aha… we get that sort in our gravelled areas… you should be able to pull them out by the roots… if you grab low down… best of luck.
(glad you’ve arrived safely…)
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Is the house still there in all of that 
Despite my worries the house seems intact - the lights in the cellar have both failed rather than just one of them as normal. I think that they don’t like the damp as they have never been reliable. The spiders have taken over a few corners but not too many - I’m afraid their period of feather-duster free existence must now come to an end!
This fella sitting in the bath was, I think, enquiring where the shower caps were stored but (s)he had a rather strong Breton accent so I could not quite make it out 
But all services seem to be intact and the heat pump has not thrown a hissy fit (yet).
Yes - most of the tall ones are now lying flat, there are lots of deep rooted ones though - will have to decide the right balance between digging them up (which will take days) or just spraying pelargonic. It is a pity glyphosate is banned as it would be perfect for this but I can only use the tools available. Anyway getting weedkillerwill have to wait until I can get to the Guérande Leroy Merlin (the 5l Clairland concentrate that they sell is the most cost effective way of buying the stuff but still an eye-watering 59€)
The mower wouldn’t start so that’s this morning’s project, then I can finish off mowing a path from the shed to the front of the house and just find a corner and start there.
It’s all gone to seed though so most of it is just going to be brown stubble when I’ve finished.
what the heck… this is France… at least you are here… shrug your shoulders at the weeds, the mower, whatever… do what you can, then pour a glass of something nice… and relax …
That’s a good sign… spiders don’t like damp!
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absolutely… we found snails all over the inside of our house… 
The house itself is not too bad, the cellar tends to be fairly humid though and sometimes a little standing water in places during heavy rains - but that’s OK, French cellars are designed to be damp.
In fact I have always assumed that (certainly Breton) houses tend to have the living accommodation on the 1st floor as a reaction to thick stone-walled dwellings with no damp-proof courses. Sadly it leads to style of which I’m not that fond - thankfully we’re not too bad, the floor level is about something like 15-18" above the ground at the front, so there are two steps up to the front door, not an entire staircase.
I expect you’ve already checked that there are air vents in the cellar walls… should be on all 4 sides and not blocked of course.
experiences with ours and friends’ houses:
… cellar should be vented to the outside (airbrick in UK… hole in wall in France)
… if water arrives naturally in cellar, should have an exit route (drain away at the lowest point, and out through the wall)
… ensure any drainage channels are clear (at base of walls or across the floor)
… thick layer of stones (a beach) will allow any water to pass and keeps the cellar cool (works well for us)
20 years on and we’re still enjoying ourselves, learning how to live with this crazy house… 
The only vents are at the front of the house where it is not a cellar but merely a “sous vide” under the kitchen.
But it is not airtight - there is actually access to the rear of the cellar from outside (steps down from ground level to door).
Yes, there are gutters around the edges and a sump for them to drain into with a pump to then evacuate the water - though exactly where the water then goes is a mystery - I assumed it ran into the storm drain which is fed by the gutters and runs to the soak-away ditch at the edge of the property but apparently not.
Plenty of time for me to unravel the finer mysteries of this place then - only had it 5½ years
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Every so often I rake the narrow gravel paths and pull out the determined weeds. It’s too much work to do that everywhere though.
One of the problems with weedkillers is that they are most effective against the most delicate plants, so there is a danger that you are just helping the toughest weeds by wiping out the competition.
Unless you are prepared to install a fabric underlay under the gravel, nature will always reassert itself.
But, if you like grasses and primroses and red campion and other pretty roadside plants, you can have that without much trouble. Just hand weed things that get too invasive and strim when the flowers have finished.
Easier to work with nature rather than fight it!
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The neighbour that I mentioned has since died…it wasn’t the hoe’s fault though. Last week I could be seen using a club hammer and screwdriver to get some deep rooted weeds out of compacted gravel. I’m soo glad no one could see me!
not a nice way to speak of your deceased neigbour…
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Beware of getting a fright from snakes in the long grass/weeds - we have seen so many more this year and they love the long stuff
None so far, just more ant hills than we used to have mole hills.
I’m hoping that approaching with an extremely noisy strimmer will give any snakes adequate notice to move on - but did get a reminder that they are about as I came across a dead and very flat snake carcass in the road when i walked to get bread. Even in it’s rather crushed state I could see it was an adder (or is that subtracter, I can never recall).
with snakes…you’ll be able to tell the baddies from the good-guys… just look into their eyes and check the pupil…
edit:
solid pupil will be grass snake of some kind…
slit pupil will be viper of some sort - keep out of the way…
I’m hoping not to get that close 
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That takes some nerve to check to that degree
It’s worth knowing… for that moment when you are strimming thick weeds/shrubs at shoulder height… and a snake appears in front of your face… “eye to eye” you might say… It can make all the difference between shock… and… panic!!!
OH had just such an experience… 
Daughter#5 went out to fill up an outside cat biscuitbowl last week and let out a squawk - the bowl is on a table under the auvent and our snake was resting up on a beam, was startled and fell right next to her, into a flower pot. Poor snake, we hope s/he isn’t injured.