Chateaux & La Belle au Bois Dormant

Although it had existed in different forms since the 14th century, Charles Perrault wrote his version of the tale of “The Sleeping Beauty” in the chateau at Ussé in 1697. Despite having visited that castle more than once, I found that I didn’t have any suitable photographs to adapt for publicity material and for a programme cover. Trawling through my “chateau shots” I found an old photograph from 1986 when I had spent another wonderful holiday in France. I think that positioning it within the frame of vines and forest, to show the castle after the Lilac Fairy had cast her spell, worked very well.

This year I went back to Le Lude and was able to look around the interior of the chateau, which I hadn’t done in 1986; I had only seen the “Son et Lumiere” from the opposite bank of “Le Loir”. It seems that Le Lude was a pioneer of spectacular re-enactments and “Son et Lumiere” introducing them in 1957 and organising them until the late 1990s. Nearly 400 actors and dancers participated in these events. The chateau is still family owned and although not one of the major Chateaux and not being on “La Loire” it’s setting is quite beautiful and has a calm and tranquil aura and is well worth a visit.