In the fall-out from William and Kate's brief sojourn in Provence, a couple of things have been bothering me (not, not those...behave!). The royal couple probably wish they'd stayed in a real hideaway inside the medieval village of Viens, with its twisty enclosed streets and secret courtyards, or safe behind the strong iron bars of one of the beautiful strongholds like this one...
...rather than William's cousin Lord Linley's château up the road where the swimming pool terrace turned out to be rather more exposed.
It may be grandly named the "Château d'Autet" but the property, though a large house with attendant buildings, is a centuries-old hunting lodge with few features to distinguish it from the characteristic bastides all around, solid and imposing as they are. Still, I'm sure the name adds distinction for the wealthy holidaymakers who rent the place.
The other puzzlement on its website is the statement that David and Serena Linley were introduced to the area by Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence. Again, is that just another marketing angle, to link it to a publishing phenomenon?
Because a little local knowledge tells me that David Linley was much more likely to have known the area through his own family. His mother Princess Margaret and father the Earl of Snowdon were great friends with the British entrepreneur and inventor Jeremy Fry, who had a summer home close to Oppedette, only a few kilometres away.
Fry's retreat was a formerly deserted hamlet called Le Grand Banc, hidden away on a hillside overlooking the gorge at Oppedette. In the sixties and seventies it was an artistic, intellectual and bohemian haven place for his many friends, including the Queen's sister and her husband and children. Nowadays, it is a small, very exclusive hotel - and the Gorge d'Oppedette cuts through the landscape in a natural barrier to even the most daring of photographers.
And Viens still has a bohemian vibe and a thriving artistic community, as I wrote during the summer here: Viens: a sunny bohemia.
6 comments:
great to matters straight after all the media hype, surely they should have been expecting this? I think your alternatives are great!
Well if you're going to get your kit off....in the circumstances there was bound to be a long-lens out there somewhere. Mind you as you say, that gorge looks pretty daunting, however even there you could never be sure that a hang-glider wouldn't descend with said 'long-lens camera again!;))
Jane x
What a coincidence!
Yesterday I heard about the village of Viens for the first time here on your blog and today a friend, of whom I know that she is in Provence right now, sent me a message that she is at Viens!
It must really be a beautiful and picturesque village!
Have a nice weekend, Monika
The next time they should forgo Viens for a Gite in Le Petit Village. We're only 30km away and I'm sure the Paps would never think to look for them here!
Whatever you see – any good results – are all from the pressure.
If you choose to undress in such a situation, it's highly likely that someone with a telephoto lens would capture the moment. Although that gorge appears to be challenging, there's still a possibility that someone with a long-lens camera could arrive unexpectedly, even a hang-glider.
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