Escape to the Chateau
On a warm summer morning, with the temperature a comfortable 17°c, we started our journey. Before leaving the UK we spent an afternoon in Kent at Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, formerly the home of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson. It is managed by the National Trust and has been restored to reflect the work its former owners and is a glorious place, full of colour.
We had a relaxing afternoon as we walked around the estate, exploring every nook and cranny before checking into our hotel ahead of an early morning departure on the Eurotunnel.
For our first night I had booked accommodation in a chateau. After a long drive, on France's hottest day, when temperature rose to 38 degrees centigrade, we arrived at Chateau de la Chasse Guerre, situated in the Pay de la Loire, about 30 miles north west of Le Mans, deep in the countryside. . It is not a stereotypical French chateau by any stretch of the imagination but it provided us with an unforgettable start to our trip and a wonderful evening in delightful company. The chateau is owned by Blandine and Daniel. It dates back over 1000 year and is mostly a ruin but Blandine and Daniel have restored and are restoring the buildings in what is obviously a labour of love. We entered through an archway - the stones of the arch looked precarious, and found ourselves in a sort of courtyard, with the ruins of a tower ahead and two wings to either side. A white peacock showed supreme disinterest in our arrival. In a large cage a more conventional peacock displayed - apparently locked up because of a predilection for attacking visitors cars.
We wandered around the grounds - the chateau is surrounded in part by a moat - full of noisy frogs.
We had asked Blandine if we could take our evening meal in the chateau - she provided a fixed price dinner - and she suggested we wait until it was cooler and proposed we join her and the other guests around 8.00 pm to dine outdoors. Given the temperature this seemed a very sensible suggestion even though it was well past Mrs B's meal time! It was a joyful evening - as we shared a table with Blandine and her partner Daniel, fellow English guests Roland and Linda and Laurent, Cordelia and their daughter Eloise who were French although Cordelia and Eloise spent a lot of time in the USA. The food served by Blandine was simply superb and all home made. To start a savoury tart, bursting with flavour, then a refreshing salad with pulses, home made bread and terrine, pork loin, cheeses and then strawberry and banana ice cream - all accompanied by carafes of red wine.
Roland and Linda were celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary so the meal started with champagne and throughout the evening conversation flowed in English and French. It was as though we'd been parachuted into a family meal and had all known each other for a lifetime. The following morning it was time to depart with another long drive ahead of us - but before leaving we ate breakfast al fresco enjoying more home made bread and jams with honey from Blandine's bee hives and home made yogurt. It was with some reluctance we left Chateau de la Chasse Guerre but with the prospect of many more miles to travel it was time to hit the road and head south - to the Dordogne.
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| Sissinghurst Castle Garden |
We had a relaxing afternoon as we walked around the estate, exploring every nook and cranny before checking into our hotel ahead of an early morning departure on the Eurotunnel.
For our first night I had booked accommodation in a chateau. After a long drive, on France's hottest day, when temperature rose to 38 degrees centigrade, we arrived at Chateau de la Chasse Guerre, situated in the Pay de la Loire, about 30 miles north west of Le Mans, deep in the countryside. . It is not a stereotypical French chateau by any stretch of the imagination but it provided us with an unforgettable start to our trip and a wonderful evening in delightful company. The chateau is owned by Blandine and Daniel. It dates back over 1000 year and is mostly a ruin but Blandine and Daniel have restored and are restoring the buildings in what is obviously a labour of love. We entered through an archway - the stones of the arch looked precarious, and found ourselves in a sort of courtyard, with the ruins of a tower ahead and two wings to either side. A white peacock showed supreme disinterest in our arrival. In a large cage a more conventional peacock displayed - apparently locked up because of a predilection for attacking visitors cars.
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| One of the residents at Chateau Chasse de la Guerre |
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| Chateau de la Chasse Guerre |
We had asked Blandine if we could take our evening meal in the chateau - she provided a fixed price dinner - and she suggested we wait until it was cooler and proposed we join her and the other guests around 8.00 pm to dine outdoors. Given the temperature this seemed a very sensible suggestion even though it was well past Mrs B's meal time! It was a joyful evening - as we shared a table with Blandine and her partner Daniel, fellow English guests Roland and Linda and Laurent, Cordelia and their daughter Eloise who were French although Cordelia and Eloise spent a lot of time in the USA. The food served by Blandine was simply superb and all home made. To start a savoury tart, bursting with flavour, then a refreshing salad with pulses, home made bread and terrine, pork loin, cheeses and then strawberry and banana ice cream - all accompanied by carafes of red wine.
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| Blandine slicing a flan whilst the rest of us tried not to dribble.... |
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