Eco-Gites of Lénault, holiday cottage in Normandy, France

11/08/2024

Wild flowers seen on my walks in July

I wasn't sure how many new species I would see in July but the answer is ... more than I expected and more than in June.

Total number of new species seen in June - 47
Total number of species seen so far in 2024 - 253

New wildflower species seen in June:

Hedge Bindweed
Perennial Sowthistle
Common Ragwort
Bristly Oxtongue
Wild Carrot
Wild privet
Wild Basil
Betony
Agrimony
Fig Leaved Goosefoot
Wood sage
Great Willowherb
Yellow Pimpernel
Water mint
Marsh Woundwort
Enchanter's Nightshade
Wild Angelica
Gipsywort
Monkshood
Nettle Leaved Bellflower
Lesser Spearwort
Watercress
Greater Plantain
Rosebay Willowherb
Field Bindweed
Orpine
Goldernrod
Yellow loosestrife
Creeping Jenny
Water-pepper
Hemlock
Black Nightshade
Slender St John's Wort
Lesser Burdock
Fat hen
Smooth Tare
Many seeded Goosefoot
Autumn Hawkbit
Chicory
Tansy
Evening Primrose
Black bindweed
Marsh Woundwort
Annual Fleabane
Reflexed Stonecrop
Hedge Parsley
Mugwort
Hemp-nettle

03/07/2024

Wild flowers seen on my walks in June

I am still clocking up new species including more I had never seen before but as the roadside/path verges have been strimmed and meadows cut for hay that has reduced the overall number of wild flowers a bit. But it also means there will a second flush of many to come.

Total number of new species seen in June - 45
Total number of species seen so far in 2024 - 209

New wildflower species seen in June:

Small Scabious
Marsh Thistle
Dame's-violet
Common Bistort
Alkanet
Hemlock Water-dropwort
Broad-leaved Willowherb
Cornflower
Water Forget me Not
Ragged Robin
Welted Thistle
Common Valerian
Field Rose
Self-heal
Redshank
Marsh Cudweed
Knotgrass
Dark Mullein
Perforate St John's-wort
Smooth Hawksbeard
Goat's-beard
Alsike clover
Fool's Watercress
Lesser Trefoil
Himalayan Balsam
Field Scabious
Sheep's Bit
Corn Spurrey
Spear Thistle
Wild Onion
Spear-leaved Willowherb
Imperforate Saint John's wort
Unidentified umbellifer
Field Thiste
Broad-leaved willowherb
Long stalked cranesbill
Hawkweed - not sure which one
Musk Mallow
Tufted Vetch
Yarrow
March Valerian
* Bastard Cabbage
* Sainfoin
* Bedstraw Broomrape
* Wild Radish
* Pyramid or Common Spotted Orchid (seen from a distance)

The species marked with an asterisk were seen at The British Normandy Memorial Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer.

29/06/2024

I've really enjoy listening to podcasts and there are 2 on D-day I particularly like. The first is D-Day: The Tides Turns which is out now and there are new episodes every Thursday. The second is part of a podcast called Wars that Shaped the World and the first 4 are all about D-day.
I'll add links to both in the comments.

D-Day Interesting Facts:

The 5 beaches are called Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah and Omaha. The first 3 were in the Canadian and British sectors and were named after types of fish: Goldfish, Swordfish and Jellyfish, abbreviated to Gold, Sword and Jelly. However the name Juno replaced Jelly because Churchill considered the abbreviation to Jelly was inappropriate.

The D-Day beaches cover 70kms of coast and we are an hour from the nearest, Sword.

15/06/2024

Whilst summer is struggling rather to get going this year we are already thinking about Autumn. That said we do have a few summer dates so please do get in touch if you'd like to fill them (stays of 3 nights or more possible on all remaining summer dates) ... but this post is all about September when we have plenty of availability.

