your style, it is a simple game needing a minimum of inexpensive equipment that guarantees an instant French moment !!

Vive la pétanque!

French summer in Deauville

  Deauville is one of the great seaside resorts of France.  

Made especially chic by it's proximity to Paris,

it's elegant shopping,  summer polo and its Casino.  

But what I love the most are it's 

coloured parasol tents on the sandy beach.

Don't forget tomorrow is the last day to enter my giveaway if you haven't already done so -

a great grain sack is up for grabs!!

happy camping

I'm not what you'd call a happy camper.  Generally speaking if you show me a tent and a sleeping bag I will turn tail and check into the nearest hotel.  In fact the only time I have ever really savoured camping was in a tented lodge in the middle of a Nepalese jungle, where my bed was turned down for me each evening, cocktails were served early and we showered with ladles of hot water ... but that is another story...

Here however is a camp in France that might have changed my mind, especially had we found it when our children were young.  Le Camping des Ormes is in the pretty Lot et Garonne region and has been created by a Dutch couple.

Relaxed living combines with fun for the children, elegance for the parents and good food for all.  Plenty of space to run around,  fishing rods on loan, a nearby farmer's market. 

What do you think?  Could you fit in here?