Leaving our safe haven in Marchecoul, Louie Marie rode with us to the co-op to say goodbye to Bernadette who was in a meeting there. Their care and warmth has been heartwarming. Incredibly special! Thank you both!

With some time before the train, we had a short ride around Marchecoul for me to see some it for the first time.

As the bikes needed to be hung up in the train, we removed all the panniers in readiness for this.

Mistake! There was not much time once the train arrived. Luckily we just managed to get everything on board before the doors closed. Note to self… next time wheel the bikes on fully loaded. There’s plenty of room once we are on the train to sort things out.

As I hadn’t seen Nantes we rode into town to see some of the sights Greg had seen a few days before.

Such a beautiful city and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Joyeaux cafe.

A gentle ride out of Nantes, now following the Eurovelo 6 signs now, the La Loire a Velo route, mostly alongside the Loire River.

Coming across our first municipal campground, we called it a day even though we had only done 27 kms. It was lovely to have our camp setup and relax for a few hours in the sun.

And with the Loire has begun our blackberry picking. A good crop for our breakfast tomorrow.

The first Loire village, Oudon, we came to was just so beautiful. Picture perfect. Complete with a medieval castle on the hillside overlooking the stone buildings in town alongside a Loire tributary.

And a patisserie… we’re stopping!

Having topped up on treats we got back to cycling along the Loire.

Beautiful river views and charming villages were everywhere today. Add in the odd rural road and some veggie gardens to admire, so gorgeous.

Another municipal campground to end the day in La Possonnière. These basic campgrounds are great. They’re cheap, have a clean amenity block, usually a fridge and access to charge our devices. Really good value.

Less than 10 minutes in our ride the next day we headed into the very cute village of Savennières to find a gorgeous looking patisserie. So cute, we had to stop!

The ever changing views of the Loire continued to captivate as we rode on.

As we rode into Angers, the Chateau d’Angers welcoming us into town.

Having a peek over the castle walls we decided not to go inside, instead following the tourist blue line, we explored the city passing some amazing historical buildings.

We never seem to tire of the churches and the Cathédrale Saint-Maurice did not disappoint.

The feat of construction and the serenity of the space are strong calls for us.

Leaving Angers we rode through an old slate mine that had been converted to a parkland. Some of the pieces of slate were just huge.

And then a river with no bridge!

Mmm. There’s a barge on the other side. Maybe…

There was a link chain on the ramp, maybe it’s connected to the barge. Yep, pulling the chain line the barge starts coming across.

All loaded and then pulling the chain at the front, we are on our way. So cool!

Safely on the other side we came back to the picturesque Loire.

Finding a quiet reserve just out of Le Thoureil, it was to be our stop for the night. It met all of our of ‘perfect’ wild campsite requirements – flat ground, shade, table, toilet and water.

Although still following the direction of the Loire, the next day we ventured in and out of rural landscapes.

Back alongside the Loire, Saumur was today’s bigger town. Famous for its École Nationale d’Équitation (National Equestrian School) which we passed on our way into town, and its annual horse shows.

The Eglise Saint-Pierre, dating from the 12th century with its strongly curved vaults, a feature of the Plantagenet (falling between the romansque and the gothic periods) architecture.

The church houses 2 beautiful tapestry collections, the 16th century tapestries of Saint Pierre and those of Saint Florent. The work that goes into the tapestries is remarkable and never fails to captivate me.

Just down the road was at the hillside village of Souzay-Champigny.

And beneath the hillside was a series of mystical medieval caves where troglodytism (cave living) was practiced.

The mining of these limestone caves first began in the 10th century, with the Rue de Commerce, a food market, opening in during the 11th century. The use of the underground caves was only abandoned in the 20th century with the closure of the commercial road.

Quite amazing to imagine daily life amongst these caves all those years ago.

Finding water in France has always been an issue. Public fountains/taps previously used in Spain were not to be found in France. Again Bernadette and Louie Marie to the rescue… there is, sensibly it turns out, always potable water at a cemetery, and every village has a cemetery.

The French cemeteries are walled with immaculately tendered grave sites often adorned with fresh flowers. And the flowers need water. Just inside the main entrance is a water tap.

Unbelievable that it has been so close so often but not somewhere that we had ventured inside.

It is also a legal requirement for eating establishments to provide water free of charge if asked. Another great tip for the road.

Heading inland for a bit we found a cemetery and the water tap, and on through vineyards and lovely villages and out to the Loire again.

Ready to find a spot for the night, it didn’t come easy. Not wanting to venture too far from the stop-bank cycle route we rode on and on and on. And then there it was.

A perfect picnic reserve on the Loire side of the stop bank, complete a table but no water or toilet. Can’t have everything!

It was a delight to have the Loire to wash in though. Greg found a lovely spot to access the river and quickly enough we were clean and refreshed by the Loire. Magic!

On the road before 8am the next morning (very early for us), to get in as many kilometres as possible before the forecasted rain came down.

Stopping at Savionnières, we stocked up on coffee for Greg’s Aeropress and a salami at the local market, and with breakfast pastries from the patisserie, we rode on to fuel up.

The day cleared and we were soon at Tours, our stop for the next couple of days. Too early to get into our accommodation we lunched down by the river and had a ride through the city.

