A Cracking Holiday in Muides-sur-Loire

Zagan the motorhome’s feeling a little down, having waved goodbye to our friends from home who’ve just departed the sun-dappled Le Chateau des Marais campsite in Muides-sur-Loire, which is unsurprisingly in the Loire Valley (N47.66562, E1.52872). Jon and Sue and their fab kids live a short distance from us back in the UK and we’ve known ’em for yonks. When Ju heard they were heading down here for a week’s holiday she hatched a plan for us to meet up and join them for a few days. The campsite’s helpfully in the ACSI Camping Card scheme, so comes in at €16 a night including hook-up for us. Jon and Sue’s chalet included a gas BBQ, which has been permanently fired up for endless top-notch BBQing. We’ve eaten like roi et reine! Our mates are, as I tap this out, on their way to Normandy. They’re breaking up the 13 hour journey home with a couple of days there (just in advance of the 75th anniversary of D-Day), so will get to enjoy the mini heatwave which is hitting France this weekend (31°C tomorrow, phew!).

Our sunny pitch at Le Chateau des Marais camping about 3 miles from Chateau Chambord and a few hundred meters from Muides-sur-Loire and the famous Loire river
Our sunny pitch at Le Chateau des Marais camping about 3 miles from Chateau Chambord and a few hundred metres from Muides-sur-Loire and the famous Loire river

We headed here via a small free aire in Nogent-le-Roi, which even included gratis electricity, although there wasn’t much point us hooking up as we knew we’d be on-grid here for a few days (N48.65044, E1.52853). The aire’s alongside a small town, whose restaurants were jam-packed for French Mother’s day (it turns out to be celebrated on different days around the world, who knew?) and whose marie (town hall) was busy(ish) with folks voting in the European Elections. We bypassed all of this and headed to the chateau on a small hill above the town, or more accurately to the chateau’s gardens, which provide an informal petting zoo/Jay-creche as well as a circular walk. Donkey’s heads, it turns out, are surprisingly bony and dusty, while being licked by a goat is an oddly disturbing experience.

The deer were less keen to come and say hello, and when we nipped through the double-gated ‘deer lock’, they made it clear no petting was on the cards by showing us the colour of their hooves and bouncing off into the trees. Further on we gainfully employed our time entranced by a bloke driving a golf-ball-snaffling cart-thing at the local driving range, and standing on the hill start line of the town’s impressive BMX (remember them?) race track. If we’d been a week later the ET-carrying chariots would have been lined up en-masse ready to race the jumps and berms en-masse, in a big event advertised around the town.

The free motorhome aire at Nogent-le-Roi, complete with free electrical hook-up
The free motorhome aire at Nogent-le-Roi, complete with free electrical hook-up
I was thinking of my mum while scratching this donkey. No! Not because she’s an irascible old ass, how dare you (ahem)! Because she’s a big supporter of the Radcliffe Donkey Sanctuary and has sponsored 843 ‘donks’ to date (figure accurate as of 9:04am, 1 June 2019)
The beautiful and at once run-of-the-mill chateau at Nogent-le-Roi, France
The beautiful and at once run-of-the-mill (wonderful places like this are everywhere) chateau at Nogent-le-Roi, France

Jon and Sue drove down here in a single 13 hour marathon effort, passing us after about 9 hours, a mark it took us a week or two to get to. Feeling slightly ashamed at our escargot-paced progress, and ready for spending some time with friends, we rolled off after them the following day. Arriving on a campsite is always a tiny bit of a shock to the system, especially at one with barriers and wrist bands, but this place is pretty easy-going. Except for the pool attendants that is, who patrol the water’s edge, steel-faced sunglassed warriors, Les Piscine Terminators.

Jon had already fallen foul of these law enforcement machines before we arrived after attempting to get in the pool wearing his swimming shorts, the nerve of the man!!! He (and we) had forgotten this French thing about blokes not being allowed into a swimming pool unless the outline of their genitalia is clearly visible. The reasoning is simple enough: if your swimwear is anything but utterly obscene, you might wear it outside the pool, get it sweaty and dirty, then drag that dirt into the pool. Peeing in the pool is, on the other hand, is not on the wall-sized array of images depicting all the things the Terminators are programmed to kill you for. We’re well and truly used to the campsite now though, and have booked to stay another couple of days after our mates have left to take advantage of shade in the coming heat-blast.

Go karting on the campsite near Muides-sur-Loire
Sue, Jon, Jo and Annabelle, in a rare moment when we weren’t gathered around the BBQ or splashing in the pool

Jon and Sue managed more than us, actually getting inside Chateau Chambord for example, while Ju and I made do with running around the grounds. Most big chateaux on the Loire have employed extreme-tree-planters to ensure you have to dig deep to even get a glimpse of them. Not Chambord. You can walk all around it, admiring the opulence and magnificence of the thing from 360 degrees. Those guys had a good look around Blois too, which I only got a short look at on a 26 mile training run (I didn’t have the energy for a wander around the town). Ju’s been out running with Sue, including an 8 mile Chambord run, with her knee holding up well and boding well for the big hill in Switzerland.

Run to Chateau Chambord near Muides-sur-Loire
Run to Chateau Chambord! The house grounds are huge, with miles of forest tracks to run or cycle and signs warning that deer and wild boar live in ’em
Reaching Blois, 12 miles down, 14 to go
Reaching Blois, 12 miles down, 14 to go

Our days this past week have been fun. We’ve lounged about the pool (with the blokes in our paint-on kecks), floating in the current of the ‘savage river’ and hooning down the water slides (characterised by water temperature as ‘warm’, ‘cool’ and ‘arrrghhhhhh’). We’ve hacked golf balls around on the crazy golf, toasted marshmallows, BBQ’d everything we could get our hands on and pootled around a HUGE bank holiday car boot sale (yep, they have ’em here too, but complete with weird stuff like wild boar heads and coat racks with deer feet as hooks, I kid you not).

