11 bis - Self-catering house in Manche

Sit with a glass of cider in the suntrap courtyard, and you’ll be gazing at Bricquebec’s clock tower and the ramparts of one of Normandy’s best-preserved castles. And when it’s time for dinner, there are restaurants aplenty at the end of the shop-studded lane. Secluded yet central with pretty white shutters and flowery window boxes, the 200-year-old stone house feels light and airy; the bathrooms, beds and kitchen are fresh and new. An open-plan living area is bright with photos, leather sofas and an exposed stone feature wall, and up on the landing a wingback chair invites you to rest awhile. There’s a single room off here, with a country-cosy master room up one more (very steep) flight under the eaves: stripped floorboards, feather bedding, velux windows peeping out between the beams. A half-hour south of Cherbourg, Bricquebec lies in a peninsula ringed by beaches, bird-filled marshes and walking trails. What to do? Sand carting, sea kayaking, horse riding, posh seafood in Barneville-Carteret... Just make sure you’re in town on a Monday, when market stalls selling Trappe cheese and fresh fish line the medieval streets.