New kitchen and Le Bon Coin

The charming rustic furniture failed to meet our needs . Very little storage and a decrepit oven.

We decided to go for a new look; a mixture of antique and very contemporary styles. Nobody else will have the same one, that's for sure.

The first place to look was Le Bon Coin, a French website where people post things for sale. It's not really like eBay as you don't bid for things. Instead, you go to the sellers home and decide if you want the item or not. If you do, make an offer and see if they accept it.

If the item is large, you still have to get it back home. I bought a set of solid oak kitchen cupboards and we had to drive 2 hours each way to collect them. It took a lot longer on the way back.

I realised that they would not match the pine table so I found a beautiful cherry wood table in the Louis Phillipe style. Very elegant and just what I was looking for. There are 8 matching chairs too; all in perfect condition

My kitchen's going to be good enough for royalty!

Opposite our house

 

Opposite our house stands the old railway station. The Station House and the rail tracks were heavily bombed by the British, in the war, as our house and several others around here, were occupied by German officers who used the railway as an efficient way of moving their troops.

In order to stop damage to the lines, local children were kept in the Station House overnight to stop the bombs being dropped.

The once beautiful Auberge de la Truite has fallen into ruin over recent years.Presidents, film stars and famous artists stayed there in its heyday but those days are long gone and a young man from Cornwall has bought the building, with plans to renovate it to its former glory.

The Old Station House is now part of a business created by a local Breton man. During the sum!mer months, school children come from the cities to spend time enjoying the beautiful forest around them and they live in Roulottes, which are similar to the old style Gipsy Caravans. 

These are pulled by the huge and truly magnificent Breton horses; bigger cousins of our Shire horses.

The railway track has now been replaced with a narrow, sandy path which is perfect for walking and cycling. Safe for children and wildlife, there is no room for cars.

These paths link up across France and it's possible to walk or cycle all the way to Perpignan from outside our house!

Brennilis Lake

Brenillis is a decommissioned nuclear facility, only 15 minutes drive from our house. It was created in 1962 to provide electricit, as France was dependant on expensive imported oil.

In the 1970s the Breton Nationalist groups, always very political, demanded closure of the site and the facility is still being decommissioned. There is no danger to the local people or wildlife so we have a beautiful lake, which was created to cool the reactors. This is perfect for all forms of water sports, walking the dogs, as there is a path all the way round the lake, and there are some big fish to be caught. 

Whenever we have been, there are very few other people around although it's a lovely picnic spot and entirely safe for the children.