Manche holiday cottage: Brécey

This was a week of peace and relaxation in a beautiful and comfortable setting. La Tullerie is very clean and well equipped - a house with character which is within a few minutes of the village and an excellent location for a number of places of interest such as Coutances, Saint-Malo and the D-Day landing beaches. The many markets in local towns are well worth a look.

This was my first experience of Normandy and first Gite holiday. It was truly wonderful. The Gite is beautiful and has everything you could wish for. It is spacious yet cosy, immaculately clean and tastefully furnished.

We had just about every type of weather thrown at us in a week from hail and rain to snow and then brilliant warm sunshine. When it was cold outside the Gite was warm and when the sun came out we could sit outside on the patio and take in the scenery, fruit trees, farmland and baby lambs mainly.....fantastic (as were the sunsets).

We did not want for anything during our stay. The kitchen was fully equipped with every type of glass (for your red or white wine or beer) to cooking utensils galore. We arrived to a lovely welcome note with a bottle of locally produced cider and a few tea bags and some milk to tide us over which was a lovely touch.

As a base for exploring southern Normandy this was perfect. If you get the chance to visit the waterfalls at Mortain it is well worth it but make sure you feed the three beautiful donkeys in the field as you drive round the corner opposite the White Abbey (which is also worth a stroll around). It is also great for visiting Mont St Michel and the coastal resorts. Cancales is worth a visit for a nice fish dinner but make sure you go before 2pm or after 7.30pm otherwise you will be sadly disappointed.....the restaurants will be closed !! The Rance Valley is also easily assessible from La Tullerie. We drove......The Rance Valley Tour is well signposted and takes you through some beautiful little fishing villages along the Rance Estuary. It is a cheaper option than the boat trips which go along the river.

We found eating out quite expensive but there is a big supermarket in Brecey which has everything you need to cook at home. And of course it goes without saying that the wine and beer are cheap and great...And don't be afraid to try the wine that is just over 1 Euro....it is lovely...

That is of course if you can tear yourself away from La Tullerie. I will admit it is hard as it is so nice to just spend time in the property or in the garden. If the weather was warmer during our stay we would have made much more use of the garden and got the BBQ going. It really is a magical little retreat that you just won't want to leave.