Le Castel

Activities

• The D-Day landing beaches, the Bayeux Tapestry and the pinnacle-top monastery of Mont St-Michel are all less than an hour’s drive away
  
  
• To the south is the enchanting town of Villedieu-les-Poeles, renowned for its manufacture of cooking pans and bells
  
  
• Even closer are the Gothic cathedral at Coutances and the delights of the Cotentin peninsula: unspoiled sandy beaches, the fairytale castles of Gratot and Pirou, and the magical abbey of Hambye
  
  
• Day trips to the Channel Islands are feasible from Granville, dubbed the ‘Monaco of the North’, with its old town huddled on a rocky promontory
  
  
• The markets at St Lô (Saturday) and Coutances (Thursday) are some of the best in Normandy; stock up on veg and cheese before you drive home
  
  
• Sea sports, including fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing and swimming, are all available within a 15km drive
  
  
• Your host can arrange golf (just 15km away), tennis (8km away) or horse-riding (3km away)
  
  
• Time your visit to coincide with the now-famous Coutances jazz festival over Ascension weekend (6 weeks after Easter)
  
  
  
• Ask about the treasure hunt which Jon has set up, taking in some of the exquisite abbeys and churches of the region