For Brittany people (especially with horses) - is this realistic?

[Sarajane]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and would love to hear from those of you who are already living in Brittany. We are looking for a property with land for horses and we want to live in the heart of the countryside with no near neighbours, just a quiet peaceful place with access to off road riding. Is the countryside in the centre of Brittany that isolated or would be better off looking elsewhere in France? Thanks in advance.

[Val_2]

As someone who has lived here in Brittany a long time,it is increasingly becoming more and more crowded with a great deal of building work going on all over.Finding a really isolated property these days is very hard as the land is very intensly farmed,so horse riding is restricted to bridleways in most places as farmers don't like riders on their land,plus fields here do not usually have linking gates to other fields which is why so many tractors are on the roads travelling from one field to another via the roadways. If you want to live in isolation for the rest of your days here you need to be realistic as to the day when you can no longer drive, the nearest shop is miles away and you can also be a target for thieves who tend to go for these places where they will not be disturbed,to say nothing if you should have a bad accident and no one knows plus the loneliness of having no one to pop in from close by. If complete isolation is what you really desire,I would suggest you try some of the little know and sparsely populated regions in the centre of the country but definately not here.

[Wicce]

Hi Sarah. We too live in Brittany - with 2 horses - and I heartily agree with what Val 2 says. It is getting difficult to find properties with land, never mind really isolated ones. There are also other considerations - need a Vet quickly, or need to get a Farrier to come out to you? It's all a bit trickier if they have to travel a distance to find you - some Farriers will refuse to attend if you are a bit out of their range. It sounds great to live in peace and isolation, but you really do need neighbours on some occasions.

Good luck in your search.
Mary

[Liz]

We don't have horses but I have some friends who do so I have an idea what your requirments might be. I don't think it is unrealistic to look for the sort of property you have in mind in central Brittany, all you need is a realistic budget! The days of picking up a charming longere ready to move in to with a couple of acres for 30,000 euros are long gone.

I am not sure exactly what you mean by central Brittany but the parts I know in the Monts d'Arre and Montagnes Noires might fulfill your requirements. But it is true that much of the land that appears to be open accessible moorland is in fact closed off. I think if you have in mind wide open spaces and wild horse Carmargue type country then you will be disappointed. Not far from here is a village called Huelgoat, a bit on the touristy side, but it does give access to an extensive area of forest. There are other similar areas further to the east which have extensive forests. You might also consider places near the Nantes Brest canal, the whole of this is accessible for horses on the tow path, or near the coast west of Roscoff for easily accessible dunes and beaches that can be ridden.

I think you might have to compromise a bit on the 'isolated'. There are such places but generally speaking outside the towns and villages houses are often grouped into little hamlets. For example, I would consider that we are fairly isolated being 5 km from the nearest village but there are a few scattered houses nearby, none of which impinges on us in any way. We are also 12 km from the hypermarket and a largish town so I feel this gives us the best of both worlds. If I mention that we have enough land for at least a couple of horses, buildings that would make stables easily and a forest on the door step I will only turn you green with envy .

I would suggest that the only way you will know the answer to your question is to take a good look, I don't think you will be wasting your time. Brittany is a large area so you need to either limit yourself to a particular part or to take long enough that you can at least get a flavour of several different areas. Perhaps a couple of weeks touring holiday would give you the best idea.

Liz (29)

[Bella]

Yes, if there are enough euros to hand but agree with other posts that perhaps being too isolated might not be such a good thing - it can be so useful to have neighbours. Trouble is what you might be looking for will possibly be a ruin that has been used for hundreds of years for animal housing because there are few houses completely on their own. On the pictures they might look a dream come true but take a look inside.......!!! Brittany is so varied it might pay to look around to see what areas dry up completely in the summer and some areas are very heathy. Near the canal is a good place in the summer but on the other hand the winters might be a bit dodgy with flooding and the horses will be in the mud.

[Abbaye]

We live in a rural area of Brittany (Ille-et-Vilaine). We are about 2 kms from our village and have 10 hectares of land. We bought 2.5 years ago and at the time land was getting hard to find, i think now it is more so. Our farm has 2 neighbours who we can see but a stream and lots and lots of trees divide us and we are never aware of them being there, they are about 500m - 750m away ... apart from, for example, when one came round to tell us that one of our sheep was injured and helped us get her in to a stable etc etc. We really didnt want any neighbours but with hindsight i think its quite a good thing. It can feel bleak here at times, especially in the winter and you are on your own in this huge place, its nice to know someone is there should you need them. I do not have experience of horses but would imagine that the amount of tractors that frequent the little lanes that surround properties like ours (it being a rural area, that is still farmed) might be a problem.