September Highlights:

🕸 Misty mornings
☀️ Warm Days
🔥 Cooler evenings in front of the woodburner
🤽‍♀️ Sea still warm enough to swim in
🍎 Hedgerows full of blackberries, orchards full of apples
🍄 Mushrooms all around and trees starting to change colour
🏰 Quieter tourist attractions
The gite is in a quiet rural location but centrally located to visit all Normandy has to offer. It sleeps 5 in 3 rooms. For more pictures and details about the gite and locality please visit our website and blog:
Website - https://www.eco-gites.eu/
Blog - https://www.eco-gites.eu/blog

06/06/2024

This morning, June 6th 2024, I walked out of our front door to the sounds of birdsong and the gentle mooing of a cow across the valley. And almost overnight the wheat fields around us have become flecked with the red of hundreds of poppies.

Surrounded by peace in this beautiful region it is hard to imagine what was going to befall it 80 years ago. On this date in 1944, 156,000 soldiers from the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. Many lost their lives on that day, many more died in the Battle of Normandy which followed D-Day.

80 years on just a few of the brave men who survived the fighting are still with us. But we must never forget the immense sacrifice all those soldiers gave for us to have our liberty.

We will never forget.

05/06/2024

Over the period from June 4th-8th, as part of the 80th D-Day Commemorations, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is organising a vigil at all their cemeteries across Normandy, adding a lit candle to all 25,000 graves of the soldiers who died on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy. Saint Charles de Percy is the closest Cemetery to the gite and and the most southerly of all those in Normandy and we went to the vigil that was held there last night along with some 200 other people. It was a very moving event and as the light faded the candle on each grave flickered a little brighter, a reminder that these brave men will never be forgotten.



Pays de Vire Tourisme Commonwealth War Graves Commission Normandy, France

01/06/2024

Wild flowers seen on my walks in May

As with last month I was able to clock up a lot new species including some I had never seen before.

Total number of new species seen in May - 52
Total number of species seen so far in 2024 - 163

New wildflower species seen in May:

Ox-Eye Daisy
Annual Mercury
Rough Hawk's-beard
Cat's Ear - either smooth or common
Long-stalk Crane's-bill
Cleavers
Yarrow
Comfrey Russian
Elder
Corn speedwell
Dove's foot Crane's-bill
Zigzag clover
Spindle
Black Medic
Wood Avens
Scarlet pimpernel
Sand spurrey
Dog Rose
Stinging nettle
Ivy leaf Crowfoot
Valerian
False Acacia
Poppy
Sheep's Sorrel
Midland Hawthorn
Common or Dwarf Mallow
Black Knapweed
Black Bryony
Foxglove
Pennywort
Spiked Rampion
Ground Elder
Rowan
Pineappleweed
Nipplewort
Narrow Leaved Bird's Foot Trefoil
Pepperwort - not sure which one
Meadow Vetchling
Heath Speedwell
Heath Milkwort
Climbing Nightshade
Pale Toadflax
Small flowered Hairy Willowherb
Upright Yellow sorrel (Oxalis)
Lesser Stitchwort
Field Scabious
Brooklime
Dogwood
Honeysuckle
Woodland Figwort
Hedge Woundwort
Hedge Bedstraw
White Bryony

25/05/2024

Do you need a digital detox? Maybe you want to escape the football or the run up the UK General Election or you just need to escape to the countryside for a while. Eco-Gites of Lénault, in Normandy, is ideal for such a retreat:

The gite does not have a TV.
There is WiFi but we don't have to give you the code if you don't want it 😉
There is minimal traffic noise as the nearest road is almost 300m away (there is the odd tractor and quad that comes a bit closer).
Kms of footpaths radiate out from our back gate winding through wonderful countryside full of nature - maybe you'll spot a shy deer tiptoeing through the woods or a speedy hare dashing across a meadow.
Songbirds and crickets sing all day whilst owls hoot gently through the night.
With no street lights anywhere near (even the village lights 2kms away are turned off at 10.30pm) you can enjoy the night skies in all their magnificence.

Interested? The gite sleeps 5 in 3 rooms and this is our current 2024 availability:

June 10th-14th
June 24th-July 6th
June 13th-20th
Various dates from September onwards

Prices start from €590/week and shorter breaks are possible.
For more details and pictures please head to our website - https://www.eco-gites.eu/

04/05/2024

I managed to finally get a better (ish) photo of the gite dining area but had to close the curtains as the sunlight was pouring in!

