We arrived in July 2001 full of plans and ideas to run a Bed and Breakfast in this delightful corner of France in order to supplement my husbands works pension until we reached full retirement age. Little did we know what lay ahead!
In 1999 he had been made redundant from his job of 25+ years and it had been a dream since 1989, after our first visit to France, to retire out here and for me to run a Bed & Breakfast - no way was I going to be one of these English ladies just taking in the air, coffee mornings, wine etc… I needed to work at something. Early 2001 we went to a French property exhibition in London and met a few property agents, English as well as French, and gave them our criteria for property. Only one agent (French I hasten to add) came up with suitable properties - right to convert to Bed and Breakfast accommodation and with or near a lake or river (we have anglers in the family).
Our ‘place in heaven’ was found during our first visit in March 2001. The property was about 1k off the main road down a long curving lane. It seemed to take ages to get to it. When we left the agency it was raining and thoroughly miserable, when we arrived at the house the sun broke through the clouds. It was serendipity, happenstance, an omen, I don’t know which but I do know that when I saw the house after walking through the undergrowth (of which there was a lot) that the house was just what we were looking for.
The house was in need of some renovation. Unlike some properties we had seen, it had a roof as well as walls, and as a bonus, mains water, electricity and a telephone point. It was just, well, in need of updating. The house originally consisted of a pair of 18th/19th century farm cottages with cattle sheds at the back. It had been converted during the early/mid 70’s to holiday accommodation for a large French family. Yes, it was pretty basic, and as they say out here - a stone tent! The previous owner left a lovely kitchen table, but took the two benches that went with it, an old sofa and armchair (the sofa had a mouse’s nest in it), a couple of double beds and three child beds that came out of the ark, some bicycles in various sizes, a couple of cupboards that fell apart when moved, a very old fridge, an electric 2 ring hob, a boat and a full set of weights and bench (in what became the Boat Room). And we had to pay extra for this lot….
So we departed the UK on the 27th July 2001 after having a wonderful going away party with our family and friends. My dearest Dad couldn’t get his head around his daughter wanting to go to France (it’s full of the French you know!) but Mum was being her pragmatic self and just nodded sagely and wished us well. Sister-in-law wondered why we were abandoning our children (Er, they are all grown up with their own partners/spouses and of course, houses..) Our house in the UK was put into the hands of a good letting agent for some additional income whilst we decided whether it was a good idea to move in entirety, or not! La Belle France - here we come.......
We came through the channel tunnel and arrived at our new home in the early hours of the 28th July 2001. There was a mist over the river and it was so quiet that it was, well, just so peaceful, tranquil, otherworldly - how can you describe such an experience? We just sat and looked and (I think) both thought “Oh oh, what have we done??” My husband was having some doubts about the move - he was on medication for depression after losing his job and was having problems adjusting to not having a daily routine and being with me full time (Ho hum).
For the first couple of nights we stayed in our caravan, just a small one that we bought to come out with. Our first night was interrupted with the sound of an owl in the early hours. It was sat in the branch of a tree a couple of feet above us and kept us awake for a very long time. I found out later that it was a Barn Owl that lived in one of the hamlets barns. We also had a Little Owl that lived in the barn attached to the house.
Our cat was in a cage in the caravan when we travelled and the dogs were in the back of the car, harnessed just like a couple of kids, and much better behaved, at least they didn‘t say “are we there yet?”, “can I have a pee“, "I'm hungry" “I‘m bored“, etc. we just took short breaks, let them out for a drink and pee and back into the car and on we went.. When we got to the house we left the dogs in the house overnight but the cat disappeared. I was really upset that he wasn’t around, he had been a birthday present for me from my daughters. There was so much open space and there he was, gone, no sign of him at all. Our second night in the caravan and we were disturbed by frantic scratching sounds, oh yes, guess what, the cat had climbed into one of the cupboards under the seats and had ‘crashed’ out for over 36 hours. Our vet in the UK had given us tranquillisers for him for the journey and they didn’t kick in until we had arrived. At least he was safe.
A few of days after our arrival the furniture delivery company arrived with the first load of our furniture. We didn’t have all delivered, just the necessary stuff, a couple of beds, a few chairs, a fridge and cooker were dropped off and we were just waiting for the bulk. Within 3 weeks of relocating two of our daughters, a grandson and prospective son in law turned up for a holiday. For the start of their stay it was pretty basic and after a couple of days the rest of our furniture and effects arrived. They helped us with the unloading and sorting into rooms etc. not that there were too few rooms to put things into. We only had an average 3 bed semi in the UK and out here we had so much space. Imagine 4 terrace houses put into one. That was the volume of space we had to put our bits and pieces into.
And so we stayed, and enjoyed, and got to know the house and grounds. There were loads of trees, mainly birch, that needed taking down. I think that the final total was about 30. They grew like weeds and were competing for space, they were so tall! There was also a weeping willow that dripped aphid dew all over the place and a couple of pine trees that definitely needed to go as I am allergic to pine….My dear husband worked his socks off taking down the trees, and eventually there was light in the garden and the house. Whilst the daughters were here we took down all the Virginia creeper that had invaded the house, creeping through the shutters and attaching to the windows. So much of it, it was full of birds nests, spiders and all sorts of unmentionable creatures that we did not know existed. Marvellous, my instincts were right, the house was just as I imagined it would be once daylight was allowed to shine on it and enter the rooms.
