Clé France

BAGNOLES DE L'ORNE in the Orne Department of Lower Normandy - 

Bagnoles (as it is generally known) is one of the gems of France. Not only is it a beautiful town, but as its name hints, it's a spa town. People congregate from all over Europe from spring to autumn to ''take the waters'' for all manner of ailments.

Situated in the Bocage area of Normandy and surrounded by the considerable forest of the Andaines, it is a holiday area par excellence. With all its leisure activities it is an ideal venue vacance. There is a small but delightful 9 hole golf course, one of the original one's in France, pony trekking through the forest, swimming, both indoor and outdoor tennis, fishing and horse riding to name but a few.

For those who like quieter activities there's a bridge club, slide shows, a cinema, a theatre, regular live jazz evenings, painting and design courses and even a mushroom picking and cooking weekend in September. This includes instruction on which are good and which are not and a thorough inspection of everything you've picked by an expert – just to be sure!

The night life lacks for nothing either. There are first class hotels and restaurants where the evening meal is turned into an art form and most at quite affordable prices. There's a casino which includes ballroom dancing, a disco pub, and a restaurant. And, of course, there's the now famous festival ''Au pays de Lancelot du Lac'' which retells the Arthurian legend by way of exhibitions, concerts and live spectacles throughout lower Normandy.

Finally, it has to be said that Bagnoles is not only a beautiful and rather special town, but it's surrounded by masterpieces such as the Châteaux d'O, Lassay les Chateaux, Sassy and Carrouges. If that was not enough the cathedrals of Sens, Saint Ceneri, Notre dame sur l'Eau and Lonlay are absolutely marvellous and all within easy reach.

Read more about Bagnoles de l'Orne from a previous blog by David at Cle France here...

Property for sale in Bagnoles de l'Orne.

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.

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