fbpx

Don’t know about you but I’m already having what I refer to as “Chateau withdrawals”, what a shame that Series 4 of Escape to the Chateau DIY had to be curtailed during this time of crisis.  I’ve followed chats on various fan websites and the common woe has been that reruns just haven’t offered the same excitement to viewers.  It seems cruel that at a time when we’re looking for visual escapism from the lockdown that we haven’t been satisfied – through no fault of the Channel 4 producers or of Dick and Angel themselves.

So I started researching the effect that this brilliant series has had on many of us.  We can all somehow relate to many of the owners, in most instances their backgrounds are not much different than ours.  Take for example Nigel and Debs the owners of the Chateau Gioux in the Limousin, a Yorkshire couple who decided to take the plunge after a health scare.  Nigel had seen an estate agent Facebook advertisement for the chateau which Deb had labelled as “unattainable”.  Having already decided they wanted to make the move to France they had found an old mill to purchase, which was within budget.  Sadly (or happily) for them the sale fell through and the rest is history “we returned home to find that for one week only the Chateau was reduced in price by 100,000 bringing it down to the limit of our budget”.  Read their story.  

In a recent article from La Vanguardia I read “there are 1500 chateau for sale in France, many costing less than a flat in Paris” or London or any large city – a common refrain you’ve heard from Chateau owners on the programme.  They go on to say that you don’t have to be Bill Gates to buy a Chateau – the exception of course being if you want to live on the French Riviera.

What I term “Chateau Owner Wannabe Syndrome” was recently a discussion point on BBC Talk Radio where Mike Braunhotz CEO of Prestige Property Group discusses the effect of the Escape to the Chateau and Escape to the Chateau DIY Channel 4 “TV phenomenon”.  In this YouTube video Mike gives some interesting and valuable insight if you are ready to become the next Chateau owner – perhaps we’ll see you on an upcoming series of Escape to the Chateau DIY?! 

Please share with fellow Chateau Wannabe Syndrome sufferers, the only cure for which is to sell up and do it!