Catherine Fox

We purchased this 18th Century Farm Estate in 2012 which was in a terrible ruined state. We spent years renovating the old farm house and created two gites, everything new had to be done, from a new roof, to a fosse septic, electrics, water pipes. There was no access to the upstairs so we built a new staircase and put in new floors and windows and created the upstairs rooms. We felt it was necessary for each bedroom to have its own private bathroom. When the house was finished we started to landscape the overgrown gardens and planted an orchard to help bring the wildlife back to the old farm. We are delighted to see the return of birds to the area and deer that roam in the orchard, who eat the apples and cherries, which seem to be a real favourite with the wildlife here. In 2016 we moved to France so we could work full time on the renovation projects. We spent years renovating this 400 year old ruin of a building to save it for the future. It is said that the farm lies on the land owned by William the Conquer, which is why the road is called Williams wood. Statues of William the Conquer and his knights can be seen in the nearby town of Saint James. We are delighted to open the farmhouse to the public whom we are sure will love the gite and France as much as we do. It is a slower pace of life with little stress and is much more laid back than the ‘rat race’ and stressful of life in the UK. We speak English and we are learning French.