Discover our Château.
A rich history providing an unparalleled learning experience for both students and adults
History
Originally a mill driven by the River Seulles, the Château du Baffy was built around 1735, with extensions added in the late 18th and early 19th Century. The mill was dismantled in 1840, but some remains are still visible. During WWII, the Château’s owners were the Vignerol family who all refused to depart when the Germans overran the area and used our fine manor house as a headquarters. During the 1960s, the Château was converted into a hotel. Our Château experienced an incredible journey during WWII. The following paragraphs tell a little of its story: “During the war the hamlet of Colombiers-sur-Seulles and those surrounding it, were occupied by the Germans. However, in June 1944, Colombiers was liberated. Germans who had been using the Château, and hiding in the parks and areas in the lawns, fled the scene, and so those who lived in the Château celebrated with the liberating soldiers.
Our Château Estate
The grounds benefit from woodland areas with ancient trees and lawned gardens. There is an indoor activity hall with projector and surround sound located adjacent to the Château within the grounds. There is a multi-purpose meeting and cinema room for use which is situated within the Villa Mathilde and a teachers’ as well as a private lounge with a bar area at the Château. All three accommodations have an outdoor picnic area with plenty of benches. We also have a fire pit for evening entertainment.
Accommodation
Our three accommodation sites at the Château, can now sleep an extended capacity of 187 combined:
- Our historic 17th century Château du Baffy building
- Our Villa Mathilde adjacent to the Château
- Our NEW Woodland Village situated just 50 metres from the Villa Mathilde and the Château
Both the Château and Villa Mathilde buildings accommodate a full coach capacity, so groups can enjoy sole-occupancy of their building if they fill a coach and each building benefits from its own dining room and bedrooms. Newly opened this year, our Woodland Village sleeps 48 pupils in total and sleeps up to 8 teachers.
High-quality food for growing minds
Your school trip package at the Château du Baffy is full board including a self-made packed lunch for excursions. The quality of food is of utmost importance to our team and truly sets the Château apart from other options for schools in Northern France. We pride ourselves in providing a high standard of cuisine, offering traditional French and English style options to suit your school’s needs, as well as catering for allergies and dietary requirements. Our secrets are an attention to detail and our renowned in-house French chef Thierry and his brilliant team.
The Château has two dining rooms; one in the Château du Baffy building and one in the adjacent Villa Mathilde.
On-Site Activities
There are a variety of on-site possibilities to keep your students well entertained. We’ll provide a variety of resources to make entertainments as straight forward as possible.
- Indoor Activity Hall
- French Food
- Tasting (Frogs Legs, Snails or Cheese tasting options)
- Quiz evening with a French theme
- Disco evening (can be hosted in 2 areas subject to numbers – either in the Villa Mathilde restaurant or the activity hall)
- Bingo evening with a French theme
- Cinema night (3 possibilities incl. Villa Mathilde restaurant, Villa Mathilde classroom or the activity hall)
- Camp fire and hot chocolate evening