The Cathedrale Satin-Gatien was alive with beautiful singing coming from the wedding inside.

With a quiet look inside while the wedding continued. It is very special, to be able to enjoy a beautiful church whilst it is full of love.

The rain caught up with us the next day as we awoke to a wet day. As I was still feeling tired, we decided to have a rest day, and after a visit to the local halles (market) for supplies – rillets, truffle cheese and guinea fowl (delicious!).

And a quick peek in the Église Notre Dame La Riche, we settled in for a quiet day.

We left Tours the following day all geared up for a wet ride.

And again, the rain again stayed away necessitating a stop to take off our rain gear but not for long. It became a jackets on, jackets off day, as it was too warm to keep them on as the showers came and went for the rest of the day.

We continued on to the municipal campground in Chaumont-sur-Loire, which had an impressive chateau on the hill beside the town. We had just set up camp as a heavy shower come through. We were well snug in the tent while the rain pattered on the outer.

Rugging up was required as a chilly wind and temperature drop to the low 20s°C ended our day. The wind was praised the next morning though as we woke to a dry tent.

Having done some research on the chateau and not yet seen inside one, today was to be the day. A short ride and we parked up our bikes and having packed all our panniers into some lockers beside the carpark, we ventured off to explore the chateau.

The Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire comprised of the chateau, its grounds and stables. Dating back to the 1st century, the domain has had a series of regal owners with its buildings evolving with each owner. In 1875 at the age of 17 Marie-Charlotte-Constance Say (heiress to one of the largest fortunes at the time) bought the chateau and later that year married the Prince de Broglie.

Most of what we visited today were the result of the works initiated by the Prince and Princess. Architect Paul-Ernest Sanson was called upon to restore the chateau, designing the private apartments and upgrading them with modern comforts – running water and electricity.

Sanson was also tasked with creating the stables which became the most modern and lavish of their time in Europe.

Even thought the chateau only had some furnished rooms, with others displaying this year’s art exhibition, it was an incredible visit. The scale and grandeur of the buildings and stables were beyond my realm.

Adding the simplicity of the purple and white themed gardens to crown the effect.

It was early afternoon before we joined the cycleway for our day’s ride. The cloudy day had taken away the bright blue Loire and replaced it with a more dour greyer looking Loire.

Expecting not to ride for too long today, and not able to find the ‘perfect’ camping stop, Greg and I clashed – big time. Although riding back to a ‘suitable’ spot we had passed would have been a good solution, I wasn’t keen to ride backwards. Greg suggested riding on wasn’t sensible, to which I replied, “just watch me”. I rode on, leaving Greg no option but to follow in my wake.

It was another 15 km or so before coming across the next potential camp site. Still not managing myself well, it took a while for me to accept stopping here for the night was the right choice. Turning out to be a long, long day, nearly 75 kms.

Although it didn’t rain overnight the tent outer was damp on the inside in the morning, we packed the tent inner and outer up separately. The moisture coming from the temperature dropping overnight and the wind dying down combined with the heat we generate. Packing them separately ensured that the inner would stay dry and enable us to setup camp and still have a dry space for our bedding later in the day.

Most of the time, we re-positioned the tent to capture the rising sun and it would dry off while we had breakfast. With the cloudy start and rain forecasted, it was not going to dry before we wanted to ride on.

And the rain came just as we had packed down and continued as we rode on to Orléans.

Not stopping for long in Orléans, we rode out of the city and the rain cleared.

Jargeau for lunch and then stopping at a couteau (knife) maker’s little workshop in Germigny des Prés.

It was delightful to see the perfectly formed workshop and the beautiful artisan cutlery created here.

A solid little pâte knife with suitable heft and a wooden handle was to be a charming reminder of our travels this year.

The brightening day brought with it a brighter Loire as we rode through to Sully-sur-Loire.

Stopping for some dinner supplies we rode on to the village of Saint Florent, where we found a lovely park beside a lake to pitch the tent. A another big ride day, 84 kms.

The rain was not far away. After having a drink at the village brasserie, and dinner lakeside the rain came in. It rained all night and was still raining the morning.

Greg led the strategic pack down… pack up the bedding and tent inner first, then dress with rain gear on, then pack foot print and panniers, and lastly outside to pack up the tent.

Out into the rain, the cycleway was showing the effects of the rain as we rode through some sizable puddles.

Only 12 km and we were in Gien, sodden. Our rain jackets were in desperate need of re-waterproofing.

The Gien campground would have a small glamping tent available in a couple of hours, just needed to be cleaned. We headed into town to have some lunch. But within 1/2 hour a message came through, the tent was ready. Yay! Lunch abandoned, we got supplies instead and headed back to shed our wet gear and dry off.

The porch was a good place to spread out our wet gear but nothing actually dried. The rain continued for most of the day while we were now clean and cosy inside our new home.

And although the rain stopped later in the day, the air stayed damp with little wind and no sun coming out to play, leaving us with reasonably wet gear the next morning.

It will be a short ride from Gien to Briare where we will leave the Loire and head north. Paris, we are nearly there!

Biked: 488 kms (Total 2,852 kms)