| About the Area |
| The Village The gite lies in the hamlet of La Serriere, which has only 16 houses and is in a cul de sac - no through traffic ! The village has a small dairy farm, about 80 yards from the house, and is surrounded by fields and woods - 'bocage' country. There are walks from the house. The nearest village with facilites is La Sauvagere, which is less than one mile away. It has a boulangerie, bar tabac, cafe/restaurant , post office and butcher. It also has tennis courts. The Countryside The gite lies in the Normandy Maine Regional Park, and is notable for its forests and bocage countryside - small fields, woods, hedgerows and orchards. Less than three miles from the house is the enormous Forest d'Andaines, which stretches for over ten miles and is full of wildlife including red squirrels and red deer. There are miles of walks and forest tracks, ideal for cycling. The nearby Orne and Mayenne rivers provide plenty of fishing and canoeing opportunities. Local Towns The nearest towns are Briouze, La Ferte Mace and Bagnoles de l'Orne. Briouze (8 kms) is a small typical Norman town with a reasonable range of shops, lively market on Mondays and a mainline rail service to Paris. La Ferte Mace (5kms) is the main local town with a wide range of shops and hypermarket. It has a large market on Thursdays, including a special fish market beneath the town hall. The town has a leisure complex on the nearby lake with beaches, sailing and pedalos, fishing, golf and walks. Bagnoles (8kms) is the main tourist town with specialist shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes, cinema, casino and a weekly market. It is best known for its health spas. The town has excellent sports facilities including a heated lido and tennis courts, both indoor and outdoor, and nine hole golf course. There is now a treetop adventure circuit in Bagnoles de l'Orne with slides and zip wires. Domfront (20kms) is a medieval town perched on a rock outcrop. It boasts the remains of a castle frequented by Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and a eleventh century romanesque chapel favoured by St.Thomas a Becket during his exile in France. There are heated indoor pools at La Ferte Mace, Flers (20 minutes drive) and Alencon (40 minutes drive), both have outdoor pools in the summer. Flers also has ten pin bowling next to the swimmming pool. |
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| La Sauvagere Church |
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| La Ferte Mace Lake and Beach |
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| Bagnoles Casino and Lake |
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