Built around the late 19th century, La Houlardais is constructed in the "maison de maître" style and sits in it's own private 5.5 acre site comprising of wooded area, grazing, orchard, jardin potager (vegetable garden) and garden with formal beds and lawn. Although some of these areas are being renewed and reinvigorated we hope to continue to develop the outside areas and make them beautiful once again. The house itself is built on the slope allowing for a cave (cellar) below. The ground floor consists of a large hallway and leading off of this, a kitchen, formal dining room, drawing room, utility and wc. Upstairs on the second floor is the large bright guest room with king size bed and next door to that, a spacious bathroom with walk-in shower and large double ended bath. Two other private rooms, still under renovation, are situated on the opposite side of the landing area and above is the large attic space.

After big changes affected our working lives during the pandemic, we decided to make the permanent move to France in September 2020 and begin a new life for ourselves here. Brian took early retirement from the civil service and now focuses his time on ongoing renovations to La Houlardais and it's grounds. After redundancy from the travel and tourism sector, David currently works at a local plant nursery during the week and we both enjoy spending time in the garden. We love to walk locally, or further afield, with our Welsh Terrier Ted and enjoy spending time with our close friends and meeting new people. Our biggest passion though, is La Houlardais. All our spare time and effort go into making it our home and now, with the start of this new venture into hospitality, we hope to share this wonderful place with more people.

La Houlardais is situated between the small villages of Soucé and Couesmes-Vaucé in the Mayenne department. It is conveniently located within close driving distance to several larger towns including, Gorron, Ambrières-les-Vallées, Ceaucé, Passais Villages, the picturesque village of Saint-Fraimbault and the medieval city of Domfront so there are plenty of ares to explore. Whether you're house hunting, touring France, visiting friends and family or just looking for a quiet spot to relax, La Houlardais is a well suited tranquil spot. The closer village of Couesmes-Vaucé offers the nearest bar and restaurant, Le Jardin de Froulay, just a 5 minute drive away. Other local restaurants serving traditional French cuisine can be easily found within 15 minutes by car. More varied fare such as Chinese can be found in the cities of Mayenne, 25 minutes south. The popular coastal attraction of Mont Saint Michel is just over an hour to the west and to the north you'll discover the historic and beautiful region or Normandy.