Four bedrooms, a bright sunroom, two fenced gardens, and the long Norman light. Sleeps eight.
Built in the old Norman colombage style and quietly modernised, the house keeps its bones — beamed ceilings, a stone fireplace now fitted with a wood stove, slate roof — and adds the comforts a long stay actually wants. A big, bright sunroom with a long oak table, a fully equipped modern kitchen, fast Wi-Fi, a huge front yard for the children to run in and a quiet backyard for the grown-ups to relax — both fully fenced for privacy and safety.
Original carved limestone uprights, an oak lintel rescued from a Norman barn, an iron fireback with a Renaissance crest, and a modern wood stove fitted inside the original fireplace, quietly warming the entire ground floor. Logs are split and ready in the woodshed; matches and kindling on the hearth.
The largest of the upstairs rooms — a queen-size bed beneath the slope of the original timber framing, generous wardrobes, a rattan reading chair by the window, and the soft chalk light all the upstairs rooms share. Full bathroom and independent WC are a few steps away.
A small Norman folly — half-timbered like the house, slate-roofed, with its own brick chimney and a wood-and-charcoal grill at the centre. The barbecue here in summer is a thing — long late lunches with the doors of the house thrown open, the children running through the garden, and a small fire well after sunset.
Mature cedars and beeches frame a generous lawn that easily takes football goals at one end and the long cast-iron table at the other. The terrace catches afternoon sun until late; the wood-and-charcoal barbecue lives under the timbered pavilion at the back of the property.
There's pétanque in the shed and a Mölkky kit by the kitchen door. The walled boundary keeps small children in and the Norman wind out — a quiet refuge after a day on the cliffs.
i.
The cliff-top trail begins outside the gate and runs to Étretat in about three hours.
ii.
Kayak and canoe rentals at the beach, six kilometres west, weather permitting.
iii.
A nine-hole course one kilometre from the gîte; the championship layout sits at Étretat.
iv.
Bass and mackerel off the chalk shelves at low tide — bring a rod or hire one in Le Havre.
A house we hated leaving — bright, generous, and quietly luxurious. We are already trying to find an excuse to come back.
Camille D. · Family of seven · Stayed in July
· 76G1515
Direct enquiries are welcome — write to Stéphanie and Brice for dates, longer stays, or anything specific you'd like to know about the house. The reservation itself is processed by Gîtes de France for security and protection.
