Heaven for horses and perfect for ponies, Normandy is a patchwork of rolling fields, fertile plains, beguiling picture-postcard villages and hilltop forests. It’s just two and a half hours’ drive from Paris, which makes it a favourite destination for Paris weekenders and the ideal spot for a two-centre holiday.
Soak up some capital culture, before heading northwest, or skip the city altogether and spend a few days exploring, both in and out of the saddle.
First stop is the Haras National du Pin (haras-national-du-pin.com), the oldest of France's network of national studs. Established by Louis XIV, it's known as the Equestrian Versailles, and for good reason. The courtyards are beautiful, the horses magnificent, and the landscape fit for a king. Tours and events take place throughout the year (guided tour €12 adult/€8.50 children, under-sevens go free).
The nearby Hippodrome de la Bergerie racetrack is both charming for visitors and testing for horses. It’s small enough for you to meet the trainers, pick up tips and share a champagne or two with the winners. Next meeting: is in May 2016 (coursesdupin.com). The stables at the Haras du Pin have plaques to former famous residents and, if you’re more serious about your equine intentions, they offer residential courses in saddle making, blacksmithing, carriage driving, breeding, and – of course – riding.
When riding French horses, however, remember that they speak French. Or rather, you have to speak their language if you want them to listen. Words to remember include: doucement (quietly), vite (the opposite!), arrêtez (whoa), and a canter is le petit gallop . . .
We rode at the Marins Berdris equestrian centre, set on a hillside at La Chapelle-Montligeon. Solene Azour took us out for a blissful two-hour ride, cantering over woodland paths, trotting through shallow streams, and meandering round quiet lanes. The ponies are well mannered but keen, and it was an unforgettable adventure through the forest that Louis XIV once grew for timber to build his royal ships. A two-hour hack costs €28 (catherine_nebout@orange.fr or phone 0033-682 260920).
Alternatively you can work up an appetite riding at Le Bistrot des Ecuries, just outside Boissy-Maugis, where Ulrike Rudolph, who knows the local forest paths and fields, will pair you up with the ideal pony. An hour's ride costs €15.
Follow this with lunch or dinner at her on-site restaurant and discover her knowledge and passion for wine. There’s one guest room, and a gîte is opening soon (bistrot-des-ecuries.com).
You don’t have to ride to have a horsey time in Normandy. The land is famous for its Percherons: calm, strong working horses, with a sweet temperament, they have been war horses, carriage horses and farm horses for centuries.
Born black, they either stay that way, or turn white and dappled grey. At Céline Maudet’s family farm, La Ferme de L’Absoudière at Corbon, you can take a two-hour carriage drive through forests, and feel the ages melt away as you step back in time.
It’s calming and occasionally thrilling too, and two hours costs just €15 for groups from two to 10 people (percherons.maudet@free.fr or phone 0033-627 023536).
The Orne region of Normandy's landscape is gorgeously unspoiled. Part of the reason for this is the network of small artisan farms, where apples are grown, goats reared, and lush pastures feed cows and horses.
Many of the farms have shops, where you can buy the owners’, and their neigbours’, produce including honey, paté, preserves and cheeses.
We visited Bruno and Nathalie Caillibaud’s goat’s cheese farm at Cisai-Saint-Aubin, where a small fresh, meltingly white chevre will set you back just €2 (lafermedespampilles.fr).
In Comblot, Grégoire Ferré and his family make cider and calvados and have a local cider festival each November. These aren’t slick, commercialised operations, and their atmospheric farm shop is the ideal place for a very enjoyable tasting session (gregferre@yahoo.fr, 0033-664509 688).
The surprise of the visit for me was discovering mare’s milk just outside La Moisière at Julie Decayeux’s farm. There are 250 horses grazing on her land which are milked in a large barn alongside their foals three times a day and, while the chevalait shop isn’t generally open to the public, you can buy their products online at chevalait.com.
Cleopatra is famous for having bathed in asses milk, and horse milk is said to be close in composition to human milk and so is ideal for those with allergies.
It tastes light and vaguely grassy – in a pleasant way – and, whether drunk or in cosmetics, it’s great for the skin. The chevalait soaps and shampoos are just lovely. Prices from €3.90.
So, as winter approaches, when is the best time to go? Jokes about the weather abound in Normandy and, just like Ireland, you don't get all that verdant green without some rain, but go prepared and it's lovely at any time.
There’s more to do in the summer, though obviously it gets more crowded, and dedicated horse lovers know that riding goes on year-round, and bright crisp winter days are a joy. Autumn is delicious in the forests as the leaves turn golden, while spring will be idyllic.
