Avid horttculturalists Penny and Peter Dinwiddie have transformed an overgrown plot of land andderelict manor house in Brittanv into a charminq chambres d'hôtes

WORDS: ANNA MCKITTRICK

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"t:,' Ji "".i''ith its immaculatelandscaned serdens

and )lunning inreriorsir'' hard to imagine

that Manoir de Kerlédan was ever

in need of some tender lovrng care.

But rt's taken the hard work and

dedicarion of British owner. Penn)

and Peter Dinrviddie to bring thisBreron manor back ro life.

Penny and Perer have alwer'tloved France and spent rnany happl'l-rolidays there, so when they sold

their thatched countr,v cottage near

Marlborough and couldn't decide

u.here to put down roots in the

UI(, they cast their net furtherafield, to France.

"My husband was in the

military and we'd lived in Germanyand Australia so we were used tomoving around a lot and r'r'e adoreFrance," says Penny. "We love the

Frerrch ideal which vou relell .ee

on holiday, so we thought why notgo and har e a look ar p''opertie\?"

The couple concentrated theirsearch in Brittany as they r.vanted tobe within easy reach of the ferries

to get back to the UK rvhere theirchildren Joe and Hannah (now 24and 22) were at boarding school.

The clir"nate was also a pull forPenny and Peter r,vhen choosing the

location of their French horrre:

"\7e were thinking of gorng

down further south but we're bothkeen gardeners and the weather inBrittany is similar to Cornu'all. Youhar e whar is called c soft air, a birlike Ireland, so it's quite moist. Thesummers are early and we havelovely weather in May, June and

early July. August isn't wonderfulbut September is normallyglorious," says Penny.

\7hen they came across Manoirde Kerlédan, a rundown manorhouse on the outskirts of Carhairin Finistère, they knew it was

the one."It was a coup de coeur.Ve

hadn't really worked out what we

were going to do once r've moved, r'r'e

were terribly green, but we just fell inlove with a ruin and an overgrownplot of 1and," says Penny.

The couple bought the 16th-

Clockwise from left: Den-y and Pe e,

Dlnwlddle fel in ove with the manorhouse at fLrst sight; the dining roorn;Penny oves cooking in the ktchen

centur)' rnanor housc and mor ecl ou

to Brittant'in September 2002 tobegin rvork on the property rvhichrvas in need of an extensive âmountof renovation. It rvas part of an

estate or'vned by a member of the

Breton aristocracy and after she diec

in the 1960s, the property fell intodisrepair Llntil a Parisian couple

bought it in tl"re mid-1990s to do

up as a holiday honre.

"Thev put on a new roof and

made it sound as far as n'indowsand doors were concerned, butthere rvrrc nc, floor'. tto electlicsand no plun-rbir-rg rvhen u.e took iton," sa,vs Pennv.

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propert,y r'i,hile they worked on the

house. Thev did most of the u'orkthemsclves, with the occasional l-rell

from artisans to assist with tl-re

more technical aspects such as the

rr iring. During the rcstorrtionprocess Penn-v and Petel retainedpeliod features such as the vast

granite fireplaces to keep tl-re spiritof the original property.

The green-fingered couple'soriginal plan u'as to set up a

pcpitticte tr grrdett nur\cr) I at lhepropert,v but the land rvas so

o\rergrown that the,V soon realised i

rvould be difficult to eilrn money rrthe short termr so they decided toset up a chambres d'hôtes instead.

The first room wâs ready ton elcome quests in 2004. but Pennv

à la maison

says it wasn't until 2009 that itwas fully finished - although shejokes that it's an ongoing process.

They now have four en-suite guest

bedrooms."We created an atmosphere in

which guests come to stay âs guests

of the house. The ambiance is thatof a relaxed country house wherefriends of friends of friends mightcome to stây," enthuses Penly.

"Our kitchen opens out ontothe salon and it's very open plandownstairs. I do a lot of catering as

we offer evening meals three infour nights throughout the season

so I'm often cooking and guests

will wander into the kitchen andask if there is something they canhelp me with. \7e grow all ourown vegetables and fruit so theyoften go out and get herbs from thepotager," adds Penny.

She says that as an army wifeshe was expected to do a lot ofcooking and entertaining, so she

has become accustomed to cateringfor large groups, a skill which has

proved invaluable since setting upthe business. And Penny lovescreating the different menus forguests based on the seâsonaiproduce they grow in theirflourishing kitchen garden.

"'We're passionate aboutproducing our own fresh organicfoods and we source just abouteverything else locally, eitherthrough the market or theproducers. Because I love cooking,offering evening meals has becomeour niche market as it's somethingthat nor many B&Bs do because itis a lot of hard work," says Penny.

