What a shock it was today when I took a friend to the airport in Bergerac and drove past one of my very favourite little chateaux, the Chateau Cours de Pile -- and saw only the blackened ravaged burnt walls still standing!For the last three years I have passed this little gem of a chateaux a hundred times -- and every time I go past, I admire its lovely lines, delicate turrets and shapely roof. But -- the pale blue shutters were almost always closed - even though the chateau did not look derelict -- but rather in excellent condition. I just so wondered who it belonged to and why they never came there - to throw open the shutters and let in the beautiful light and views of its surrounding landscape -- of sunflower fields, green waving wheat, the lovely flowing river....
Apparently, about two weeks ago, so the story goes, lightning must have hit the chateau and before the fire brigade could arrive, the roof beams and everything on the inside had been destroyed by the fire. The roof had of course caved in completely, as had the floors, and all that remains are the blackened stone walls. The fire started about 4 o'clock in the morning and in no time had destroyed the 700 square metres of roofing, despite the valiant efforts of more than 20 fire fighters who had come from Bergerac, Lalinde, Beaumont and Mussidan. The Chateau de Pile was an imposing building, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, and originally built on an ancient fort on the banks of the Dordogne.
According to legend, the first owner of the chateau, Le Seigneur de Piles, really wanted a bridge across the Dordogne River in front of his chateau. It was a very difficult challenge -- and seemed that it could not be done, so the Seigneur de piles decided to make a pact with the Devil: If the Devil would build a bridge in one night, before the crow of the rooster, the seigneur promised to hand his only - and beautiful daughter -- his sole heir -- over to the Devil.
The Devil and his helpers immediately started tearing down rocks from the banks of the river from Creysse to Mouleydier. But, alas! The moment was badly chosen -- as, during the month of June, as we all know, not only is the water of the Dordogne is at its lowest, but the nights are also the shortest! The crow of the rooster came all too soon and the bridge was nowhere near finished!
The Devil was enraged! In anger he pulled the unfinished bridge down and hurled the stones into the river -- and to this day one can see the river bed in this section of the river strewn with rocks and stones.
Click on Link:
Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event