What French/Normandy food would you like to share with friends or family around this table?

01/05/2024

Wild flowers seen on my walks from Eco-Gites of Lénault in April.

I thought March saw a huge increase in wild flowers in bloom but April saw many, many more - more then I was expecting by a long way:

Total number of species seen in 2024 so far - 111
New new species seen in April - 52 (it was 27 new species in March)

List of new wild flower species spotted in April 2024:

Three veined sandwort
Crosswort
Thale Cress
Moused-eared Chickweed
Hawthorn
Garlic Mustard
Creeping Speedwell
Yellow Archangel
Large Bittercress
Buttercup Meadow
Lords and Ladies
Hedgerow Crane's-bill
Cornsalad
Field Woundwort (Stachys)
Comfrey
Wild Strawberry
Lady's Smock
Thyme-leaved Speedwell
Germander Speedwell
Common vetch
Sorrel
Red Clover
Cow Parsley
Small flowered Crane's-bill
Early Forget-me-Not
Honesty
White Campion
Hairy Tare
Greater Celandine
Fool's Parsley
Medium Flowered Wintercress
Hedge Mustard
Smooth Sow Thistle
Sweet Woodruff
Bugle
Horse Chestnut
Hawkbit most likely Rough
Shining Crane's-bill
Wall speedwell
Holly
Little Robin
White Clover
Tormentil
Loucewort
Broad Leaved Marsh Orchid
Bulbous Buttercup
Lesser Spearwort
Bilberry
Dwarf Gorse
Cut Leaved Crane's Bill
? Fumitory probably Common Ramping
? Crane's-bill probably Hedgerow

27/04/2024

The official programme of events for the D-Day Festival has now been published. The main Festival takes place from June 1st to 16th but there are D-Day and Battle of Normandy events taking place across Normandy from now through to the Autumn.

Within the main festival we have June 10th - 14th available and then from June 17th to mid July. So please do get in contact if you want to book Eco-Gites of Lénault this year.

Our website - https://www.eco-gites.eu/

You've been waiting for it for long enough: the full programme for the Normandy D-Day Festival is now available to download on our website:
https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/04/Exe-programme-Dday-Festival-2024.pdf

21/04/2024

Time to share a couple of reviews from our first guess of 2024. The first one is from a family who had been in France for a while and spent 3 days at the gite before taking the ferry back to Ireland. The second was a French family and their dog who came from Paris for 3 days during their half term.

If you are looking for a holiday in Normandy please do check out our availability.
Min stay is 3 nights in low season.
In high season the min stay is 7 nights with a Sat change-ever but in the first 2 weeks of July we can be more flexible with length and start date.

17/04/2024

Driving back home this evening just as night fell I saw a tawny owl on the side of the road, a fox, a hare and best of all .... a wild boar. Only the second I have ever seen in France.
Have you ever seen a wild boar?

15/04/2024

I was going through some of my photo collages for the gite which included some before and after shots and saw that the after shots were very out of date - so I dashed into the gite and took new photos of the kitchen and living room just before guests arrived. Here they are with the corresponding "before" photos.

01/04/2024

Wild flowers seen on my walks from Eco-Gites of Lénault in March.

WOW - March saw such an increase in both flowers numbers and the number of species I saw, undoubtedly helped by a week of fabulous warm spring weather last week.

Total species spotted in March - 56
New species seen - 27
Total species seen in 2024 so far - 59

New Species seen in March:
Anemone
Ivy-leaved speedwell
Hairy Violet
Common Sow Thistle
Ground Ivy
Ribwort Plantain
Winter-Cress
Solomon's Seal
Bluebell
Herb Robert
Wild Gooseberry
Moschatel
Opposite Leaved Golden Saxifrage
Wood Spurge
Common Spotted Orchid
Gean Wild Cherry
Bush vetch
Wild garlic
Common Dog Violet
Butcher's Broom
Common Sorrel
Marsh Marigold
Forget-me-not
Spiny sowthistle
Common Fumitory
Field Madder
Hairy Rockcress
Wild Pansy

31/03/2024

Happy Easter 🐣🐥🐰🎋🪻🌷

We got a late booking a couple of days ago so our first guests of 2024 are arriving today ... and it pushed forward our prep work slightly. We were ready with a bit of time to spare!

