Staying in a castle - Brametourte

Our castle stay - Brametourte Castle

This was a night we had all been waiting for - a stay in a real castle! 

We had the directions at the ready, had our cheese board and wine ready and we were on our way! 

Quite easily found the driveway - however the driveway we found was actually the un-used one and not the main entrance - our new rental car with only 500kms on the clock was doing some rough driving - still, after coming across the gardener Grant we knew we were in the right place and he gave us some advice about how to make it up the rest of the drive! Phew!

Anyway, we were here and what a place. Thank you to my friend Maureen for the recommendation - we, like you, loved it!

Sitting out in the back garden area - beautiful

We had a very relaxed afternoon/evening at the castle just enjoying the location - the view and the ambiance - it was just what we needed along with a couple of bottle of wine! 

The castle and one of the towers.............the troubadour suite - where the lady in the white dress appears from time to time if you believe the story -

The entrance way into the cobbled courtyard before entering the castle proper -

The courtyard and entrance door proper:-

Brameforte Castle dates back to the 11^th century - 1000 years old - how crazy is that!

Alison and Paul  brought the run down and almost derelict castle 10 years ago and have been renovating it since - and they are doing an amazing job keeping it authentic and Alison loves to share the history and experiences of the castle.  They think that in a few years the renovations will be complete - they are now onto the last of their suites and towers and then onto the tunnel:- 

Château de Brametourte, surveys a stunning panorama across 20 hectares of park land, woods & sun-flowered fields, towards the Pyrenean peaks.

The tranquil beauty of this ancient home of Lautrec’s Viscounts, belies its turbulent past.

The castle was immersed in the medieval religious fervour of Cathars, Knights of the Templar & the Wars of Religion. Sieged during the 16th century, it fell into disrepair and lay undiscovered – frozen in time - until Alison and Paul found it! 

Mum exploring and the boys playing on the grass............so much to explore

When it was almost bedtime, Alison took us with her torch and showed us around the castle - down into the cellar where there is apparently a blocked up tunnel that goes through the valley which used to be used to transport Jewish children during the war over to the next valley and through to Switzerland.

We also went up to the Troubadour Suite which is where the Legend of Brametourte begins.  A young girl was kept locked in the tower to preserve her purity while awaiting her future husband (the Baron of Toulouse) who never arrived and she reportedly jumped from the window to her death after years of waiting, sitting at the window crying and she reportedly still visits this room - and her scratch marks can still be seen in the plaster………………while we were in here, one of the workers had hid in the closet to give the boys a bit of a fright - was very funny. 

We then explored another wing which they are currently renovating and where they have found other midieval markings and signs of events from long ago which Alison is very excited about.

Down into the tunnel which is still to be opened up................

Lachlan at the French doors (haha funny - French doors in France - I wonder if they are just called "doors") - anyway this is his room that he was sharing with mum - called the Chamber and one of the oldest rooms in the house - the walls are super thick..................

No need to worry about wallpaper in these rooms - just traditional and renovated keeping to the era of the house - very cool.

The balcony above is new and is going to be the suite called the "angel suite" - still to be completed! We will stay in this room next time. This outside area is where we spent much of our time - just gorgeous

The kids (and adults) thought this full body suite of armour was pretty cool -

Dinner on the terrace - perfect!

The photo is taken at about 10pm in the evening - it is still light and we are listening to the frogs ...... Champers the castle puppy is very cute and was trying to be brave barking at the frogs!

This is our suite - called the Gothic Suite - very cool 4-poster-bed -

Our suite bathroom - two basins, a bath and shower - way cool!

Our salon next to our room - given the beautiful weather however no time was spent in here -

Yup - you were thinking - oh romantic - not so much now!!!

Our beautiful breakfast -

Connor chilling out by the amazing fireplace - it is hute and used to be the kitchen fire also historically - very cool

The entrance design is from medieval times -

All too soon it was time for us to leave the castle - this place really was amazing and the hosts so gracious! This is a place I would love to come back to for a relaxed stay enjoying the magic of the castle and of the area.