This is part of the decorative map we had fun designing when we first bought the house. It's quite large and hangs in a big gold frame in the living room. It centres on the area known as the Pays d'Auge which, literally translated, means 'Land of the trough' in reference to the gentle trough-shaped valleys of the area. The map also includes the flatter land of the Caen plain to the west of the river Dives, and the wooded valley of the Seine to the East.

Though never intended to be either comprehensive or topographically accurate, nevertheless the map does illustrate the focus of the area: its rivers and its coast. The area between the Dives andTouques and its tributaries has a character all its own.

At first glance, it may seem strange that we drew a map in which Le Chatel itself was not in the centre but near the bottom edge. However, the village of La Folletière, of which Le Chatel is a hamlet, is very much Of the Pays d'Auge.....especially so as it is actually the source of one of its most important rivers.

 

A Day at The Races.

Beside the Sea-Side.

The Bustle of Market Day.

Golf.

Honfleur....a must-see.