Wined, dined and rested.

The Toulourenc is a small river near Mont Ventoux that we have known for many years; in its lower reaches just before it joins the Ouvèze you can walk along the river bed itself, in the midst of really pretty Provence countryside. In the summer temperatures here can rise to above 35^oC so having cool feet is a major advantage of this walk.

We had never been all the way upstream though, so when friends suggested visiting the little-known Château d’Aulan and we discovered that the Toulourenc rose beside it we leapt into our faithful Nissan steed and sped over there. Well, I say “sped” but the roads are narrow and winding so in the interests of remaining alive we restrained the mighty beast and remained under 70km/hr the whole way.

The castle is privately owned and although it is a national monument it has to generate its own income, and so it is sometimes open for visits.

Its origins are in the 13^th century, and it was an important fortress for several centuries as one of the many small strongholds protecting (and charging for access to) routes east and west in this area known as the “Baronnies”, but in fact today’s castle was remade in 1888.

The remains of the old castle were knocked down and the family de Suarez d’Aulan, who have owned the site since 1635, rebuilt using several village houses knocked together as its basis. It has remained on its dramatic outcrop, with the plunging Toulourenc gorge below and is the only inhabited private castle that can be visited in this area.

It is astonishing that the family has managed to find the funds to restore as much as they have of the chateau – this enterprise was started by the grandfather of the current Count and continues today.

 The sight of parts of the roof being held on by guy ropes raised a sad smile in me, but actually the reason they stand out is the contrast with the walls and other parts of the roof which are in excellent condition.

This cannot be easy to achieve in a remote corner of the Drôme and with no money other than what you and your family can make.

We were asked not to take pictures of the interior, and it is a shame not to be able to show you the delightful eclectic mix of history, gossip and mementoes that one so often finds in smaller grand houses, but I have respected these wishes.

This leaves me with two more things to share – a chuckle and a mystery.

The chuckle is because the chateau is the main building of the very very tiny hamlet of Aulan. The main square is a small turning circle at the top of the hill, with only the chateau on it. And yet they still feel the need to have a large blue and white number 1 next to the main entrance, alongside the “historic monument” signs and the large hand-painted sign advertising their opening times, presumably so that the postman can find them because their address is  “1 place du chateau” and how else would he know where to leave their letters?

And the mystery is very interesting…. In the middle of the small turning circle in front of the chateau there is a monument such as one regularly sees in French towns and cities, usually commemorating those locals that have died in various conflicts. This one is a little different:

If you take the time to study it you are struck by so much – why were these American aviators killed here, in service of what and… wait, does that say 1972? It does.

As far as I can determine from internet research an American plane crashed on a mountain nearby in 1972. It was travelling from an airbase in Ohio to Amman in Jordan and had made a stop in Wiesbaden, Germany, before setting off over France, never to return. Interestingly on one French site giving details of war monuments there is a section for each monument where the name of the war in question is filled in. For this monument it says “cold war”. Another site says there is an element of mystery about the circumstances, but yet another site says there were storms over the surrounding mountains that night and that confused the navigator.

So do I recommend a visit to this charming, quirky chateau in the middle of nowhere? Yes, absolutely – you should make an effort to get here because it is unspoilt, in stunning scenery and still in Côtes du Rhône ahem.