A chance for some sightseeing mixed in the with the annual weeding frenzy (and much more pleasant grape harvest).
A trip to Bagnolles sur Orne with the sat nav on its shortest route setting meant the discovery of a lovely XVth century moated farmhouse just south-east of the village of Ste-Honorine-la-Guillaume. Also spotted was a much more modern château nestling among the four walls and surviving gatehouse of a mediaeval castle guarding its own valley.
Another day trip found us working our way along the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula where there are frequent reminders of the long sea trade with southern Europe and Scandinavia from small, now almost deserted ports. many of them had been occupied by the English for several generations, as the ruins of several castles testify.
