It’s all happening in Coutances from 8th to 15th May 2010. Book your stay at La Rieudière now.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Book your stay at La Rieudière B&B now!

Tradition dictates that deep-sea fishing’s sailors are at the origin of carnival in Granville. The departures for the banks of Newfoundland took place each year around Shrove Tuesday. The crossing lasted eight weeks, the fishing campaign in Newfoundland started at the [...]]]> 5 days, starting from 12 February 2010!

Book your stay at La Rieudière B&B now!

Tradition dictates that deep-sea fishing’s sailors are at the origin of carnival in Granville. The departures for the banks of Newfoundland took place each year around Shrove Tuesday. The crossing lasted eight weeks, the fishing campaign in Newfoundland started at the beginning of May. Carnival’s festival is therefore closely linked to sailors about to sail. Thus we could read in 1883 in the newspaper Le Granvillais: “Our sailors ready to sail towards the banks will want to benefit from this new opportunity to have a good time. Then they will bravely face the storms to which they are exposed because of their dangerous job…” At that time, carnival’s legendary character and symbol is the Marquis. We say that the origins of Granville’s carnival go back to 1872. In 1873, for instance, we counted between 4,000 and 5,000 masks. The first procession goes back to 1875. We could see the War’s float, the Peace’s float, the Seamanship’s float, the Charity’s float and the Gallic Gaiety’s float. At the beginning of the xxth century, the Granville’s tourist and seaside vocation became apparent. It is at that time that King Carnival was officially baptized. The districts made up of committees present their own floats, which are then put under competition. The floats reflect from now on the local, national even international current events: in 1937, we could guess on a float the characters of “three dictators”. At the end of the 30’s, carnival man was once again burnt on Shrove Tuesday evening. The custom of the group’s intrigues and parades is maintained.

Are you from the UK coming through the Channel ports of Cherbourg, Caen or Le Havre? or are you crossing to Calais or Boulogne?

From Belgium, The Netherlands and Northern Germany going through to the South-West of France or [...]]]> Planning your Easter, Spring or Summer vacation, are you driving through France towards Brittany or the South West?

Are you from the UK coming through the Channel ports of Cherbourg, Caen or Le Havre? or are you crossing to Calais or Boulogne?

From Belgium, The Netherlands and Northern Germany going through to the South-West of France or to Brittany? From Ireland going east?

Wherever you’re coming from, it’s a long drive. why not break your journey for a night or two at La Rieudière B&B? Relax by the pool or sip your tea (or a glass of wine – this is France, after all) sitting on the island in the fishing pond. Enjoy a restful night in our comfortable rooms, then a good breakfast (full English or continental) before setting off again.

We can provide a delicious 3-course evening meal too, or cater a dinner party for some local friends if you require.

If you’re on a more leisurely timescale, spend a few days at La Rieudière discovering Lower Normandy’s world famous sites, such as Mont Saint Michel, the D-Day landing beaches amongst others.

Explore La Rieudière by clicking the links on the left, then book your stay, and make your journey more pleasurable!

We look forward to welcoming you at La Rieudière

We’re waiting for a moorhen family to take up their spring quarters, as they do every year.

As it’s a bit cold outside (it [...]]]> At La Rieudière, we get the best of the countryside. Even in winter, we have herons and buzzards gracing our skies. OK, the heron is actually eating the fish out of our ponds!

We’re waiting for a moorhen family to take up their spring quarters, as they do every year.

As it’s a bit cold outside (it is only January, after all), it’s nice to be able to see all this from inside!

Add to this the scenery, the picturesque towns and villages with their cafés, restaurants and antique shops, the historical places [...]]]> May is a wonderful time in Normandy! The weather’s great and it’s a great time to see all the best it has to offer. Music festivals, Spring fairs, sporting events (Mont St Michel Marathon), antiques fairs.

Add to this the scenery, the picturesque towns and villages with their cafés, restaurants and antique shops, the historical places (Normandy landing beaches, Mont Saint Michel, etc.), the countryside, the seaside… come and see for yourself!

Book your stay at La Rieudière B&B now!

The 78th running of the greatest endurance race in the world will take place on the big 13,629-km circuit, which also uses part of the Bugatti layout (built in 1966), and a section of the main Le Mans-Tours road closed to traffic for the event.

[...]]]> 12TH & 13TH JUNE 2010 – THE LE MANS 24 HOURS

The 78th running of the greatest endurance race in the world will take place on the big 13,629-km circuit, which also uses part of the Bugatti layout (built in 1966), and a section of the main Le Mans-Tours road closed to traffic for the event.

On this layout, the record for the greatest distance covered in the race is held by David Brabham, Marc Gené and Alexander Wurz, the 2009 winners; they covered 382 laps, a distance of 5.206,278 kms at an average speed of 216,664 km/h. 2010 will be the last year for the current LM P prototypes and grand touring cars (LM GT), as a new set of technical regulations will come into force in 2011. Every year, the Le Mans 24 Hours attracts a big crowd, 234 800 spectators in 2009, for example. Topping the 2010 bill is the revenge match between Audi and Peugeot so there is every likelihood this figure will be exceeded.

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As soon as the programme is available, we’ll post the link here!

To see the 2009 line-up, click here