LOCATION A LOCAL’S VIEW – TRANQUIL GASCONY
council. Through my work, I’ve met all sorts of Gascons who love the vision I have of their way of life. I’ve been asked to design wine labels, create wine maps for the tourist board, take part at gastronomic fairs and have been inducted into the Compagnie des Mousquetaires, ambassadors for the region and its produce – particularly armagnac.
It took artist Perry Taylor and his wife Caroline eight years to find their dream home, but it’s been worth the wait
Artist Perry Taylor lives on the border of Gers/Midi- Pyrénées. His drawings perfectly capture the laidback lifestyle of the area – the people he sees, café lifestyle, ducks waddling across the road, and farmers’ wives in their housecoats, calf socks and wellies… Perry’s drawings are loved, not just by people around the world, but also by the locals.
What were you doing before you moved to France and what prompted you to move? I was born and raised in Oxford before moving to London. Aſter a career in advertising, designing everything from theatre posters to record covers, wine labels and soap packaging, I moved to Amsterdam, where my wife Caroline is from. I lived there for 20 years before deciding it was time for a change. France was my first choice as I was hooked aſter my first trip on a train from Paris to Narbonne with a school chum at the age of 14. We live on the border of Gers
and the Midi-Pyrénées – an area known as Gascony that has been relatively untouched by time and tourism. It’s one of the least populated departments of France and it feels as if the farms and market villages have changed very little over the past 50 years. We fell in love with the ever-changing views of the mountains, the rustic landscape and local traditions and activities all around us. When we arrived, we went to visit all
our neighbours to introduce ourselves, which opened doors that have never shut since.
Did you find it easy to find a suitable property? We bought a farmhouse with two barns and seven hectares of land. We visited the region several times without finding ‘the one’. We were so determined to find our dream home that eventually we rented a one-room hunting lodge in the area as a base. It was 2004, a sellers’ market and prices were sky high. Nothing seemed suitable within our budget, but we persisted and made friends with local estate agents and builders. Eight months later, a friend told us about a house where the owners were thinking of selling. We visited and Caroline said straight away “this is the place”. We both knew immediately that our search was over.
What do you most enjoy about living in Gascony – and France? Big city populations oſten feel closed off, except from their own small clan. Here, you can go to the market, spend half an hour buying things and an hour shaking hands, meeting, talking with people of all ages. Humour is international and I can sketch something funny that everyone gets. I love capturing their stance and energy in a drawing as they garden and pluck. The duck with the beret has become a bit of a trademark. I love that I can buy almost all our food from local producers and that more young people are getting involved in organic farming here.
Has it been easy to integrate? I joined the local rugby club to help with the dinners for the players aſter training and before matches. I was also invited to become a member of the village
What’s your favourite place to visit in the area? There are so many pretty bastide villages. I love Bassoues. Lectoure is a beautiful market town and is quite chic compared to most of Gers. We love driving across the hills and seeing the rolling landscape unfold before us.
And your favourite restaurant? Look out for ferme auberges, which produce nearly everything they serve at the table. The Auberge du Lac in Puydarrieux is fantastic. You won’t need to eat for a day aſter a visit. Another is the Brasserie des Arts in Mirande.
What’s it like year-round? Gascony has distinct seasons. The winter can be cold and wet, certainly in the first months of the year. Spring is an explosion of colour and birdlife. The summer is long, oſten going well into September and mellows in October. We will sometimes eat outside in the sun in December.
Is there any aspect of living in Gascony that surprised you? We came here looking for a slower pace of life and we found it. But behind the quiet, there are lots of young people and their families coming here from far and wide and starting up all sorts of businesses – mostly agricultural.
Perry and Caroline love their life in Gascony; Perry creates local wine maps
What advice do you have for others looking to move here? The distances between villages and services mean that a car is essential. Think twice before buying a big place with barns and land. It may be a fraction of the price of something similar in the UK, but it will take a lot of effort to keep it running!
perrytaylor.fr
56 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2023
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