Clé France

The story of Sir Lancelot of the Round Table is well known to us all, but in general our history talks of his exploits with the English king Arthur and the beautiful Guinevere. He was, however, according to local history, French and born in the little village of Banvou. He spent his childhood and youth in the southern Orne and northern Mayenne areas and particularly in the Bagnoles-de-l'Orne area. It was here that he was knighted before he started on his exploits and the area is known locally as Pays de Lancelot du Lac. There is even a trail you can follow named after him.

The area is described as one full of fairies, miracles, abbeys, enchanted woods, knights, hermits and places of extraordinary beauty. You can certainly enjoy wonderful examples of French medieval art, and understand why many medieval poets got their inspiration from the area.

Starting at Bagnoles-de-l'Orne one can see the Hermitage d'Oritair, a monk whose exploits were well intertwined with the Arthurian legends. Then on through the forest d'Andaines, a massive and ancient forest still roamed by wild boar and herds of deer. Next to the Mont Charlamagne which dominates the region of Houlme. On to Banvou where Lancelot's father Ban de Banoic had his castle. At St Bomer le Forges you find the sarcophagus of Ban's great friend King Bandemagus.

At Domfront there's a Roman church still in existence and a charming old medieval centre of the town on top of a hill. Here too, you will find Eleanor of Aquitaine's castle as this was the the capital of the Plantagenets domain for a time.

On the way south over Mont Margantin is the ancient refuge of the last practising witches in France. Stop off at St Fraimbault-de-Lassay where it is held locally that Lancelot was buried. On to Carrouges where the châteaux was started in the 14th century by a local governor who was the personal secretary of Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou. He was the founder of the Plantagenet dynasty.

The châteaux was owned by the same family till 1937 and was so impregnable it's defences were never overrun (till the Germans invaded!). Now owned by the state it is beautifully maintained and contains most of the original furniture, mainly from the renaissance and restoration periods.

If you want more? then follow the links above, in the images, where you can buy Fraser's published books.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

Watch out for more rants and opinion next week or buy the book today for a rollicking good read.