Saint-Hilaire–du-Harcouet is a large market town, only 5 minutes away from Les Cours.

There is a large public park and two lakes, and this area covers 3.5 hectares.




Above the park is the large Neo-Gothic church, consecrated in 1855. The windows in the church are truly works of art by Le Chevallier. Lots of bars, restaurants and shops give the town a very lively air, and unusually for this area, Sunday morning finds the town bustling. There are restaurants for every occasion, from sandwiches, plat de jour, pizzas and top class hotels.

If you find you really need your English newspaper you can get one here, to enjoy with your morning coffee, or you can sit and watch the world go by.


There is also a swimming pool here and cinema.




The weekly market on Wednesday morning is always busy, with stalls selling fresh fish, shellfish, cheese and vegetables. Stalls selling sausages and chips will start the mouth watering. A separate part of the market sells chickens, ducks geese and rabbits.

There is a market at nearby Ducey on Tuesday mornings, and Sunday mornings in summer. This is easy to get to, and there are very nice food stalls, small cafes. The river area is always full of flowers, and is a lovely town for a morning visit.

Less than 15 minutes away is Mortain, which has a panoramic view of the bay from ‘Le Petite Chapelle.’ Here is a monument to honour Eisenhower in the memory of the WW2 Battle of Mortain.  The view from here is quite outstanding, and is illuminated at night. Also in Mortain, reached from the car park, are two waterfalls, ‘La grande’ and ‘La petite.’ Picnic areas are provided at each, and the rocks and scenery provide great photographs.

Nearby Fougeres is an old walled city with a wonderful chateau, the grounds of which are accessible by wheelchair. Also if you walk anti-clockwise around the castle, you will find a wonderful medieval area of old twisted houses. These are well worth a photograph. There are lots of restaurants, cafes and shops around the chateau. Further into the town, near the theatre is a big square with fountain, which also has lovely restaurants for lunch, and light meals such as galettes. Fougeres also has a bowling alley and cinema by ‘The Forum de la Gare’ shopping area. If you head towards Fougeres from Louvinge du desert, you will drive through the forest and at ‘Chenedey’ you can turn left into the car park, and have smooth walks through the forest. If you turn right, the road leads through the forest, and the lake is on the left. There is swimming here in summer (no charge) but it would be difficult to get a wheelchair down there.

If you wish to visit Mont St Michel, a wheelchair could only access the first level, restaurants and shops.  You could park at Beauvoir, and walk as far as you wished towards the Mont. This gives you the wonderful scenery and views, without the hassle of crowds.

The American Cemetery at St.James is easily accessible by wheelchair, and the staff here are very helpful if you have any enquiries to make.

The country park at La Mazure could be a problem, as you may have to park up a hill. Also the same for the parc de loisirs across the lake.

The beaches nearby are very safe and accessible with wonderful scenery. Carolles is our favourite beach, as one side has rocks and rock pools where you can see people collecting shellfish. The other side has a large smooth area of sand. Further up the coast the scenery becomes more rugged with great cliff views. Granville is a lovely historic town to visit, but the beach is not good. Christian Dior gardens here are easily accessible, and have free entrance. The museum is in the gardens too, but there is a charge for entrance.
Whatever type of holiday you want, you will find it within this area on the Normandy/Brittany border, and we will always be happy to point you in the right direction.

Testimonials from our visitor’s book. –

‘Beautiful area and fantastic gite. Had a superb holiday. We will definitely be back.’

‘Thank you for making the stay in the gite enjoyable, problem free and relaxing.’

‘Lovely holiday, very welcoming and helpful.’

‘The gite is great and setting beautiful.’

‘We have enjoyed the whole of our holiday. Look forward to joining you again.’

Normandy/Brittany: The area around the Gite

Lapenty village is home to just 400 residents, but still offers the essentials of a Bar Tabac with an excellent restaurant for lunchtimes Monday to Friday.  We are only minutes away from the market town of Saint Hilaire du Harcouet, (don’t miss Wednesday morning’s market which fills the town centre) with all the modern amenities you would expect – shops, bars, brasseries, restaurants, banks, cinema, and new swimming pool spa.

The nearby village of Milly (2miles) is home to Coquerel Calvados Chateau which has a range of fascinating tours and tastings. www.calvados-coquerel.com

Les Touches

Bed and Breakfast in Brittany....We can recommend this lovely bed and breakfast nearby to us at Les Cours.


Beaches and Parks

We are only 30 minutes away from the local beaches, Chateaux, country parks, ancient forests and children’s leisure centre.

We have maps and guides at the house in English and French to help you get what you want from your stay, whether that’s a day at the seaside, enjoying the incredible oysters at Cancale, a day out in Bayeaux marvelling at the naughty bits embroidered in the tapestry borders, rummaging for bargains in the depots de vents, or simply relaxing in the beautiful Normandy countryside