Domaine de la Salle - the story
Domaine de la Salle, is an old cognac estate, often referred to locally as 'Le Chateau' or just 'La Salle'.
History
We bought the Chateau in 2016 and since then it has been brought back to its original beauty, using only natural materials and traditional methods.
The front part was built in 1826 by 'Jean Baptiste Joachim Clemot', who was a celebrated surgeon in Napoleons navy.
Buildings in the courtyards go back to the 17th century, but we know that La Salle was inhabited since before the 12th century when the ‘Saliens’ settled there.
Today
We are following our dream of creating an organic farm that will produce fruit and ancient varieties of grain, and also of providing a haven for biodiversity.
Our Gite & Chambres d’hotes
We have a two bedroom ‘gite’ to rent and also a couple of ‘chambres d’hotes’. It is not a hotel, and you would see the working life of ordinary people, working towards a living organic Chateau-Farm.
Our rooms are decorated in French style, and we consider them luxury, with the fine linen sheets, antique furniture and stylish bathrooms. We also host weekends with interesting activities from sourdough bread making to sewing beautiful heirloom dolls from antique linens.
Weddings & Family Celebrations
We can host small romantic weddings in summer, and family celebrations.
For any of the above, please do get in touch with us via the form below, or sending me an email.
Location
Domaine de la Salle is in the Charente Maritime area, close to the coast and in the area where the french love to holiday.
It is traditional, charming and rustic. 'La Salle' is really hidden away in its own forest and fields. Beaches are half an hour to 45 minutes away, depending on what sort of beach you want. There is so much to do - please see the 'what to do' section below. If you want to do absolutely nothing, and get away from everything, this is a very peaceful tranquil corner, although we do have birdsong. We speak English, French, German and Portuguese.
As featured on Channel 4 - Escape to the Chateau DIY
We have been featured on ‘Escape to the Chateau DIY’ on Channel 4 and featured again from the 6 - 10 April 2020.
Cold Morning
Still cold, and the last two days, unlike in this photo which I took on Saturday, have been totally foggy. You really can’t see very far at all into the distance. As I look out of the window, I can see the birds enjoying the fatty seed balls, and I wonder where they sleep at hight. There are some new varieties that I don’t recognize, different to the usual tits, robins and assorted sparrow varieties.
Our neighbour, François Quesnel, makes enormous mountains of bird feed, and he also threads peanuts in their shells, and wraps them around the branches of their trees. The goldfinches love them and as you sit inside, with a mug of perfumed jasmine tea, you can see them breaking the shells and taking out the insides. Francois has to remake these peanut necklaces half way through winter.