I could see how it could be used to suit us as a B&B, the next thing was to work out the conversion….
In 1999 he had been made redundant from his job of 25+ years and it had been a dream since 1989, after our first visit to France, to retire out here and for me to run a Bed & Breakfast - no way was I going to be one of these English ladies just taking in the air, coffee mornings, wine etc… I needed to work at something. Early 2001 we went to a French property exhibition in London and met a few property agents, English as well as French, and gave them our criteria for property. Only one agent (French I hasten to add) came up with suitable properties - right to convert to Bed and Breakfast accommodation and with or near a lake or river (we have anglers in the family).
Our ‘place in heaven’ was found during our first visit in March 2001. The property was about 1k off the main road down a long curving lane. It seemed to take ages to get to it. When we left the agency it was raining and thoroughly miserable, when we arrived at the house the sun broke through the clouds. It was serendipity, happenstance, an omen, I don’t know which but I do know that when I saw the house after walking through the undergrowth (of which there was a lot) that the house was just what we were looking for.
The house was in need of some renovation. Unlike some properties we had seen, it had a roof as well as walls, and as a bonus, mains water, electricity and a telephone point. It was just, well, in need of updating. The house originally consisted of a pair of 18th/19th century farm cottages with cattle sheds at the back. It had been converted during the early/mid 70’s to holiday accommodation for a large French family. Yes, it was pretty basic, and as they say out here - a stone tent! The previous owner left a lovely kitchen table, but took the two benches that went with it, an old sofa and armchair (the sofa had a mouse’s nest in it), a couple of double beds and three child beds that came out of the ark, some bicycles in various sizes, a couple of cupboards that fell apart when moved, a very old fridge, an electric 2 ring hob, a boat and a full set of weights and bench (in what became the Boat Room). And we had to pay extra for this lot….
So we departed the UK on the 27th July 2001 after having a wonderful going away party with our family and friends. My dearest Dad couldn’t get his head around his daughter wanting to go to France (it’s full of the French you know!) but Mum was being her pragmatic self and just nodded sagely and wished us well. Sister-in-law wondered why we were abandoning our children (Er, they are all grown up with their own partners/spouses and of course, houses..) Our house in the UK was put into the hands of a good letting agent for some additional income whilst we decided whether it was a good idea to move in entirety, or not! La Belle France - here we come.......
We came through the channel tunnel and arrived at our new home in the early hours of the 28th July 2001. There was a mist over the river and it was so quiet that it was, well, just so peaceful, tranquil, otherworldly - how can you describe such an experience? We just sat and looked and (I think) both thought “Oh oh, what have we done??” My husband was having some doubts about the move - he was on medication for depression after losing his job and was having problems adjusting to not having a daily routine and being with me full time (Ho hum).
For the first couple of nights we stayed in our caravan, just a small one that we bought to come out with. Our first night was interrupted with the sound of an owl in the early hours. It was sat in the branch of a tree a couple of feet above us and kept us awake for a very long time. I found out later that it was a Barn Owl that lived in one of the hamlets barns. We also had a Little Owl that lived in the barn attached to the house.
Our cat was in a cage in the caravan when we travelled and the dogs were in the back of the car, harnessed just like a couple of kids, and much better behaved, at least they didn‘t say “are we there yet?”, “can I have a pee“, "I'm hungry" “I‘m bored“, etc. we just took short breaks, let them out for a drink and pee and back into the car and on we went.. When we got to the house we left the dogs in the house overnight but the cat disappeared. I was really upset that he wasn’t around, he had been a birthday present for me from my daughters. There was so much open space and there he was, gone, no sign of him at all. Our second night in the caravan and we were disturbed by frantic scratching sounds, oh yes, guess what, the cat had climbed into one of the cupboards under the seats and had ‘crashed’ out for over 36 hours. Our vet in the UK had given us tranquillisers for him for the journey and they didn’t kick in until we had arrived. At least he was safe.
A few of days after our arrival the furniture delivery company arrived with the first load of our furniture. We didn’t have all delivered, just the necessary stuff, a couple of beds, a few chairs, a fridge and cooker were dropped off and we were just waiting for the bulk. Within 3 weeks of relocating two of our daughters, a grandson and prospective son in law turned up for a holiday. For the start of their stay it was pretty basic and after a couple of days the rest of our furniture and effects arrived. They helped us with the unloading and sorting into rooms etc. not that there were too few rooms to put things into. We only had an average 3 bed semi in the UK and out here we had so much space. Imagine 4 terrace houses put into one. That was the volume of space we had to put our bits and pieces into.
And so we stayed, and enjoyed, and got to know the house and grounds. There were loads of trees, mainly birch, that needed taking down. I think that the final total was about 30. They grew like weeds and were competing for space, they were so tall! There was also a weeping willow that dripped aphid dew all over the place and a couple of pine trees that definitely needed to go as I am allergic to pine….My dear husband worked his socks off taking down the trees, and eventually there was light in the garden and the house. Whilst the daughters were here we took down all the Virginia creeper that had invaded the house, creeping through the shutters and attaching to the windows. So much of it, it was full of birds nests, spiders and all sorts of unmentionable creatures that we did not know existed. Marvellous, my instincts were right, the house was just as I imagined it would be once daylight was allowed to shine on it and enter the rooms.
I could see how it could be used to suit us as a B&B, the next thing was to work out the conversion….
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