The Good Life France Magazine January/February 2015 | Page 36

Chateau Le Mung

How many of us dream of owning a chateau in France? Long to take on a glorious French renovation project and turn a run-down property into something special… yearn to bring a special place back to life and be a part of its history.

For most of us, of course it is just a fantasy but for one determined family that dream has come true. Though they have a tremendous amount of work ahead of them to turn an abandoned chateau into a habitable home the journey has begun…

Have you ever found yourself browsing on the internet, looking at gorgeous chateaux in France and thinking “I wish I could live there”?

That’s what happened to Gerald Bromley. Originally from the UK, living in Australia via Holland and Europe, Gerald and wife Sheryl were wondering what their next move was going to be. They knew they wanted to return to Europe, Australia being too far from family and friends in the UK and they knew they liked France.

“Look at this awesome abandoned chateau in France” said Gerald to Sheryl and, like a million wives around the world, she said “Yes dear, it’s lovely” thinking she would conduct a sensible search later.

When the couple’s daughter Sarah-Jane arrived at the house with her husband Scott and two young children, Gerald showed them the Chateau too. Sarah-Jane says she agreed with her Dad, it was gorgeous but told him “we could never afford it”.

And that was that.

Except it wasn’t.

Sheryl couldn’t get the image of the haunting beauty of this unloved, uncared for and deserted castle out of her mind. She secretly viewed the pictures online and started to daydream and wonder if it could actually, really, possibly happen.

Sheryl says “I thought that when we returned to Europe, the children would stay behind, it wasn’t something I wanted to happen but I just couldn’t see how we could all move en masse and get jobs, find homes”.

Her Eureka moment involved the whole family moving to the Chateau, renovating it and turning it into a magnificent hotel.

When she suggested it to her son, 21 year old Jacob, Sarah-Jane 27 and her family and her other daughter 25 Year old Naomi, they all embraced the idea whole-heartedly. A family discussion resulted in Gerald and Sheryl flying from Sydney to view the Chateau in southwest France to make sure they knew what they were letting themselves in for.

by Janine Marsh