I don’t know if you have ever read the book I Capture the Castle? I expect you have heard of 101 Dalmations though? It is by the same author, Dodie Smith, and is one of my long time favourite comfort reads.
Last weekend we went up past Girona to near Figueres, to catch some fresh air and sea breezes. My idea was actually to go camping – it is June after all. But the weather had other ideas so we ended up staying with a friend in a mobile home where he is living as temporary custodian of an abandonned house. We arrived late at night. Duna leapt out of the car and disappeared for several hours happily forraging in the woods and undergrowth, occasionally appearing at the door with eyes as big as dinner plates and feet as black as…..well, something horrible and smelly and better not to think about.
In the morning I got up early to the sound of birds and went outside to sample the undergrowth myself. I find the close confines of a small mobile home a bit too intimate for toilet comfort!
There, a few hundred yards away was the castle I had read about so often
Of course it isn’t really but it was exactly as I imagined it.
And the gardens, overgrown with wisteria and sweet roses were filled with bird song
The house/castle was now their home as broken windows and open doors gave them free access to paradise. The garden was also coming inside….
Here’s the photos. No more commentary needed except to say that the inscription on one of the walls was written in the 1930’s by soldiers fighting for the Republic in the Civil War. At the bottom it says Viva Los Trabajadores Honrados. Long Live the Honest Workers!
Let’s go to the top tower and back down again – imagine swallows flying around your head as you go!
The water in the numerous ponds came from an underground source in a dark cave which we visited at night and it was one of the most magic places I have ever been. Pictures in the next post…..!
That looks like Oreneta’s house before the renovations. ha! ha!
Magical, glad I don’t own it, but magical.
Thank you both for being such lovely commenters! I love reading your responses and so appreciate that you take the time. I absolutely loved the house and was SO GLAD it wasn’t mine to worry about! I want somewhere easy to clean, low maintenance and perhaps even fairly new!!!
K x
Yes, I love the book “I Capture the Castle” and you found the place. I want to take my daughter there, because she took my copy of the book, and we both dream about it. “Comfort book”, a good way to describe it.
I haven’t commented before, but really enjoy your posts and your insights to a part of the world I have visited and would like to return to.
Nancy
Hi Nancy I am so happy you wrote in – thank you! I think the image of the castle in the book is so vivid for those of us who love it that it creeps into lots of corners of life. I was especially interested to see the old sinks in the kitchen which reminded me of the heroine sitting above them writing her diary. and there was a tower! And the land outside although not English was jsut right for midnight walks and naked dances in the moonlight! K x
Isn’t England always too cold for naked dances in the moonlight…? I’ll try to find the “Castle” book at the library – your neat photos have inspired me to read it.
Why is the castle empty and deteriorating? Perhaps it would be very cheap to buy – a profitable B &B you could run for English tourists!!
Pearl x
when you read the book you’ll understand the naked dances!
The castle has been bought and may be renovated in a way similar to what you suggest – but I was soooo glad it wasn’t me. It will be a black hole for money time and energy. But nice to dream.