Today we are time-travelling to the 1980s….mid to late ’80s. My then partner and I had travelled to Provence, and my parents were already staying there. We all met up, and my father, ever the keen map reader and browser of regional guides had found out about an abandoned village in the Luberon mountains.
As soon as we reached the area, and could see the village church from a distance away, I knew we were on to a winner. It was a most atmospheric place, and great for a wander around if you were a devotee of decay and abandonment.
Alas, those were the days of film, and I don’t have many photographs, but here are a few (incidentally, the distant view is from 2006, as I haven’t scanned that particular slide):
I tried the church door back then, but it was firmly closed. A year or so ago, I noticed an image on fellow blogger Tina Schell’s site, and I found out that it was indeed the interior of this church – you can see it here.
It appears that this place has now become beloved of the moneyed classes, and quite a bit of it is being restored. Also, there is now a cafe, so those days of being a rare visitor are gone.
WordsVisual 
Nice memories, Sue. Provence is a quite magical area, with so much to offer the traveller.
Best wishes, Pete.
It is indeed!
Lovely images, that brings out a feeling of times long gone. The processing enhances the feeling along with the way you captured the decaying buildings.
Thanks, Otto! Someone said to me the other day that no one can depict decay as beautifully and wistfully as I do, which I took as a huge compliment!
I would absolutely agree. 🙂
Well, thank you, Otto! 😊
Much atmospherical!
Thank you, Anna! Back then, it was very atmospheric..
wonderful memories Sue!
They certainly are, Hannah!
Nostalgic and inviting.
Thanks, Sally! Certainly very nostalgic for me!
film makes the dereliction even more nostalgic – I do like these retro posts!
Glad you like my glimpses into the past, and recent past soon, and there will be more!
Your father served you well. I’ve finally twigged that your love of decay and abandonment is distinctively yours, but also the result of genetics and nurture. I like the slideshow format, and the link to Tina’s inside-the-church photos is a bonus. The hollyhocks, the archway and the path to the church are all particularly special photos.
The hollyhocks and the archway are my favourites – I can still remember taking them
Its great that it is being restored, but I would have loved to have seen it, as you did, beautiful captures 🙂
Thank you, Lynn…. I like to capture a lost past!
Yes the same here 🙂
😀😀
So I’m a couple of years too late to wander around an empty city? I’m sure I would still enjoy visiting, though it sounds like it will be too expensive for me.
Way too expensive for me!
I can only imagine.
I’d like those hollyhocks in colour, but I’m satisfied with the others in black and white (always demanding, this woman! 🙂 ). This is a lovely look back at a past that is no more, Sue, and thanks for the link to Tina. I enjoyed my bit of vibrancy. 🙂
The hollyhocks in the original transparency are mostly white, so not a lot of colour there, Jo…. sorry to disappoint
I like white, Sue, and I’m seldom disappointed here. 🙂
…only if there’s too much decay!!
🙂
😂
I think that Black and White works so well with the memories… wonderful and a reminder that I should digitize my old pictures (I think I have pictures going back to the 70s)
Glad you like these Bjorn…..I still have loads of stuff to digitise, but it’s not going to happen quickly….at least the most important has been done
So funny, that first building looks a lot like a slightly decrepit version of the Chemistry building at UBC where I worked for years and years – I will have to there and try and take a shot from the same angle as this building and see if my memory serves me right.
Be interesting!