What is it?
In 1975, Woolsery was twinned with Beuvron-en-Auge, a picturesque village in Normandy, Northern France. Since then there have been numerous exchange visits between to the two villages, usually in May and/or October.

The idea behind our exchange visits is several fold: It allows us as English people to meet ordinary people from a French village similar to ours people and enjoy the differences between us. We stay in each other homes as guests, which gives us all an insight into the problems of trying to live ordinary lives in the twenty-first century.

Over the past few years, for reasons which have no bearing on either community, there has been a perception that the French and the English have a number of issues which divide them, most of them agricultural. The Woolsery Twinning Association, and our counterparts in Beuvron, believe that most of these issues have been created by events beyond our control but agree that they can certainly impact on the livelihoods of both communities. We, as members of the Twinning Association, see part of our job as trying to promote the fact that, whatever the events that affect us, we are still all ordinary people, wanting the same security and a peaceful life for our families and loved-ones wherever we live.

Visiting another country is always a learning experience, although not always a good one! However, the majority of our trips to France have been memorable and the ones which were less so was usually the fault of the weather! The one thing that Woolsery and Beuvron have most in common is the amount of rain both villages get!

What Twinning is Not.
It is not an elite village organisation only open to those who speak French. Very few of our current members speak French but they do enjoy visiting Normandy and, of course having a French family to stay here with them in Woolsery. Both communities have their share of speakers of the other’s language and even those who struggle to speak English or French, always seem to manage to communicate.

No-one is excluded
We do not exclude children. We do not exclude anyone from the Association although we do insist that young children are accompanied by an adult when we visit France.
You don’t need to have a big house with lots or bedrooms. Even if you don’t have room to accommodate our French guests you are welcome to join us on our visits.  If you can’t provide accommodation you may wish to help us in other ways. Membership is open to all those living in and around Woolsery. We have one member who lives in Bude and two who live in Bideford.

It’s not expensive. Membership has just risen to £5.00 for the year.  Our trips to France are at a reasonably cost.  The more people we have on a trip, the cheaper it becomes.

You don’t have to be an exclusive member of The Woolsery Twinning Association. Some of our members go to France with Clovelly Twinning and Bradworthy Twinning groups.