Car boot in Muides-sur-Loire. The friterie was doing a roaring trade.
Car booting by the Loire. The friterie was doing a roaring trade.
A fairly representative selection of the fare on sale at the car boot in Muides-sur-Loire. Every stall seemed to have a bongo drum?
A fairly representative selection of the fare on sale. Every stall seemed to have a bongo drum?
Among the hundreds of stalls we were all tempted by something. This map of Africa was my thing.
Among the hundreds of stalls we were all tempted by something or other. This map of Africa was my thing.
Crazy Golf at the campsite in Muides-sur-Loire.
Annabelle proves her mettle at the Crazy Golf. No kids were harmed in the making of this blog. Not physically at least.

I’ve also learned something of my friend Jon: he has a Super U fetish. I suspect it’s more of a French Supermarket thing than this particular chain, but despite his fridge and cupboards bursting with food, the man had to make that one last trip, stating all the while that he ‘could give up Super U any time he wanted to man, he just didn’t want to’. I joined him for a trip to get a closer look, observing dilated pupils and a tighter-than-usual grip on the steering wheel on the drive there, as he muttered something about ‘drive on the right, drive on the right’. Once we’d arrived he flew inside as though by Star Trek tractor beam, negotiating the isles with the keen eye of a seasoned white water canoe-er (is that a word?). Snails, gizzards, pates, pains, vins rouge, steak hache and a hundred other lines were all inspected, passed over with crinkled brow or flung into the basket. Eventually, after 2 or 3 hours, his nostrils returned to their usual size, the rate of procurement slowed and we headed to pay, another day’s Super Uing successfully snorted. 

So, that’s it. Another couple of days and we’ll leave the beautiful Loire. There are a steady set of folks with panniers cycling the river’s long banks, camping each evening before enjoying another day’s leisurely riding. It looks idyllic. Chambord’s attracting a steady set of visitors and is well worth a visit. You can stay at an €11 aire a 13 second walk from the chateau, or park up for free a couple of miles away and walk or cycle in to look around. There are lots of free aires or municipal campsites along the Loire, or if you’re after a bit of luxury or something for the kids, come here, it’s a great site and the nearby village has lovely butchers and bakers.

The Loire east of Blois, rather pretty eh?
The Loire east of Blois, rather pretty eh?

One last wee point: word’s arrived through the infinite grapevine (the inescapable email)  that there’s some filming work for us to do in London. WORK?! I hear you cry? Don’t these two layabouts just, well, lay about? Well yes, we do, almost all of the time, but on occasion an offer of something useful to do comes along and we drop everything (nothing) to go do it. The logistics of this remain to be worked out, but will probably involve secure parking for the van somewhere followed by a train or flight to London and back. We’ll let you know how it pans out, but folks do this all the time, especially full-timers, so it’s fairly normal long term motorhome practice. For us it’s new and a little bit exciting, especially as we have no luggage with us.

Right, time for more laying about! Catch you later folks, cheers, Jay

12 replies
  1. Julesey says:

    We’ve been watching your progress with interest, as we’re heading back to Blighty tomorrow, having come up through the Loire region in the last couple of weeks.
    I too love a good Super U. Especially the ones that have a laundrette in the car park. I can’t imagine things like cows feet and pigs brains ever catching on in U.K. supermarkets!

    Reply
  2. Guy says:

    There ample secure parking at La Rochelle airport with cheap flights to London. There were a number of motorhomes parked up there when we were last there if you’re heading that way.

    Reply
  3. Guy says:

    Hi both,
    It may also be worth checking campsites near airports as many offer secure “ garage mort” facilities for the time you need to be back in The UK.

    Guy

    Reply
  4. J says:

    Hello J&J, we can help you out..

    You already know how secure your camper and contents would be, we can run you to Moulins to catch a Paris train where you can get a flight or continue onto St Pancras. Have small and large luggage too.

    We are off in the morning on the way to the Normandy Beaches to deliver a stove, will be back here by Tuesday daytime.

    Anyway, offer is there if it fits, always enjoy a visit from you.

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Smashing, thanks guys, we’re waiting to hear which day we’ll be needed and will get back to you as soon as we know what’s happening. Cheers, Jay

      Reply
  5. Rob says:

    Just one word of caution on the flying home and leaving your van in secure storage – we have done the same several times on our travels but learned along the way that our insurance policy and all others we looked into wouldn’t cover us the second we left our van in a country that we weren’t in. They considered it abandonment – so whilst we took our chances and thought – well – its in a secure parking facility ‘what could possibly go wrong?!’ It still felt like a slightly more risky endeavour knowing the van wasn’t insured.
    We still did it anyway – but might be worth checking your policy’s small print!

    Reply
  6. Katherine says:

    Cheap sports bags …. wot I did first flight home. Now have a mid sized at doubles up as a second day pack. Good luck with the filming.

    Reply
  7. Jennifer JOnes says:

    Hi – I have a question which I think you might be able to answer for me. I remember some time ago you won the Star picture in Practical Motorhome. How long did it take to get the books? I won a while ago but have received nothing. Wish we were in France . Always enjoy reading where you are .

    Reply
    • Jason says:

      Hi Jennifer. Wow, you have a good memory – that was several years ago! Sadly I can’t remember how long the books took to arrive (I didn’t know what they were for when they arrived as I hadn’t seen the edition we were in). It’s probably best to get in touch with the magazine and ask them for an idea of timing. Cheers Julie

      Reply

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