25/03/2024

Calvados, as well as being the beautiful green department where we are is also blessed with many watery treats. Here are some figures as supplied by Calvados - Normandie :

💦 120 km of beaches
💦 7 ports
💦 66 ha is the largest lake - lac du Gast
💦 950 ha is the Zone de Protection Spéciale de l’estuaire de l’Orne (a bit like an SSSI in the UK)
💦 69 is the number of rivers over 10 km in length, the longest being the River Orne.

All this gives you plenty of beach fun, a point of entry into Normandy from the UK or Ireland, wonderful walks around lakes, great locations to spot wildlife and paddle or go swimming.

Near to the gite we have various small streams you can investigate as well as larger rivers and lakes, and the coast is just an hour away (through lovely countryside). You can hire boats and kayaks at Clécy and Pont d'Ouilly and we can point you in the direction of great wild swimming locations.

Are you a water baby who loves seeking out water when on holiday?

23/03/2024

I thought I would share with you a few reviews from guests who have stayed at Eco-Gites of Lénault. As you can see we have had guests with many different interests - those with young children who loved the animals and play area, those with teenagers who loved walking and those wanting to discover the sites of D-day and the Battle of Normandy.

A quick reminder for you:
The gite sleeps 5 in 3 rooms
We welcome up to 2 dogs
Located on the edge of Swiss Normandy in Calvados, an hour from Caen ferry port, 7hrs from Amsterdam and 3.5hrs from Paris.
Quiet rural location but with loads to do locally.

For more details please visit our website and blog - https://www.eco-gites.eu/

22/03/2024

If you visit Mont Saint Michel try and leave time to explore some of the area immediately around the Abbey:

🌺 1. The parking area covers 40ha and includes 9ha planted up with plants emblematic of the region.
🍏 2. The Orchard - this contains 144 apple trees of 37 varieties. The grass between them is maintained in a way to increase biodiversity.
💧 3.The barrage gives you a fabulous view of Mont Saint Michel.
🌾 4. The 4000ha salt marsh has plants adapted to being regularly covered in sea water. It is home to sheep and a large number of animal and bird species.
🍀 5. The banks of the River Couesnon have paths you can walk along.
🏠 6. L’anse de Moidrey is a wetland zone classed as a nature reserve because of the large number of species that can be found there.

En toutes saisons, les rivages de la baie du Mont Saint-Michel méritent bien plus qu’un détour pour y découvrir les paysages et la biodiversité 🌿

Ce sont autant de balades et de découvertes pour appréhender la richesse du Mont Saint-Michel dans son ensemble

🌺 1.Les parcs de stationnement sont 40 hectares de terrain largement végétalisés, dont 9 hectares sont des zones humides qui abritent plusieurs espèces emblématiques de la région.

🍏 2.Le verger conservatoire abrite 144 pommiers de 37 variétés différentes (pommes à cidre et à couteau). L’herbe à leur pied fait l’objet de “fauches tardives” pour favoriser la biodiversité.

💧 3.Le barrage, superbe belvédère sur le Mont, dont les 8 énormes vannes se mettent en mouvement toutes les 6h pour capturer l’eau de mer ou bien la relâcher.

🌾 4.Les prés-salés où une végétation adaptée au sel se développe en haut de plage sur 4 000 hectares dans toue la baie.

🍀 5.Les rives du Couesnon, qui permettent de rejoindre le Mont par de nombreux sentiers pédestres, en passant par Beauvoir ou Pontorson.

🏠 6.L’anse de Moidrey, zone humide connectée au Couesnon, classée en réserve et véritable havre de biodiversité.

Bonne balade !

crédits photo 📸 : Fly_HD

Ministère Écologie Territoires
Office de Tourisme Mont Saint-Michel - Normandie
Normandie Tourisme

18/03/2024

It's not too late to book a holiday at Eco-Gites of Lénault this Easter - we have availability up to April 15th plus a rare TWO night stay possible from April 18th. We sleep 5 in 3 rooms and accept up to 2 well behaved dogs.

