We are David and Matthew
An English couple who moved to France in November 2020, we have spent since then renovating a side barn on our main house where the original footprint dates back to 1350s. We fell in love with the house the moment we drove through the rather large, unique granite archway, followed closely by the endless views of the French countryside, a magnificent house as well as its own moat. We are enjoying every moment of living in France and renovating the barn, from finding antique furniture within the barn, to modernising it whilst still having that authentic touch.
We’ve aspired to run a Gite business within rural France that attracts all kinds of guests visiting from all over the world. We have a passion for entertaining people and making sure that their stay with us is fulfilled to their utmost pleasure. We thrive in sharing our own ideas and giving suggestions and get joy out of seeing others relish in this. We hope that you fall in love with La mansion des douves as quickly as we did.
We love living next to a working farm
We are wine enthousiasts, feel free to ask us about our favorites!
Living in France for 3 years!
Why did we move here in France?
Between us, we have visited France over a number of years, including childhood holidays. We quickly fell in love with it. The dream of semi-retirement in this beautiful country was too good an opportunity to miss out on.
Our renovation adventure
We completely renovated the barn next to our house into a two-bedroom French gîte. We tried to keep it as authentic as possible being sympathetic to the many original features including a 16th-century fireplace and oak beams. However, we have added some modern features to make it a comfortable holiday home.