Chateau de Firbeix

After not seeing the chateau for around 6 months since we signed the contract of sale, we are back in Firbeix (or La Coquille where the notary's office is located) to close on the purchase. Today we are proud owners of a chateau so a glass of champagne is called for!

The property we bought, as the blog title is a giveaway, is the Chateau de Firbeix, located in a very small village (called Firbeix) on the northern edge of the Dordogne department bordering Haute-Vienne, 40 minutes south-west of Limoges on the N21 to Perigueux. Firbeix is in the Périgord Vert region and the area has a long history with Richard the Lionheart and is on one of the routes of Santiago de Compostela (Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St James in England). Richard the Lionheart actually was injured and died at the Chateau de  Châlus-Chabrol, 4km away in the year 1199. The chateau dates back to the 14th century with the remaining buildings from the 18th century. It is set in very established gardens of 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres). It comprises of three buildings. The main building is the main property and comprises part 14th and 18th century parts divided up into 3 dwellings. Primary Property The left most dwelling is a 3 bedroom gîte in a modern styl...

This blog is owned by Caroline and Tim Parsons and will document our dream so our friends and family can follow along, all comments welcome! While it is our dream, both our extended families and friends have been so supportive and keen to get involved, especially to date my brother Mark shortly followed by our son Daniel. Our dream to have a complete change of life style, after working in the corporate world non-stop for 35 years, was triggered by several events coinciding, none of which we actually planned.  The first event chronologically was health related, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in March 2018 and underwent treatment in Switzerland for 13 months. While on medical leave, it was announced on January 3rd 2019 that Bristol-Myers-Squib was buying Celgene who I had worked for since 2006. In parallel we had been watching the "Escape to the Chateau" programs which appealed very much as a lifestyle we admired. Our spoken French was pretty good after 20 years living...