Private Château in the Dordogne Valley
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
All images © 2021 Notting Hill Nomads
This was a last-minute Workaway experience we managed to sneak in towards the end of summer and we were so glad we did.
Dating back to the 12th century, this impressive château at the centre of eight acres is a hidden gem in a village on the Dordogne river. Our host Maria (and her UK-based husband) have owned it for many years but wanted our help to get it ready for sale.
Workaway assignments require you to work for up to four hours a day, five days a week in exchange for food and board. We spent mornings clearing overgrown vegetation and doing a general tidy-up to ensure it looked it’s best for the estate agent’s upcoming photo shoot. Our afternoons were spent drinking Aperol Spritz by the pool or touring the surrounding area (one highlight involved swigging sensational wine in Saint-Émilion).
The property consisted of endless buildings to explore while the woodland and gardens contained a lot of unexpected wildlife - we captured deers, foxes, a badger and a pine marten on our wildlife camera.
Maria and her three friendly cats made us feel very welcome. We were able to form our own Covid bubble as we’d all been isolating beforehand which meant we could enjoy our main meals together. This was lucky for us because Maria is very talented in the kitchen!
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“Caroline and Fiona are easy-going, hard working, hands-on sensible people who just get on with things. They are adept at using professional gardening machinery which was hugely helpful. They are also very good company and ready for a laugh and a chat.
As I was alone when they were here, it was a treat to have some company whilst remaining safe in our own little corona bubble.
Caroline introduced me to the delights of wildlife filming and I now have my own camera.
It’s a shame that due to the pandemic they were rather restricted in seeing many of the beautiful sights and taking part in regional activities, but they seemed quite content with picnics out and about and lounging by the pool at the end of the day.
I would unreservedly recommend Caroline and Fiona to any host and look forward to seeing them again - perhaps in Yorkshire.”
- Maria, owner of Dordogne château