On Sunday, 1st June, nine members of the Midweek Wayfarers (Frank, Françoise, Cliff, Maureen, Tim, Alan, Ian, Pam and Gill) met up with 25 French cyclists to participate in a 7-day tour of the Loire Valley from Nantes to Chambord/Blois and return. Brilliantly organised by Gérard and Guy of the FFCT whom we had met in Brittany last year, we cycled 50-60 miles per day; we were on the road at 8.00 a.m. each day and the two leaders took it in turns to drive the sag-wagon which carried our luggage and provided teas and coffee at breaks en-route, plus picnic lunches. The terrain was flat beside the rivers but hilly away from them and the weather was great apart from a couple of showers and a deluge on the third day.
We travelled eastwards for four days, mostly following the Loire but also its tributaries the Vienne, Cher and Indre. We visited the Château de Brézé, Fontevraud Abbey and the two really famous châteaux – Chenonceau and Chambord on this half of the trip. On the return, we visited Amboise, Villandry (wonderful gardens) and the 15th Chateau Langeais. As for the ‘oenology’ part of the trip, we had wine-tastings at: Montlouis, near Amboise, followed by a picnic lunch in one of their caves; at la Haie Longue – Coteaux du Layon – at coffee time; and finally, on the last evening before dinner, Muscadet wines, which made for a party atmosphere.
On Monday, 9th June, we said farewell to our French friends and spent the day being shown around Nantes, riding on a huge mechanical elephant and on a 3-tier carousel of sea creatures! All great fun! The next day was Departure Day and we were transported to Frank and Françoise’s home where we had a magnificent lunch, before cycling back to St Malo to catch the overnight ferry. All-in-all, a wonderful trip.- Gill Finlay
(For the full story, see the Sou’Wester.)
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