House Views II

Gites de Caroline, in Aumale, the house of 'shutters'

A former 'B & B' up for sale where authors stay

This is the second blog called ‘House views II’, about house hunting in Normandy and the surrounding areas, following on from our visit to Forge-Les-Eaux in the previous blog 'House Views I' in Haute Normandie where we were priced out of the market by wealthy second home Parisians. Our search continued in the Seine-Maritime, resumeing in the Pays de Caux, and Cote d'Albatre plateau of underlying chalk stretching from the white cliffs which run up from Dieppe through to Etretat, Fecamp and beyond to Le Havre. Fecamp is reasonably priced for houses and fits our budget while Etretat is prohibitively expensive, as it is a resort packed with Parisians who meet in the summer months rubbing shoulders with equally wealthy Britons. The chalk cliffs are part of the same band of rocks that dip under the sea and join with the White Cliffs of Dover, unique for its geology and marine life. The first attempt to dig a tunnel to link France and England was in 1833, the Eurotunnel was completed in 1994, where Le Shuttle now goes back and forth. We made our journey from Calais under two hours away.

Salon de Livre Aumale where you can meet over 80 of France's top authors

As we live on the south coast our search is in the countryside, a bolt hole with a pastoral feel as good contrast and change to the usual scenery we are used to (winter gales by the sea and tourists thronging to the beaches). There are remarkable towns, little towns such as Aumale, with unique character in its close boarded houses and pollarded main street. We set our sights on a close boarded house which was a former B 'n B known as le Gite de Caroline, up for sale for a very reasonable price of 138,000 euros. The house was built in the mid-1700s with Baroque style dormers, a small sunny garden at the back which wouldn't be too much work and the town centre only a short walk away. Aumale is situated about 1 hour 30 drive northeast of Le Havre, the ferry port for Brittany Ferries . Aumale is a pretty town famous for its annual book fair where up to 80 authors congregate each year; le Gite de Caroline has accommodated some famous authors. The journey time is ideal, the house ideal, but we had to sadly say ‘no’ to the purchase after viewing as the town was slightly rundown, the weather boarded houses and shops, a little unloved, needing a lick of paint, and the house was without an adequate parking lot. The weather boarded walls at the back the house needed an expert surveyor, as we were not sure what building nightmares could lie hidden behind the cladding. The twenty odd shutters also needed to be replaced and there was no double glazing.

Beaumont-Le-Roget one of the best turned out town in Normandy

The next towns on our list were Beaumont Le Roger, Conches-en-Ouches, Mortagne-au-Perche, Mele Sur Sarthe and finally Domfront-en-Poiraie. These are all smallish towns placed not more than half an hour from a station, with amenities such as swimming pools, cottage hospitals and a range of services including fast broadband but not always a cinema or a theatre or an indoor pool. A town with every conceivable amenity would be too pricey in most parts of France. Our requirements are specific. The towns shouldn't be full of English and fewer tourists, provide walks, cool woodlands, and most importantly be part of the network of cycle paths and walkways Chemins Verts or Greenways mostly made from former railway lines. The politicians axed as many if not more than Beeching in the 60's in Britian. While a supermarket is an added bonus, they all must have a good variety of independent shops, bars, cafes, and restaurants.

Art Deco house for sale in Beaumont-Le-Roger

Beaumont-Le Roger is located in an adjacent department to Seine-Maritime, the department of l’Eure. The town seemed to be the cleanest and tidiest town visited so far in France with a Mayor who is taking the town to greater heights with the events laid on for the commune. The community takes great pride in the historic town, with its pretty little park next to the town hall, a grand church, the ruins of a priory, woodlands and walks. The medieval church and priory are home to a fête médiévale normally held in June. The weekend is free and includes jousting tournaments, wear armour and a chance to sample 12-13th Century food. Listen to the interview with the mayoress about Beaumont's medieval event in French, from Radio Sensations.normandie, don't forget to use the subtitles to help with the language.

The shop owners take pride in their show window displays, attractive family owned shops, the butcher and the greengrocer, are impeccable in their displays, the charcuterie, or delicatessen produces its wares on the premises is well worth a purchase. The house our list illustrated above is an Art Deco House we had seen advertised on Century 21, however, even though it seemed to be in fairly good order the unique architect-designed house had a flat roof, needed a substantial amount of work, the garden was small in relation to the size of the house.

Permission to use video kindly given by FX Normandie

Every June the lorries come to display their truck art

Each spring usually in May there is an ‘exposition des camions’ an event where cabs come and display their Truck Art, incongruously parked in the medieval town square, this draws spectators from all over France, see the Facebook video or click on the link above.

The independent shops in Beaumont are a delight with

carefully arranged displays, here is the charcuterie.

Our search for a get away continues, Beaumont-Le-Roger is a town where archery is high on the agenda, tournaments are held and the club has displays at the medieval fair, the priory has links with Oxford, and the locals enjoy their walking or 'randonnees’ (hiking). This town remains firmly on our list.

In the 'House Views' series of blogs, the next blog will be about our visit to Conches-en-ouches, and subsequently our Ferry Escapades to Mortagne-au-Perche and Mele-Sur-Sarthe.