Normandy is looking fabulous now - the wild flowers are in full bloom and the trees are just stating to come into leaf and blossom. Astra and Zeneca, our pigs, are back out in the field waiting to have a chat with you and our hens are laying so you can come and search for real eggs.

Most tourist sites will be opening up for the season and won't be anything like as busy as in the summer. Come and pay you respects to the soldiers who lost their lives on D-day and in the Battle of Normandy 80 years ago ... without the crowds that are going to descend on Normandy in June.

For more details and to make a booking please head to our website and blog:

https://www.eco-gites.eu
https://www.eco-gites.eu/blog

15/03/2024

Caen is just 45 minutes from the gite and our nearest city. It is well worth a visit whether you enjoy history, architecture, museums or you are in need of some retails therapy. Have a read about the city in my latest blog in the series 365 things to see and do in Normandy. I'll put a link in the comments.

10/03/2024

These are the newly released posts being used to promote the 2024 Olympics and ParaOlympics being help in Paris this summer.
What do you think of them?

09/03/2024

Our ducks have just started laying eggs again (yipee as they really are delicious) ... so if you fancy a holiday where you can collect duck (and chicken) eggs and where these 2 pigs will greet you every morning then you know where to stay.

Eco-Gites of Lénault sleeps 5 in 3 rooms and we accept up to 2 dogs (possibly more on request).

Prices start from €590/week with short breaks of 3+ nights possible outside of peak season.

For more details please do head to our website and blog - https://www.eco-gites.eu

08/03/2024

Vire

Vire is a medieval town with remnants of the original old town surviving in the Port Horloge (clock tower), the ruined tower in the car park and some towers from the city walls. However as with so many local towns it was heavily bombed in World War 2 killing many civilians and destroying 95% of the town.

In the town there is a large market on a Friday. At other times of year there are cattle markets and a fairground. The town is best known for being a centre for the production of Andouille, a sausage made from the intestines of cattle. It is an acquired taste!

Places to visit:
Swimming pool with outdoor slides
Bowling Alley with restaurant
Musée de Vire covering archaeology, local history, paintings and sculpture
The Guy Degrenne Factory - here they make cutlery and crockery and there is a factory shop on site. The factory has also won the contract in 2024 to make the Olympic torches for the relay around France before the Games open in Paris.
Notre Dame Church built between the 13th and 16th centuries and reconstructed in 1948.

Image credits:
Medieval town - Pays de Vire Tourism
Clock Tower - Ikmo-ned, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Church - Ikmo-ned, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Museum - Musee vire, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Andouille - Chris93, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Pays de Vire Tourisme

07/03/2024

Falaise

Falaise is a town which will interest anyone who loves history be if from the Middle Ages to the time of the second World War. The imposing castle on the edge of the town was the birthplace of William the Conqueror and although almost none of the original castle remains it has been reconstructed over the years. Visitors are given handheld tablets which help you see how the castle rooms would have looked in the Middle Ages.

In the summer the castle and town hosts a large Medieval Fair.

In WWII Falaise became the last stronghold of the N***s after D-Day and as Allied troops surrounded the town it saw some some of the most bitter fighting of The Battle of Normandy before it was liberated on Aug 17th 1944. The Coudehard-Montormel Memorial is dedicated to this time. There is also the Mémorial des Civils detailing life for civilians in France in WWII. This Pathé news video shows the utter destruction the town suffered, with the castle taking some direct hits.
https://youtu.be/R2C0OtHeDBo?si=rQNE4SaI63PVlKlQ

Away from history there is an unusual museum called the Musée des Automates where visitors can enjoy 300 working Automata which were popular in the window displays of large shops in days gone by.

Title reads: "Fall of Falaise".Falaise, Normandy, France.L/S of ruined remains of town. Various shots of castle being shelled by British tanks, German snipe...

06/03/2024

Flers

Flers is a medium sized town 27kms from Eco-Gites of Lénault. It was almost entirely destroyed in WWII in the days between D-Day on June 6th 1944 August 16th 1944 when it was finally liberated by the 11th Armoured Division. There is a memorial to them at Pont de Vère on the road into Flers from the north. Despite the destruction there are still several buildings of note:

> The 18th century Flers Castle houses a museum containing paintings and sculptures, furniture and information on local history.
> The Chapel of Remembrance was built between 1926-1932 to commemorate soldiers lost in WWI.
> The covered market (open daily) but started life, believe it or not, as a cemetery. There are also outdoor markets on Wednesday and Saturday, all year round.
> A large church in the town centre.

