Mostly Related Posts

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  Return to Cahaignes; abandoned chateau update

  Tucked away amongst our old posts are two about a chateau at Cahaignes, in the Eure region of Normandy. Back in 2013 we had hoped to match an old postcard of a grand chateau only to find it abandoned and in an appalling state. At that time there were no fences or gates and the doors…

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  A Frenchman's home is his castle, in Cahaignes

  An old postcard of a classically beautiful 17th century castle took us to Cahaignes.  We could find nothing online about it, perhaps a private owner had sensibly protected their privacy. Be careful what you wish for Cahaignes is tiny, balanced on the Eure plains between Rouen and Paris with very few roads to drive down looking…

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  Whatever happened to Château de Blanche-Lande?

  First published May 2015 The hill looked the same, as did the lake but where was the château towering above it all?  Château de Blanche-Lande has disappeared.  Mostly. In the heart of the Orne Our vintage postcard photo was taken deep in the forest of Écouves north of Alencon, where the river Thouane widens to…

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  The fairy legend of Château de Gratot

  First published November 2016 There are many potential problems to think about when taking a fairy (or fée in French) for your wife.  The Lord of Argouges ignored them all that fine summer day when he spotted a young lady about to take a swim in a refreshing forest pool. She was beautiful in a…

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  The ferocious history of château Saint-Germain-de-Livet

  Nestled in a soft green Normandy valley, could anything be more tranquil than château Saint-Germain-de-Livet? Probably not but this is Normandy and it doesn't take much digging to find a furious fighting past. Château Saint-Germain-de-Livet is no different, don't let it's pointy turrets and pretty tiled façade mislead you. Long long ago XIème siècle, the 11th…

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  Buy me Château de Boutemont!

  When you are granted three wishes, after world peace and the end to all disease, the third wish is of course for a Normandy château. We think we may have found exactly the one to wish for, hidden at the end of an ancient lane edged with trees that form a green tunnel. At the…

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  Squirrels, soldiers and silk at Le château de Couterne

  There are red squirrels in Normandy.  For the English visitor this is always a wonderful surprise. In dear old Blighty our squirrels are lumpy old things as grey as our rain clouds.  We have lost most of our reds, pushed out by these dreary tree rats.  British children are still told the old stories from…

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  The sad secret of Château Gaillard

  If you are in Les Andelys and look up you will abandon all previous plans in favour of visiting the beautiful white ruined castle on the top of the cliffs.  Here overlooking the Seine river is Château Gaillard. Either park at the top of the hill behind the Château and walk down, or park halfway…

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  The Footballers and forgotten château de Tancarville – a story of heritage in danger

  An impossible match.... First published February 3, 2018 High on the cliffs above the River Seine in Normandy is an imposing old château .  Here history stretches back to the 11th century and the first Dukes of Normandy. Tancarville was home to Raoul I Fitzgerald, trusted friend of Robert, first Duke of Normandy.  Raoul would become William…

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  When a dream came true, at Château de Crosville-sur-Douve, in the Manche

  First published 2017 One day in 1980 a girl called Michèle on a Normandy school bus heard that a tumble-down château  and its farm were for sale. Michèle was horrified.  She lived there. Michèle Lefol’s family are not grand.  They don’t descend from the château’s fine family.  Her grandparents took on the farm before WW2. …

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  A visionary in the trees at Chateau d’Harcourt

  It’s easy to understand ambition that brings riches in this life, or riches in the next. But to start something that will look a bit spindly and scrappy in your lifetime then in about a hundred years be really quite outstanding, now that takes a special sort of ambition.  It’s rare but it does happen and…

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  The disappearing war criminal of Château de Grangues

  First published June 2018 Our postcard is impossible to match as this is a private residence, however the story of the Château de Grangues does not need a matching photograph, just to be remembered. The Château is set discretely back from the road in parkland, just a few kilometres from the seaside town of Cabourg.…

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  On being a Normandy castle, at Arques-la-Bataille

  First published September 2014 A chance purchase of an intriguing old postcard in Honfleur took us to this charming ruin, the castle at Arques-la-Bataille. A castle not widely advertised.  There are no tours, or a shop.  No medal coins can be bought at its entrance for 2 euro.  We could have missed a treat. You…

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  Return to Cahaignes; abandoned chateau update

  Tucked away amongst our old posts are two about a chateau at Cahaignes, in the Eure region of Normandy. Back in 2013 we had hoped to match an old postcard of a grand chateau only to find it abandoned and in an appalling state. At that time there were no fences or gates and the doors…