Picauville 3 Bedroom House (NM001742)

Eating Out

'Restaurants'
"The area is dotted with fabulous eateries within 20 minutes drive of home. Lots of reviews and cards in the information file at the house."

Local Area and Activities

'Canoe Trip down the River'
"Canoes and kayaks, complete with life jackets, can be hired at St Sauveur-le-Vicomte (about 9km up stream). Paddle down to Longerac and stop for lunch at the riverside L'Auberge de La Douve, or picnic, then continue down the river to Picauville. Disembark 500m from the house, your canoes will be collected by the canoe hire company and one member of the group driven back to St Sauveur to your car. The cost for us - 2 adults and 4 children aged 11 to 4, was 42 Euros."

'Castles'
"Pirou Castle (about 20 minutes drive) is the family favourite. Enchanting small fortified manor house with moat and roof top ramparts, quite shady, so good for hot days. Close to Pirou beach for great sands and well recommended restaurant with wood burning oven opposite the plage. Together they make a great day out. St Sauveur le Vicomte Castle, free to wander around, contains the Tourist Information office. It is in a lovely setting next to river meadows and also offers a play area. St Sauveur has a cultural town walk, with regular music recitals, bars, excellent Pizzeria, and Auberge overlooking the castle. Briquebec castle has mainly been turned into a fabulous hotel restaurant, but is still accessible. A visit here is good on Wednesday, for its market and antique shops."

'Childrens' Activities'
"With 4 young children of our own the house and garden are equipped so that they have fun, safely, which enables us to have long relaxing meals with wine and adult conversation, especially when we have guests to stay or who have popped across on a day trip for lunch. The town offers walks, bike rides, skateboard park, river to splash in or throw stones. Our children also enjoy independence that would be impossible in England - they buy the croissants, go the supermarket and sometimes just have a short walk on their own. Beaches - loads and loads of fabulous empty sandy beaches on both the east and west coasts. On the east coast are the D-day landing beaches, great exploring of gun emplacements. Kite flying on the west coast. Play areas in the grounds surrounding St Sauveur Castle 9km, and woodland play area and forest walks in the Ancient Hunting Forest just to the west of St Sauveur on the Portbail road. Good play area at Valognes. Swimming pools at Valognes and St Sauveur too. Lithaire, about 15 minutes south, has a ruined Roman (I think) fortification, very overgrown. A lake formed in a quarry at the same location has pedalos and other activities in summer. Champrepus Zoo 90 mins drive is a must."

'Cycling Trips/Walks'
"The house has 4 adult bikes, the pretty country lanes are traffic free, level and great to explore. The maps in the house detail several round trip routes straight from the front door including: visit to 15thC Château du Crosville (10km round trip), the German War Cemetry at Orglandes (11km round trip), Airship Hangar circa 1917 (27km round trip), the local D-day sites (27km) and lots of short ones."

'Land Yachting at Portbail'
"Portbail (20 mins drive), a picturesque market town on the West Coast, has miles of flat, empty sandy beaches and sand dunes. Facing the Atlantic it is windy - great for kite flying and sand- yachting. Guests have highly recommended the sailing school there - their whole family (older children) were taught sand-yachting and loved it."

'Local D-Day Landing Sites'
"The area was the centre of the Airborne Division's parachute drop behind enemy lines. The local history society has produced a route to follow showing locations of German batteries, temporary Allied airfield, aircraft crashes etc. Straight from the front door, the full route is 27km, it is great for cycling, or an energetic walk, and it takes you through glorious countryside and past amazing buildings. Being so closely in touch with the terrain it enables understanding and appreciation of the task involved."

'Local Events'
"The town is very friendly and has a great sense of community. Look out on shop windows for posters about things going on and join in - Papa Noel handing out sweets from the back of our neighbour's quad bike, watch international football and rugby matches at the Bar du Stade - one group of guests were bought drinks by the locals, another's 5 year old son was given a French rugby shirt, the Miss Picauville competition was great fun, the town fair on the weekend around 15th May and much is made of D-day celebrations at the beginning of June."

'Maize Maze'
"Just outside Valognes, on the road to Briquebec, (15 to 20 minutes) there is a charity Maize Maze between mid July and September. It looks like nothing from the outside, but take it easy because it is trickier than it looks. Nicely laid out with information boards about the charity, and activities throughout the course. Afterwards you will need a cooling ice cream at the converted mill restaurant next door."

'Otter Spotting in Picauville'
"Picauville is situated along the Douve River within the Cotentin Nature Park. On bright mornings fill the flask with coffee, take the picnic rucksack and stop at the boulangerie for croissants and other treats, have an al fresco breakfast by the River at Port Beurey (a hamlet 1.5km from our front door) and walk along the riverbank looking out for otters. Great natural ponds with very noisy frogs; also look out for heron, ducks and kingfishers. Wear wellies and splash in river, very few skimming stones because we have used them up! We usually spend an entire morning messing about by the river, and have extended it into a lunchtime picnic on an occasion when I was very organised! Fishing possible here too, with a licence - easy to arrange."

'Wet Days'
"The house offers various board games, videos etc. Going out try - Shopping at the Auchan centre and The Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg (Submarine and Aquarium), The Planetarium just outside Cherbourg, D-day landing museums, and if it is just showery Champrepus Zoo is not bad because there are many shelters throughout, including a sheltered picnic area."

Markets and Shopping

'Classy Shops'
"Valognes, 15 minutes north, has a really lively large market on a Friday. Good shops of all types, very attractive architecture and good restaurants. Carentan, 20 minutes south east of Picauville, is a pretty town with marina and lots of commercial activity. There are some beautiful and expensive clothes shops along its cobbled streets. Look out for large antique centres, and the Pizza des Arcades is a great restaurant. Bayeux, 40 minutes drive, obviously most are drawn here by a certain piece of needlework. However while you are here you may as well sample the delights of the many gorgeous shops!"

'Clothes and Interiors'
"Kiabi, within the retail park next to Centre Commerciale du Cotentin in Cherbourg (25-30 mins), is especially good for children's clothes. Explore Fly (the next shop along) for some stylish and/or wacky interior design ideas."

'Food and Essentials'
"Picauville has all that you need with regards to food and essentials. There is a Super U supermarket, quite small and chaotically organised and a Proxi (open all hours type shop). The 2 butchers are excellent, we use the nearest. It sells locally produced award-winning meat, pates, quiches and cooked meat on Sundays. The 2 boulangeries are open from 6:30am to 7:00pm six days a week, the one at the top is shut on Mondays the nearest to the house is shut on Wednesdays. Both make the most delicious tarts, gateaux and chocolate treats, so prepare to put on weight! Small market on a Friday morning with great cheese stall. The town also contains a pharmacy (good English spoken), Post Office, 2 banks and a hardware shop."

'Food and Essentials, Further Afield'
"Ste-Mere-Eglise (7km) has a brand new Super U supermarket offering a greater selection than that at Picauville in a more stylish shopping environment. Auchan at the Centre Commercial du Cotentin in Cherbourg (25-30 mins) has even more choice and is great for special offers on wine."