Neil: Off we go , not sure quite where ? Ceri has not seen Carnac before so we head to southern Brittany. They are amazing rows of stone over about 6kms . Access now is controlled now as people ….probably my family in 1989 would climb all over them ! They are spectacular though and no one knows quite why they were put up . Camping now for 3 more days on the Quiberon peninsula with a pitch right by the sea . Walk to a restaurant for Moules and chips . Life is good
Ceri: Life was so good and relaxed on the Quiberon Peninsula that I have only now got round to finishing the blog for this journey. Our campsite was right at the edge of the sea and we were blessed with sunshine for our final three days. We would start every morning with a swim before dawn, then read books, swim, or cycle gently around the peninsula. We ate our daytime meals on our table facing the ocean then evenings enjoying oysters and moules in local restaurants. Heaven.
We always intended to finish cycling the Loire, and now that we have, it’s filled us with delightful memories and plenty of ideas for future cycle rides.
The area around all Saumur is full of caves formed in the soft sedimentary limestone, such as Tufa. Those who lived in these caves were known as Troglodytes who carved and created villages and communities in the rock, safe from wolves and protected from rain and snow. Some are still used to this day and many have become tourist attractions, and so we visited the Rochemeiner Village museum. The Troglodytes were mostly farmers whose life expectancies was around 43, living hard lives in damp homes. The museum displayed their homes, furniture, fireplaces and how they lived. It was full of old wine making equipment and rudimentary farm machinery. We felt the irony that these dwellings were built during similar periods to the sumptuous chateaus we’ve been visiting.
We continued on to Neil’s distant cousin Sarah and husband Laurent who live near Laval. We spent a wonderful evening with them, catching up with each other’s families and news and Sarah cooked the most delicious supper.
Neil: I like to please: I am very much a philistine when it comes to art However I know Ceri loves it in all its many forms …. So eager to please I find a beautiful chateau just 10 miles away beside the Loire . It is the museum of contemporary art, that should be good in a place called Montessauro. We set off and methinks we can have a swim when we return. We are all rolling along with a following wind when Ceri gets another puncture…yes it’s the back wheel again . Anyway it’s nice day and after lots of pavement kneeling we are in our way . If anyone asks me to attend a ‘ Museum of Contemporary Art ‘ in the future I am not available. What a lot of ‘ Tosh ‘ There is me thinking there might be a bit of ‘ Dadaism’ or ‘ Surrealism’ But no…statements like this dominate the poor old chateau. It was very quiet ! We was robbed of €14 Still it made a nice day out cycling along the Loire. Swim beckons and a meal out
We passed the Greenwich MeridianAnother puncture“There might be a scripture of space in which a certain contusion is symptomatically compressed; a face where a minute prophylactic valance is ordained by a tribal mercantilism of fear. It is a place where Humpty Dumpty has the flower of small adjournments in his entree. It is a grace of connivance and facetiousness, an omnipotent enemy of polemic safety. For some season it is an impotent face of acceleration and dismay. It is also a chase where commendation is ruled out by parasol.”The outside of the Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art was beautiful!
Ceri: Change of plan again. It rained so we decided not to walk through Chinon castle, but to drive to Fontevraud Abbey. Wow! Just when we felt we’d seen so much, this abbey was yet another masterpiece of beautiful French architecture with a rich history. Richard the Lionheart was buried there and our royalty still visits to pay their respects. The abbey is enormous, converted to a horrendous prison after the French Revolution then restored to its former glory in the 20th century. It also housed an impressive museum of modern art. It’s just amazing where we end up, purely because of a change in the weather. It’s been a wonderful day.
Gaston Chaissac – a whole floor housed his work
Now we are staying in comfort in a hotel in Saumur. What will tomorrow bring?
How mercurial we can be. Plans can change in an instant. Bigger plans and tiny plans. The bigger plan was to cycle the Loire from Nevers to Saumur, thus completing the whole river. But this half we have the freedom of the campervan and there are so many beautiful chateaux and country towns away from the Loire that we left the Loire a few days ago. Now we follow any river vaguely near the Loire: the Loire itself, or the Vienne, or the Indre or various canals.
Yesterday, we were going to find a hotel in Chinon to rest and explore , but hotels were booked. Instead we booked a beautiful hotel in Saumur for later and camped in Chinon. What a beautiful place this is with the castle standing majestically above the medieval streets below and the Vienne river flowing gracefully through the many arches of the limestone bridge. Neil discovered a nearby swimming pool and disappeared while I relaxed and enjoyed my book. Later we chilled, sipping drinks by the river before wandering into town for supper. As we returned, a park run started at 20.30 from our campsite with runners of all shapes, sizes and ages running in the twilight . We joined in the fun with friends and families cheering them along. Next day we would rest, explore the castle and go for a long swim. Perfect.
