Tucked away off a narrow winding country road, located just down the way from the small village where rest assured a boulangerie for your fresh croissants and baguette is open early each day, a couple of shops, a hardware store, and crèche for the young children. Locals either work on their farms or travel to nearby towns such as Lannion which was about a 15 minute drive and Perros-Guirec was ten, each plopped right along the Atlantic coast.

I happened upon Le Petit Kérès Cottage while searching AirBnb about a year ago. The cottage is owned by a young family who runs a seasonal Bed & Breakfast La Maison Kérès just on the other side of an orchard which is not visible from the cottage, but only a mere 50 meters away (have a look at their map below).

Nicer folks I have never met, easy to communicate with prior to my arrival, and during my stay, they were helpful should I have needed anything. I did my best to just stay tucked away and let them go about their life, and only reached out once for more firewood as I went through the first basket they gave me, and so enjoyed having the crackling and warmth while it rained and I wrote.

Arriving at the end of the first week of March, spring had sprung in northern Brittany, wild primroses lined the roads as well as daffodils and the camellia at the cottage had been blooming for some time. Fields were lush and green, what a verdant sight to savor.

I drove the 2 1/2 hours from the Rennes’ train station to this small town very near the coast, but not on it, which saved me money, but gave me such a beautiful home away from home. Next time I visit Brittany, I will take the train all the way to Brest which goes straight to the NW edge of France, and is the end of the train line, but after sharing with Christine, the owner of the cottage, my approach, she felt Rennes was the best choice for visiting the north of Brittany. Be sure to explore my post (shared below) about why I love driving in France, as well as links to a specific list to guide you through a successful car rental experience in the country.

With the intention to enjoy a week in Brittany going about an everyday routine of walking, writing, exploring and resting, each morning I took a walk along the coastline, seeking out different trails nearly every day. Have a look and watch the video of my walks in the post below.

Now, let’s take a tour of the cottage.

You can find the listing for Le Petit Kérès Cottage on Airbnb here, and as you will see on their listing, the photos captured the cottage during warmer weather. The outdoor area where the umbrella is along with seating is where my car was parked, but there was a cedar table to the right side that would have been lovely to sit out at and read when the weather improved. They don’t rent the cottage during the winter, so I think I might have been one of the first guests for the season.

I geniunely loved staying in this cottage. While it is located right off the road, it is a small, country road, and nearly absent of traffic. With skylights that open both in the bedrooms upstairs and in the bathroom, I would leave them open at night so I would wake up to the abundance of birdsong as well as hear any falling rain, which fell frequently off and on all day and night – gently, soothingly. Home-away-from-home as I shared in my walking tour post here along the nearby Côte de Granit Rose.

Grateful for the time to rest, relax and gather my thoughts, working quite a bit on the upcoming new book, I found both the cottage and Brittany to offer the type of nourishment that I crave and so deeply appreciate wherever I am in the world. Now to polish up and deepen my French language skills even further (be sure to listen to episode #408 to see how 3-years of French language class indeed did help to enhance the quality of my trip).

Explore all of the Posts Shared during TSLL’s 10th Annual French Week