Fetes include Medieval Festival in Orbec (early July)
Onion Fair in Trun (September)
Easter Fair and Apple Fair (end of October) in Vimoutiers.
There is a fete most weekends in one of the local towns.

Shopping

Trun (5 mins) is the local market town.

All the local towns have thriving markets.The nearest supermarket is in Trun (5 mins) which also has a petrol station. Argentan has several hypermarkets and is a good shopping centre

Eating Out

Falaise and Argentan have some excellent restaurants for evening meals.Recommended restaurants are listed in the Information File.

Local Places of Interest

• The National Stud Farm at Haras du Pin - the ‘Versailles of Horses’
• 13^th Century Priory of St. Michel
• The ‘Route du Fromage’ (Cheese Route).
• Cheese-making museums at Camembert (10 mins) and Livarot (20 mins).
• Calvados Distilleries
• Many Chateaux including Vendeuvre which has an 18th Century kitchen,
• Falaise, St. Germain de Livet (40 mins).There are the famous parks andgardens of Parc de Canon (45 mins), Chateau d’Harcourt (45 mins) and the Chateau at Sassy (35mins).

Sports

Local Historical Sites

The house was in the centre of the Battle for Normandy and there are many World War Two battle sites, museums and memorials locally. D-Day landing beaches, artificial harbour and war memorials around Arromanches. The Peace Museum at Caen gives the definitive history of the Battle for Normandy. Mont Ormel (10 mins) is the closest memorial to the house. The Chateau at Falaise was the birthplace of William the Conqueror and has exhibitions throughout the year and son et lumiere productions in the summer.

Activities for Children

Zoo park at Lisieux (45 mins). Chateau du Vendeuvre (20mins) has a dolls house museum and a ‘surprise’ water garden (a change of clothes is useful!).There is a man-made sandy beach at Vimoutiers’ leisure park. Pedallos and electric boats can be hired on the nearby recreational lake which has a miniature harbour.Go-karting, bouncy castles and crazy golf is also available at the lake.Falaise Castle grounds are good for exploring.The closest Ferme Auberge to the house (7 mins) permits walks around the farm to see the animals after lunch. There is an activity centre at St Foy de Montgommery (15 mins) for small children.

Daytrips

• The pretty harbour, fishing port and medieval architecture of Honfleur (1 hr).
• Bayeux (Cathedral and Tapestry) (90 mins).
• Monet’s garden at Giverney on the River Seine (2hrs).
• The medieval city of Rouen (Joan of Arc history and medieval architecture) (2 hrs).
• Paris and Versailles are two hours by train from Argentan and Eurodisney is a two and a half hour drive.
• Nearest beaches are at Deauville and Trouville (1hr)

The local wildlife is abundant. It is worth taking a pair of binoculars as there are many species of birds including buzzards and kestrels. Dinner on the patio is usually accompanied by the sound of crickets and birdsong. There are lots of mice and moles in the acre of grounds and a wild boar has even been spotted in the adjacent field, usually occupied by wide-eyed Normandy cows.