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|  |  | | <More photos> | | CONTACT INFORMATION | BOOKING DETAILS | |
RESTRICTIONS:
No smoking or pets
RATES:
rooms 49 to 79 Euros for two people, breakfast included. Evening meal (optional) from 25 to 40 Euros.
PAYMENTS ACCEPTED:
Cash
Paypal; Sterling cheques on U.K. banks; Euro cheques on French banks;
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| | CITY DETAILS | | |
REGION:
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Lower Normandy | |
CLOSEST LARGE CITY:
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Caen | |
CLOSEST AIRPORT:
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Caen and Dinard | |
ACTIVITIES:
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On site: painting, mosaic, digital photography, digital arts, Japanese maples. Nearby: golf, canoeing, riding in forest of St.Sever, cycling, fishing. | |
TOURIST SITES:
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D-Day Landing beaches and cemeteries; Le Mont St. Michel; Bayeux tapestry; City of Caen with wonderful medieval churches and Memorial Museum of WWII |
| | ACCOMMODATION DETAILS | | |
INN SETTING:
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Secluded gardens in the heart of the countryside | |
LANGUAGES:
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English; French | |
AMENITIES:
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Guest lounge/dining room with traditional Norman granite fireplace, comfortable sofas and TV, with DVD and HI FI. The house and gardens are decorated with art objects from all over the world, including paintings and prints by the artists/owners. Music room and library with modern piano, sheet music; extensive collection of films, music and books (fiction and non-fiction, especially books on gardening and fine and applied arts). Two bicycles (lady's and gent's) for guest use; large garden with plentiful seats (in sun & shade) to relax and many sculptures, mosaics and reliefs to discover. | |
GUESTROOMS:
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Newly decorated en suite rooms with TV , DVD and HI-Fi , tea/coffee making facilities; towels, shampoos and hair-drier provided. | |
MEAL TYPE:
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Continental breakfast included; English breakfast available; lunch; afternoon teas inside or on terrace/garden; 3 and 5 course evening meals with aperative, wines and coffee. | |
MEAL TIME:
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Breakfast: 8.00-10.00; evening meal: by arrangement | |
MEAL LOCATION:
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Guest dining room; coffee, teas and afternoon teas can be served in the garden. | |
REASONS TO VISIT:
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Extensive, beautiful gardens to explore; D-Day landing beaches, Le Mont St. Michel, Bayeux tapestry and Caen all within an hours drive. |
| | DESCRIPTION | |
Arts in the Garden is set in beautiful gardens of one acre, on the border of the Manche/Calvados regions of Normandy, an ideal location for visiting the major tourist attractions of the area. The house and gardens are decorated with art objects from all over the world, including paintings and prints by the artists/owners.
More than 18 years in the making, the gardens offers the visitor an abundance of surprises, combining traditional features of English garden design with others, more personal and eccentric; winding paths opening unexpectedly into long vistas framing a statue or a birdbath; paved areas using natural local stone set in mosaic patterns; box bushes shaped into globes, cubes and cones; nooks and crannies and secret places where the curious eye can discover a mosaic, a sculpture or a bas relief (please see our own web site for illustrations). In addition to a wide range of trees and flowering shrubs (tulip tree, walnut, cedars, magnolia, pine, monkey puzzles, laburnums, rhododendrons, azaleas, etc.), more than a hundred Japanese maples dominate the Spring and Autumn with their blazing pinks, reds and yellows; those planted in open ground are now growing to maturity; others, confined to pots, are acquiring the intricacy and refinement of bonsai. A number of comfortable benches, set both in sunny and shady corners, offer ideal opportunity to relax with a good book, or enjoy the tranquility of this secluded garden and the profusion of wild birds which have made it their home, perhaps with a glimpse of our red squirrels, owls and (rather less welcome!) our visiting rabbits. Coffees, teas and afternoon cream teas can be served on the terrace of in the garden, to add to your enjoyment. In fact, good food is the essence of country life as you’ll experience it here. We offer an evening meal with excellent choice of top quality home-cooked dishes. Food is fresh, locally produced by the farmers and fishermen for which Normandy is famous, with many fruit and vegetables organically produced in our own poly tunnel and harvested the day of consumption. We welcome visitors with special dietary needs, vegetarian, vegan, etc.
Enjoy a unique B & B experience, or extend your stay and enjoy some of the creative activities on offer in our Residential Courses and Seminars: painting, mosaic, Japanese Maples, digital photography, etc.
We are fortunate to have within easy reach three of the most visited sites in France,
drawing visitors from all over the world. Firstly, the D-Day Landing beaches, site of the Invasion of Normandy in 1944, with the Peace Memorial Museum at Caen and the immaculately tended cemeteries commemorating the US, Canadian, British and German service personnel who lost their lives in the crucial battles of World War II.
Secondly, the extraordinary memoir of an earlier European war: the Bayeux tapestry describes in graphic detail the most famous date in English history: 1066 and the invasion of England by William the Conqueror. 70 metres in length, and 50 centimetres in height, it tells in 58 scenes the story of the events leading up to the battle of Hastings, with the death of King Harold on the field of battle. It is housed in its own museum in the city of Bayeux, which is well worth visiting for its own sake. Equally unique is the island monastery of Le Mont St. Michel, with the winding streets of its medieval village culminating in a beautiful monastery, bathed in extraordinary light and with stunning views over the surrounding estuary.
Other places of interest nearby include
Caen: gateway to France for many English visitors using its ferry port each year, this, the city of William the Conqueror, fell to an earlier English invasion as long ago as 1346, when only the Chateau held out! Though it suffered badly in the Battle for Caen in 1944, the city boasts wonderful churches, most notably the Abbaye aux Hommes (with William's tomb); the Chateau (built by William); a beautiful Botanic Garden; a Museum of Fine Arts with a good permanent collection; the Memorial (the Museum telling the story of the Battle of Normandy); and as befits a university town, a profusion of cafes, bars and restaurants.
Granville: a picturesque fishing port and holiday town full of good fish restaurants, with Christian Dior cliff top museum and gardens..
Villedieu-Les-Poeles: 'poêle' means stove, and this popular tourist destination, with its granite houses and narrow hilly streets, is famous for its bell foundry, museum and its colourful local market on Tuesday mornings.
Saint-Sever: open-air heated swimming pool in summer; forest walks with horse riding and Animal Park.
Vire: market on Friday mornings. Nearby is the Lac du Dathé, with water sports and an excellent golf course.
Pont Farcy: tennis and canoeing on the river, and excellent walks through the Gorges of the River Vire...
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