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After many summers holidaying there, Bob McCluckie decided to buy his own piece of beautiful Brittany

- Bob McCluckie

Ever since my family began holidaying regularly in the north of France, mainly for ease of access, we’ve been beguiled by Brittany. From the Pink Granite Coast that stretches around PerrosGuirec at the top of Côtesd’Armor, to the tourist area around Bénodet in the south of Finistère, the variety of Brittany was unbeatable. Even more appealing was the lush countryside inland, redolent of England but much more to our liking. Over time we fell in love with the distinctive Breton identity, with its fierce sense of independence, its dual language road signs and its beloved flag.

So in summer 1999, after many years of holidaying there and loving the countryside, the culture and the people, my wife Faye and I decided to try to realise our long-held dream of owning a property in Brittany.

The best place to start, we decided, was to combine a Breton holiday with property viewings. First, we had to narrow down the location. Bénodet would have been wonderful, but the idyllic coastal location and popularity meant that house prices were similar to the UK; the same applied for the northern coast of Finistère. Inland, however, there seemed to be some very attractive and reasonably priced properties.

We arranged a few viewings, including one for a listing we spotted in the classified ads section of French Property News. It was a little two-bedroom cottage in the secluded countryside near Rostrenen in Côtes-d’Armor. We obtained contact details and found that it was being sold fully furnished by an English couple, who suggested that we contacted some French friends of theirs if we wanted to see it.

FINDING THE ONE?