Flers has an excellent swimming pool with slides etc, a bowling alley with restaurant (no need to bowl to eat there), a soft play centre for younger children (Les P'Tits Fous) and a wooded park with lakes. Speed Zone is an indoor electric karting circuit where there is also mini golf, a bar, karaoké, and table football whilst just outside the town is Laser Box, a 300m2 arena for laser games.

05/03/2024

Pont d'Ouilly

Pont d'Ouilly is a small town on the border of Orne and Calvados, 20kms from Eco-Gites of Lénault. It is situated where the Noireau and Orne rivers meet and continue as the River Orne. Its inhabitants are known as Ouillypontains which I think is wonderful ❤️.

The town is popular with those who enjoy outdoor pursuits as it is a great centre for kayaking etc. Pont d'Ouilly Loisirs is where you need to head.

If you enjoy walking you might enjoy this 12 kms walk that starts in the town.

Buildings of interest include the Église Saint-Thérèse, a 20th century church built in the neo-roman style and the Ancient Grain Hall that was rebuilt in 1826. For an older church, head 2kms west to Saint-Marc-d'Ouilly where there is a 16th century roadside chapel. Inside you will find some unusual frescos that were added in the 1930s when the villagers worked together to restore the chapel.

Pont d'Ouilly is a lively town through the summer months. You'll find several bars, small independent shops and restaurants and every Monday and Thursday in July and August the town holds free concerts by the river.

In May (9-11th May 2024) the town organises the Extraverties Festival which celebrates the environment with many stalls, activities and free concerts.

04/03/2024

I thought for this week I'd have a post a day on towns local to Eco-Gites of Lénault. Let's start with a small one, though - Clécy.

Clécy is the capital of the geographical region known as Swiss Normandy (Suisse Normande) which we are on the edge of although far from being a city it is in fact a village. Situated on the River Orne it is a centre for all sorts of outdoor activities including kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, walking, summer toboggan runs, paragliding and, alongside the cliffs on the side of the river, a Via Ferrata: a cliffside trail.

Clécy is essentially made up of 2 parts - the pretty village above the river (look out for the interesting church tower) and the area of most restaurants, camping and activities along the river. For younger visitors there is a miniature railway museum. I'll add a link in the comments which gives details of all the places you can visit in Clécy including restaurants, museums etc.

Have you visited Clécy? What would you recommend there?

01/03/2024

Wild flowers seen on my walks from Eco-Gites of Lénault in February.

We had a spell of lovely weather in the middle of February and that really brought on the spring flowers, both new species seen and in the total number of wild flowers in bloom.

Total species spotted (Feb)- 29
New species seen - 15
Total species in 2024 - 30

February Species:
Gorse
Daisy
Dandelion
Lesser Celendine
White Dead Nettle
Buttercup
Common Field Speedwell
Snowdrop
Primrose
Groundsel
Dog's Mercury
Common Chickweed
Sun Spurge
Shepherd's Purse

New for Feb:
Scentless Mayweed
Barren Strawberry
Red Dead Nettle
Cowslip
Sweet Violet
Wavy Bittercress
Oxlip
Green Hellebore
Common Whitlowgrass
Pignut
Hogweed
Blackthorn
Ivy Leaved Toadflax
Broom
Common Stitchwort

So that's double the number of species seen in January and a lot more wild flowers everywhere. The primroses are in full bloom but the snowdrops will be over very soon.. But I am keen to see how many new species I spot in March.

Are you seeing many wild flowers?

28/02/2024

Eco-Gites of Lénault is in the Pays de Vire tourism area (see the red cross on the map for our location) and they have just published their 2024 tourist brochure. I'll track down a paper copy as soon as possible to go in the gite but in the meantime you can enjoy it online:
https://www.calameo.com/read/0002422602e2d67f9a4cb