L'Ecu

02/11/2020

Hey Travis Young
See this?

On The Goodies' 50th anniversary, Radio Times opens its extensive archive to help celebrate the madcap 1970s sitcom.

15/10/2018

early morning reflections on the canal.

07/09/2018

The new cover photo was takenearly one summer morning along the ancient canal bank.

26/07/2018

A little late but time to change the cover image. In Chatillon sur Loire one of the favourite fetes of the year is on July 14th.
Thankyou to Alain Breuze for permission to use his photo of the townspeople gathering at the Mantelot on a balmy night for the dancing, the fireworks and the food with friends.

06/07/2018

In Chatillon sur Loire we are very lucky to have three bakery/patisseries in our town. This artisan boulanger is situated directly opposite L'Ecu and so we are tempted by the wonderful smells of baking in the air.
In the photo you can see Magali the proprietor with her shop beautifully decorated to celebrate the current World Cup. There are even red, white and blue sweets in a pretty glass jar. The shelves behind are fast emptying of baguettes as I popped in for our daily bread at the beginning of the lunch period. 'No worries', they'll bake again this afternoon for the evening meal.

05/07/2018

the new cover photo was taken on a very early morning walk in June along the River Loire. One of the many pleasures of living in this town.

31/05/2018

We have lived here as full time residents for 10 years and love all of the changing seasons.

16/05/2018

The slides below are a walk through of the guest suite described. This has also been separate accommodation in the past. The sitting room can be used as a bedroom. This section of the house can also be reached via its own doorway opening off Place Clemencea.
The ancient oak stairs lead up into the roof-line, the attics. There are three separate large areas here.
We continue to love the evidence of the history of this house as revealed in the amazing carpentry and stonework throughout. This main attic area is floored with the traditional hand made tomettes, (tiles).

12/05/2018

Time to go upstairs. The first floor can be accessed from the large living area or from the magnificent ancient staircase leading form the cellar below the kitchen to the attics in the roof. I'll take you via this beautiful example of carpentry. We could also go down a few stairs and out into the driveway under the arch. The master bedroom, its en-suite bathroom and the large studio are entered from the landing with its traditional handmade terracotta tiled flooring. These 'tomettes' continue into the bedroom. The studio faces onto the centre of the town, and is filled with light. On this floor are laundry facilities. The view from the windows is always an inspiration for more photos and for drawing and painting. The flooring, the wiring, the plumbing, the walls were all renewed, and for us it was important to remove what was covering up the wonderful old oak beams.
The ancient stairs continue to the guest wing located over the archway which in the past has been a separate and private flat. This is comprised of a bedroom, a sitting room (or a second bedroom) a bathroom, dining room and kitchen area. A glassed in space at the courtyard end of the rooms makes a further sunny addition.
We lived in this flat with another couple in the first year of renovating L'Ecu.

06/05/2018

Time to visit entering from the front door on Place G. Clemenceau which takes you straight into what was the bar of l"Ecu. We have essentially left it like this.
The kitchen opens from the bar, and from the kitchen one can descend to the main large cellar underneath, or to the door leading to the arched driveway, or ascend to the levels above.
Directly from the bar we enter the salon, our main living area and what was in its earlier life, the brasserie of 50 square metres. On your next visit we will go up the stairs to the living areas above.