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What do French Paysans think of the Brits taking on ‘money pit’ renovations. A personal experience
or, ‘What will the paysans think of your chateau rescue shenanigans’
Below is a story of arriving in my corner of rural France and meeting the neighbours.
We arrived in France in 1997. These tales from France are inspired by of decades restoring a sandstone Renaissance castle in the Aude department of a region known as French Langue d’Oc.
Our castle is perched on a hilltop. To the north overlooking a valley chequered with vines, poplars, pastures, horses, boulders and little orchards. The earth is dramatically streaked with seams of red and ochre breaking through the tilled fields and shaded paths. To the south the Pyrenees rising and stretching away to the southern side taking your brath away with the beauty of it.
When channel 4’s first season of Escape to the Chateau DIY included us in their serial we met others with the same Chateau rescuing bug.
The experience revealed to me the subtle similarities and nuances shared across the country.
You can read more in Beyond ParisBeyond Paris, and Insider’s Guide to Rural France now available at Waterstones, Barnes and Noble and Amazon
