NEED TO KNOW
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More than 300 women helped fund a French château purchase totaling over $2 million
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The property now operates as a summer camp for adult women with flexible, choose-your-own activities
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TikTok videos showing life at the château helped spark widespread curiosity and demand
More than 300 women pooled millions of dollars to buy a 1,000-year-old château in Béduer, France — without ever planning to live there. What they created instead was a summer camp designed entirely for grown women.
“We stumbled upon it and it was incredible,” Leah Lykins, co-founder and daughter of founder Philippa Girling, tells PEOPLE, recalling how they first discovered Château de Béduer during a casual online search.
At the time, there was no clear plan for the property. The building itself was enough to spark curiosity, even before the idea fully took shape.
“We were just a little intoxicated by the building,” Lykins says. “We were really trying to figure out an excuse to get it.”
That “excuse” eventually turned into something far more ambitious than they had imagined. What began as a loose idea quickly evolved into a weeklong camp experience tailored specifically for adult women.
“It turned into something a lot more exciting… a camp that grown women could go to,” Lykins explains.
Turning that vision into reality required a funding model just as unconventional as the idea itself. Instead of relying on traditional investors, the founders opened the opportunity to other women.
The result was a co-ownership model that brought together more than 300 women to fund the project entirely. In total, they raised roughly $2.3 million to purchase the château and an additional $325,000 to renovate it and add safety upgrades.
“We brought together all these women, some that we had known, some that we didn’t know,” co-founder Lynda Coleman tells PEOPLE.
What they built is now known as Camp Château , which operates across two historic French properties: Château de Béduer and L’Abbaye-Château de Camon . Each stay runs six days and five nights, with all-inclusive pricing that covers accommodations, meals, wine, activities and excursions.
Campers can choose how they spend their time, with more than three daily electives ranging from gardening and kayaking to market visits and creative workshops. Or, they can simply opt out of everything and relax.
“You could do everything… or there are people who literally get up… and go lay at the pool all day,” Coleman explains.
The flexibility is intentional, allowing each woman to shape her own version of rest. For some, that means filling their schedules, while for others it means slowing down completely.
“It’s your vacation, fill it up or drain it out as much as you want,” Coleman says.
That approach appears to be resonating. Camp Château has grown rapidly, expanding from 240 spots in 2023 to 1,850 planned for 2026, with more than 2,100 expected in 2027.
As interest increased, so did curiosity online. Videos shared on TikTok began offering a glimpse into daily life at the château, from long lunches to quiet afternoons and group activities.
“We had a few really big moments where people were posting what they did all week,” Lykins says. “And then it just popped off.”
For many viewers, the appeal wasn’t just the setting, but the feeling behind it. The idea of a space where women could simply exist without pressure struck a deeper chord.
Girling says the reactions have often been emotional, with women expressing a desire to be part of something similar. “It touches people in a way that just shows how desperately it’s needed,” she tells PEOPLE.
Not everyone can travel to France, however, which led the founders to expand the idea beyond the château itself. They created Pocket Château , a digital membership community designed to replicate the same atmosphere online.
“It’s like slow internet,” Lykins says. “It’s like slow, ad free, spam free… a non-pressurized environment.”
The platform offers virtual events, discussion spaces and creative activities, with members logging in from around the world. Since launching, more than 500 women from over 20 countries have joined.
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Girling says the goal was to create a space where women could connect without the pressures often found online. “We just want to create an inclusive environment… so they don’t have to go somewhere toxic to find community,” she explains.
Today, Camp Château is more than a destination. It’s a shared investment, a growing global network and a reimagining of what rest and connection can look like when built entirely by women.
Read the original article on People
