Camp Chateau Newsletter: February '23

Hello Campers, Founding Members and the Chateau Curious,

January was a very busy month at the chateau.?And it was COLD! Our Béduer village neighbors told us that it is very unusual to see snow on the ground but we had plenty! The Camp Chateau team kept warm by lighting big log fires and by doing lots of work around the property.

I popped over to France myself at the beginning of the month to help settle in?our new Property Manager, Steve Brown and his wife Dianna.

Steve and Di have moved into La Ferme, which is the house that sits at the top of the property, right next to the Chemin St. Jacques hiking trail (the French section of the Compostela Way). Steve is a skilled builder and roofer and will be helping to maintain and improve the property over the coming months and years. Steve and Di are both English and in their own words...

"We are so excited to be here and can’t wait to meet the Camp Chateau Founding Members and campers this summer”.

Di is already planning wonderful things for the gardens around La Ferme so that that area of the property is a?peaceful haven?for our campers. We will have hammocks, a silent pool area and our massage therapy room up on the hillside there.

Steve got to work right away and has already ripped out an old kitchen in the chateau so that he can build?an extra shower room?for our campers. This will mean that our campers have another option for showering if there is a bit of a wait for their own en-suite bathroom. We will share a before-and-after reel with you all later this month.

January was also the month to get?lots of tree work?done and we had two specialist tree-climbers, Lewis and Luke, come in to remove dead wood and reshape some of our larger trees. They did an amazing job. They suggested that one of the trees that they needed to fell could be made into a rough bench. That sounded like a wonderful idea and so we asked them to go ahead! They have placed their simple log bench on the side of the hill so that it has a sweeping view of the valley. This is sure to be a?favorite picnic lunch spot?for our campers this summer!

This month we will be working on styling and,?Leah Lykins, Co-Founder, is in England?where she will be purchasing?some of the decor items for the bunk rooms.?We will be leaving most of the antique furniture in the rooms, but we are upgrading items like lampshades and sofas and she is on an expedition to find the perfect items.

In other exciting news, we are proud to announce that we are now?She Mark triple-certified.

As a Certified recipient, we have fulfilled The SHE Mark’s criteria of?at least 50% representation of women and/or gender-diverse individuals in management, creative, ownership, and board of directors.

The SHE Marks? indicates our commitment to a gender-equal future, and our pride in being women-led, and showcases the importance and impact of being the change we wish to see in the world. To find out more information about The SHE Mark?, check out their website?TheSHEMark.com

This Spring we will be ramping up our marketing and we are?reaching out to press contacts?to share our story. If you have any press connections who you think would be interested in Camp Chateau, please share them with Tegwen (Camp Director) at?[email protected].

Are you?following us on social media? Please follow and like us using our social links below and help to spread the word and celebrate what we are building as a women owned, funded, designed and dedicated business.?The more you like and share, the more we can reach women who would love to be part of Camp Chateau.

If you are hoping to join us all at Camp next summer, remember, you only need to pay the?10% deposit?now to hold a place for yourself or for your group of friends. That minimum deposit will be?going up to 30% soon?as we get nearer to camp season.

If you would like to become a Founding member, you can learn more?here?and I am always delighted to set up time to chat about how you can invest in our women owned business.

Cordialement,

Philippa Girling (CEO & Co-Founder)