We want to share some of our love and enthusiasm for our corner of Normandy, deep in the Pays'd'Auge....famed for pretty timber framed houses, cider orchards, speckled cows, glistening streams winding through gentle green valleys, and the spirit distilled from this terroir which epitomises it all: Calvados Apple Brandy.
The view from our meadow, in the general direction of La Folletière-Abenon.
Our corner is a small hamlet called Le Chatel, which belongs to the village and commune of La Folletière-Abenon, which itself is a few kilometers of quiet lane away from the small market town of Orbec. Orbec is in the south east corner of the department of Calvados.
We bought our house there 6 years ago. It had been more than ten years before that when we first thought about buying a house in France.,,...finances and family commitments didn't permit more than dreaming at first. But we kept on reading magazines and enjoying holidays in the name of research. We came to the conclusion that the more southerly regions of France were nice for lazy summer holidays; but Normandy's proximity and milder climate and the freshness of its countryside....plus its coastline because we love the seaside.....would suit us better in the long run. In many ways it puts us in mind of the England we think we remember as children.
So, we sold our stone cottage...pretty but woefully hemmed-in with a tiny garden ....in Ipstones, on the southern edge of the Peak District in North Staffordshire. From the proceeds we bought a standard thirties semi in a quiet road in the nearby town of Cheadle....nice and convenient and inoffensive while our son finished his education and we made the transition. With the remainder we hopped on the ferry and looked for a place in the sunshine and showers of Normandy. The cottage we bought was the third one we saw and we knew it was right for us. We also knew that it would have been totally impossible for us to own a timber framed house with an acre of land in England. All the things we'd always wanted to try....growing vegetables, planting an orchard, perhaps building a swimming pool, even stringing a hammock between our own mature trees. The possibilities were endless. It wouldn't just be a home it would be a springboard that would enable all our creative ideas and plans to get off the ground for once.
It has lived up to all those expectations and given us so much and we'd like to share some of what we discover about life in this lovely part of France, about our home and getting the most out of it, and about ourselves.
( Note: All content on our site...photos, pictures and text...is original and not taken from any other source.)
Pete and Jan Mozelewski.