A birthday needs to be celebrated in style, right? And since I feel like a princess, the only thing I need is a castle…Luckily I have found my prince 🙂 Chateau Tilques is just 1-hour drive from Ostend. I’m excited to be sleeping in the castle tonight.
But first we need a royal breakfast. So making a brunch stop in DePanne.
Then off to Saint Omer. St Omer itself is packed with history. It was fortified by the counts of Flanders in the 10th century and eventually passed to the Spanish crown. The capture of it in 1677 by Louis XIV of France was ratified the following year by the Treaty of Nijmegen. The old town has a number of fine 17th- and 18th-century houses. They also have the impressive cathedral of Notre Dame that is known to have a Rubens painting. Also a public garden that reminds me of Versailles.
We enjoyed a boattrip on the Marais. Touring the marais in a flat boat is a local attraction from the Maison du Marais, a UNESCO-listed wetland on the edge of Saint-Omer around the river Aa (pronounced Ah-Ah). This unique area was originally dug out by monks and enlarged across the centuries. Today it’s a mix of natural environment and market gardening, producing 50 varieties of vegetable and home to an impressive list of wildlife. Some 40km from the sea, the marshes include 170km of waterways.
It is an idyllic place, a grand nature reserve – home to 1700 different varieties of plant, 250 species of bird, 13 different types of dragonfly. Turning the engine off we drifted peacefully along, the only sound was that of woodpeckers and other wild birds. We even saw a nest of storks! It is a unique way of life and our guide Celine told us that 100 people still live on tiny islands and the local postman is the last one in France to deliver the mail by boat.
Now…my castle! Driving up Chateau Tilques, we looked at the impressive neo-Flemish facade, the amazing park with lake. This 19th Century chateau was once owned by the aristocratic Talleyrand family. Now it belongs to the Tajeti group, founded by the ‘golf-loving’ Jean-Jaques Durant. Chateau Tilques has always been a favourite with the French, not to mention travellers from Belgium (like us) and the Netherlands. As for the Brits, it seems that David and Victoria Beckham love to come here. All of which makes for a pleasantly international atmosphere. Tonight we will be enjoying the gastronomic restaurant. But first …time for a swim …
Our spacious ‘Luxe’ room in the main house had big windows overlooking the tranquil rear lawns and lake, and furnishings that were grand in the old days. We even had a canopy bed. My favourite feature, just off the private entrance hall, was the ultra-modern shower room, neatly fitted into a compact circular tower. A round, black and white tiled bathroom – I have never seen a round bathroom in a castle tower before. So I’m feeling a bit like Rapunzel locked up in the tower. Would my prince come and rescue me?
The restaurant at Chateau Tilques is also in a separate building just across the drive. Despite its barn-like proportions, it manages to be a surprisingly intimate space, divided by half-walls into smaller sections and with tables well-spaced. Choose from fixed price menus, with choices, or a la carte, and expect tasty little extras like home-made canapes with drinks and amuse-bouche mouthfuls before the starter. They even had a little surprise for my birthday! What more does a girl want?
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