The organic vegetable gardenwas planted and grown fromscratch by the couple, along withthe rest of the gardens that makeup the vast grounds encompassing

seven acres. It took Penny andPeter two yeârs to clear the landwith the help of a local farmer andthey then divided the garden intosmaller plots, each with therr owntheme.

"Ve have flower beds in thefront and rear courtyards wheretables are set up in the summer.\7e have an orchard where wegrow medlars, quinces and varietiesof plums, pears and apples. Thenthere's the lush garden with bigleafed olants with a lot of colour

"We have flaiver beds irl the fr*nt ond"rear caLLrtysrds nnd ws hûve ûnorchardwhere we grCIu, quinces cndvaîieties oJplurns, pe{irs r:.nc{ appies"

which leads to the topiary gardenwhich is my husband's hobby,"enthuses Penny.

A delicate rose garden filledwith 25 different varieties addsa delightful scent and a splash ofcolour to the outside space. It isused, along with the numerousconrainers of tulips, as a cuttinggarden so that Penny has a constantsupply of fresh flowers to add aspecial touch to the guest rooms.

It's not just the exterior of theproperty that has benefitted from

Clockwise from top left: the topiarygarden is Peter's favour.te place; a guestbedroom at the manor house in Brittany;tarte Tatin is a favourite with visitors; theseven acres of grounds are spectacular;Penny and Peter love their new life inFrance; family pets enjoy a snooze

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Penny and Peter's talent - theinterior of the manor erudes rusticcharm. While ereating the interiordesign has been largely Penny's

domain she says it's very much a

partnership u'ith her husband whoshe credit' with rnaking the messive

three-metre mirrors that grace the

walls in the salon and dining room.Penny, r.vho has aiways been

interested in interiors, says the

overall look took shape prettyorganically: "We've gone for verysimple interiors and nothing toosmart, âs the house is old but it'snot an 1Sth-centurl' elegantlyrefined property so we've kept thelook rustic. Anything too smartmakes the house look ghastlywhereas shabby chic, i,vhich I canfind easily, works really well. It's

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more of a European look than an

English look, although the French

always say it'r an English interiorand the English sây thât it's French

in style."The couple broughr over piece'

from their English home but Penny

says they just didn't suit the house

- apart from her collection of blue

and r'vhite Delftware pottery. Penny

enjoys going to the local brocantes

to source pieces for their home and

has collected an eclectic mix ofitems. As a keen seamstress andupholsterer, Penny is in the process

of relining the red striped silkcurtains in the Françoise du Murbedroom with red and white toile.

With the vast garden andchambres d'hôtes to maintain Iasked Penn,v if it's difficult to juggle

March 2012 Living France 55

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both of them. "It's full time. Vhenwe stârt the season, which runsfrom March to November, it's a

seven-day week ând we probablywork far too hard just the two ofus. But we love it and it's the onlyway you can be to do this business."

Their interest in gardening hasproved to be a wonderful wayfor them to get to know theirneighbours. "It's been fantastic forus because being passionate abouthorticulture you start visiting localgardens so we've made Frenchfriends through the garden links,"says Penny.

The location of the propertycouldn't have proved better andalthough the couple hadn'r spenrmuch time in Brittany prior tomoving there, they are delightedwith their chosen location.

The Dinwiddies enjoy the Bretonculture and in particular the diverseselection of music on offer in theregion. Peter, who's Scottish,adores the Celtic links in Brittanyand has even invested in someBreton bagpipes which has nodoubt gone down well within thelocal community. They are ideally

56 Living France March 2012

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placed to atteîd Les VieillesCharrues, France's largest musrcfestival, which rakes place inCarhaix.

The whole town gets involvedwith the event which is charity runand the couple do their part byoffering the organisers subsidisedaccommodation ât Mânoir deKerlédan. The family attend rhe

festival every year and Penny sayshelping out with the evenr has

forged relationships within theIocal community and they now feelvery much part of the proceedings.

It's not iust Penny and Peterwho are involved in Les VieillesCharrues as rheir daughrer

Hannah, who is now bilingual,worked at the festival in 2009 whenBruce Springsteen headlined.

For rhe Dinwiddies their moveto France signified a new chapter,and a decade into their Frenchlife they are happier than ever,ensconced in their littie cornerof Brittany. Looking towardsthe future Penny says they wantro add garden tours to theirrepertoire - and with suchenthusiasm for their hobbyand an eagerness to sharetheir knowledge of gardensin Brittany, there's no doubtthey're on to a winner. LF

wtuw.kerledan.com

Clockwise fromtop: the manorhouse has beencornpletelyrestored; French

chic lnside thenouse; In lnegrounds

www.livingf ra nce. com