La Locherie is our own little hamlet in rural France, situated in the Mayenne region, just over the borders of both Normandy & Brittany. Click here to see a map. It is an ancient farm, set in a pastoral landscape so tranquil and unspoiled by progress that it seems to be part of a previous century. Set in its own grounds at the end of a lane, the original stone house, which dates from around 200 years ago, has been extended over the years with the addition of first one stone barn and then another to form an L-shaped building around a South-facing courtyard. These barns have been converted to form our gites. A third, freestanding, stone barn, which has also been extended at a later date, completes the cluster of buildings. The previous owner was born at La Locherie, as was her mother and her mother's mother. She and her husband and son still farm in the next village.

When we first saw La Locherie, in the autumn of 1999, it was empty and rather forlorn. But we fell in love with it - and the area - straight away and were determined to restore it to its full potential.