However! Next morning Neil read about Richelieu, a beautiful old town just ‘11km’ away (he said). So off we cycled and the first sign we saw was Richelieu 22km! Ha ha! Classic! But it was such a pretty ride along old railway tracks and the architecture of the town was fascinating. AND…. we discovered a ceramics market! Woohoo! Potters from all over France were there and I was in heaven. We ‘had’ to buy 2 pots to balance them in my panniers 😉. What a fun day we were having. Then half way home I had a puncture with rain clouds looming. We pushed the bikes up to a road and Neil cycled back to Chinon to collect the van while I stayed put, guarding my precious cargo. I have no idea where Neil gets his energy from as, on our return, he still went for a swim then fixed my puncture while I cooked supper. As soon as he’d finished, the heavens opened and we were safe and dry ‘dining in’. There’s something very cosy about eating a home cooked supper inside the campervan, listening to beautiful music, while the rain lashed down outside. Tomorrow we’ll explore the castle…. maybe!
The Tour de France came through here in July and there are all sorts of colourful bikes and tributes all over ChinonCardinal RichelieuPanniers full of pottery Cycling back, this was outside a fun bee museum
Neil: Tours like all big cities is full of mistakes to make on a bicycle . It’s very easy to suddenly end up on a motorway without realising it ! With my earphones ( hearing aids ) I get instructions straight from google . Sometimes those instructions are plain stupid like go down a flight of stairs when a simpler option is very close by . Today was the day to cycle to Villandry following the Loire a Velo all the way with a fierce headwind . I benefit from Ceri who is on Turbo by tucking into her slip stream . Lots of cyclists out doing the same journey too . Villandry was spectacular for the gardens were just stunning. Using vegetables as flowers with serried ranks in all directions. The house too was more contemporary in context with rooms from the 19th century. Our journey back was eventful for a downpour and a trip along a really busy road . We both separately thought let’s leave the campsite without paying for a second night and go wild . We selected the forest of Chinon which is huge ! Tucked away out of the sight of any road makes for a very peaceful night
Chateau Villandry Incredible gardensVegetable gardens We dream of having one of theseSuch beautyStunning art exhibition by Marie Laurence Gaudat
Cycling back to camp siteWe found a new place to camp in the forestMorning shave
Neil: Cycling touring has been my hobby for 50 years maybe. The ability to change your mind exemplifies the hobby . Weather / interests / hills / bike issues all play their part . A bit of luxury does wonders for the spirit . We had a bed that could easily sleep 9! Breakfast was sort of in bed with food, milk, teabags , pan au chocolat all secreted in various bags . Check out 12 midday ! I love pondering the route . Nearby Vouvray tipped the balance . It certainly gave me a lift ! Having the one gear seemed to be no problem! Cities are always challenging Tours was no different the Loire a Velo took us right in although at one stage it seemed to be encouraging us to take the A10 ! We found a nice campsite with one or two people we have known from previous campsites. Ceri joins me today for a train journey back to pick up the camper van
We’re briefly back on the Camino! Even met a pilgrim walking to Santiago to Compostela
Building a new cycle route. Nice to ride the train together back to the campervan .
Ceri: More chateaux!!! We’ve both always wanted to go to Château Chenonceau having seen so many photographs of it. Since it was not on our route, we drove there and then onto the next stop. Gosh it was beautiful, both inside and out. This particular Castle ended up in private hands which is what saved it from being destroyed during the French revolution. We spent all day there exploring the castle, gardens, apothecary and more. Then obviously decided to stay in a beautiful chateau this evening. What a brilliant decision. Thanks Neil. ❤️
Do we camp or stay in this beautiful chateau Noizay?Decision madeWonderful meal, wonderful evening
Ceri: One cannot cycle the Loire without visiting at least one Château, so we made a detour, cycling to Château Chambord. It was hugely impressive displaying its enormous extravagant architecture and expansive gardens. In its centre is a clever double helix staircase inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s designs. No wonder there was a French revolution. Françoise Ist built this castle to impress his rivals and prove his power, yet only visited 18 times during his lifetime.
During the second world war it became a repository for thousands of masterpieces from the Louvre. Brave curators protected the work from the Nazis who wanted to ship them back to Germany.
The grounds are open to cyclists to explore making it a welcoming place for all ages.
Thousands of house martins swooped around us
A grasshopper keeps me company in the campsite while I wait for Neil to return with the campervan
Ceri: To us, this was the Darién gap! There were no trains between Gien and Beaugency so we had to come up with a different plan. Neil would cycle halfway with me then cycle back to collect the camper van, while I would carry on to Beaugency. What could possibly go wrong? We made an early start due to a large race which had been organised based from the campsite and drove the van to a safe spot to start cycling . Not far along the journey a very kind Frenchman caught us up waving Neil’s phone at us !!! Neil admitted he thought he’d heard something drop but didn’t think much of it. Of all days to lose his phone, we needed our phones to coordinate meeting up later on . Huge thanks to the kind French man. The day was getting hotter as we cycled along the river as far as St Benoit when Neil turned to cycle back to the campsite to collect the van. For me it was another beautiful ride watching the cormorants and seagulls arguing over the river. The day heated up to over 30° and people were enjoying kayaks an along the river. Orleans wasn’t much fun to cycle through as the sign posts were either missing or were misleading. The roads were often wide and difficult to cycle with very busy traffic. Coming out the other side, the signs resumed and the Loire a Velo continued easily. It was a long day but still enjoyable and we reunited successfully at a beautiful campsite on the river.
My photo to Neil. All going well.Neil’s photo to me…. including a swim of course!Sunset from our campsite
Ceri's Blog with Neil 