Villandry to Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault
Zagan the motorhome has a mind-bending view out over the Loire river from a free car park in Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault (N47.30797 W0.15247), a pretty but tiny town which has had to merge with other nearby towns to get big enough to be a town. Or something like that. Even now it feels closed and quite minute, but we have that view of the great untamed river itself, so we’re putting down roots for the night.
My view across La Loire, as soon as I stop writing this
Motorhome parking in Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, only room for about 4 of us though and we’re currently alone
Going back a couple of days, we bid farewell to Barnie and Vicky as they left Chenonceaux, only to return a couple of minutes later as the route over the train line had been closed. Waving them off again they returned once more as the route the other way was blocked too – we later found out that they had managed to escape and make it to Brantone. A quick run through the village and back to Zagan gave the sun enough time to burn through and a collective shout of “we’re casting a shadow!” could be heard ring out from the aire. We set off smiling, our satnav instructed to go find Villandry, site of another great renaissance chateau and although a single chateau visit has satiated all desire to eyeball another one close up, where better to head for?
Autumn sunshine hugged us in the cab as we cruised the French countryside
A free service point en route challenged our aiming skills. We failed.
Down country lanes, bare strips of tarmac with bare fields either side, we tootled. Along a spanking new road, so new it wasn’t even on our 2005 map (Ju’s mentioned once or fifteen times about maybe buying a new one!), we hammered along. Up to a péage (toll booth) we almost rolled until, wagging a cursing finger at our satnav, a gap was spotted in the bollards and we swung a two-wheeled U turn to escape the dreaded euro snafflers. Finally, south of Tours, the autoroute went free and easy, and we used it to cruise most of the way up Villandry. Satnav again chose to irk us at this point, directing us through the centre of the medieval streets which, you guessed it, were designed more with ‘Jacque’s vieille panier’ in mind than our massive home-on-wheels. Elbows in, we rolled past a bemused local chap and some oncoming cars and into the free aire (N47.34126, E0.5107).
Free motorhome aire at Villandry.
Check out the Dutch-registered Niesmann Bischoff rig behind us. They were towing the tiny blue car and had all the look of serious full-timers about them, complete with hydraulic self-leveling legs beneath the ‘van’. Several plants were eyeballed on the dashboard, along with a proper reading lamp on the table and venetian blinds. I was instantly back in northern Spain when I saw it, reminded of a couple in a similar-sized rig who were travelling the world in splendour.
Everyone comes to Villandry to see the chateau. Or more accurately the chateau’s gardens, reputed to be magnificent. Neither of us were much interested in either the building or the gardens (uncultered swines we are!), and realising we were effectively going to pay €10 each just to get the ‘stock’ photo of the place, we opted to go walk the town and along the Cher (cue much ‘If I could turn back time’ humming) trying to snaffle of a photo.
Best cheapskate Villandry photo we could get.
All the vantage points seem to have strategic-placed tree-lines blocking the view (who can blame ’em) and our attention turned to more mundane things – like the fresh-food dispenser machine, which again has us grinning and transported us elsewhere, to the fresh milk and spring water self-service facilities in Italy.
Villandry restaurant by night. We’re gearing up for a meal out after umpteen free overnight stops
Ah, nearly forgot. I bust the bathroom sink on the way to Villandry too. Not a bad effort, as I was driving at the time, but the shampoo bottle I accidentally left on a shelf fell off and smashed the plughole cleanly out. Arrrghhhhh. A lathering with epoxy glue and a Heath Robinson arrangement of items to support it while drying seems to have sorted it out.
Motorhome sink, sans plughole…
A Rough Guide so old it references Francs probably can’t be wrong when it comes to the best of La Loire, I’ve reasoned, since the river and towns alongside it are even older than it is. The more picturesque part is west of Saumur it tells us, as it flows off towards Angers. Right-you-are, off to Saumur we trundled, riding high on the levee built for miles-on-end after a flood 150 years back. A weird god-like sensation we had, flying alongside the grey-slated roofs of houses right up against the north side of the levée.
A viewpoint built on the Loire Levee so punters can see the river below
Saumur has a campsite on an island surrounded by Loire. It sounded rather plush, but our meal out needs paying for and the town/city has no overnight motorhome aire. We settled for free parking in a huge square of beige-stoned governmental buildings, opposite the Cavalry School and headed out for an hour’s wander, casting eyes upwards at an ever-maddening sky.
Saumur has a BIG thing about horses. They’re everywhere folks.
Nut liquor, sounded lovely. Fortunately for one’s liver it was shut-o-clock at the Combier Distiller
Everything’s to the right. No point going left. :-)
Saumur rooftops.
The last flash of light in Saumur before we legged it in fear of getting a bit damp!
And now we’re here, again wondering where to head next. Ju’s located the boulangerie and mastered the two-door system (seems the have a one-way system in there, must get busy?). Bread has been munched and La Loire spied upon. The light’s starting to fail and Charlie’s snoring a hole in Zagan’s side. Time maybe for a cheeky beer and a ponder. Where do we head tomorrow?
Cheers, Jay
P.S. The chap who owns this shed isn’t going to be chuffed when he gets back to it…
Hi Julie and Jason and of course, the star of the show, Charlie.
Ozzie our westie says woof woof Charlie.
This is my first comment.
I have absolutely loved following you guys and look forward to seeing what you are up to each day.
It’s great that you are sharing everything, warts and all.
My wife, Carol and I have a motorhome but have been renovating a villa on the Costa Blanca, for the last three years, so we didn’t get to use it as much as we would have liked.
We have just returned from 2 months away, in the van, invigorated and all set to do what you guys are doing.
However my son, Marc, asked if he and his wife, Maureen, could borrow the van and go off on a trip.
Obviously doing what all parents would do we said of course. How long?
At least a year they said as we want to go touring Europe.
Oh no…… What do we do now.
Obviously we will have to buy a new van. Great it’s all part of the adventure.
So now we are all excited and planning OUR big adventure.
Looking forward to adding more comments on future posts.
Steve and Carol.
Fabulous France Passion at Chinnon … elderly couple who suggested we stay two nights last October as it was quiet. We were shown the large wine Caves, which father and son hand dug out – you can see the pick marks on the walls. A 10-15 min walk through the vines to the town. They offer water and there are great views from the level pitches. K
Thanks Katherine – sounds like a fab spot. Decision taken just now though to get off south. Time to head out to some new territory! Thanks again, Jason
Hiya,
That spot you are in tonight looks nice, looks like some great views of the Loire.
If you’re heading west along the Loire from there then theres a quirky little place called Behuard near Angers which is the only ‘town'(more of a village really) on the island in the middle of the Loire,47.37856 -0.64569 you can overnight in the carpark that surrounds the picnic area.
Another nice spot is at St Florent Le Veil, 47.36313 1.02298 again another carpark high above the Loire next to the Abbey. Great views of the Loire below and an interesting Abbey to look around.
Between those 2 spots on the other side of the river is a free aire at Champtoce sur Loire, 47.41168 -0.86997 nothing special but you can service the van here for free inc fresh water if req’d.
We visited these three earlier this year, more off the beaten track than the usual touristy Loire stuff but might appeal to you both, especially as they are all free :-)
All 3 are listed on Campingcar-Infos, hopefully I’ve got the coords right this time!
If you’re heading south, then feel free to ignore all the above!
Pete
Ah, Murphy’s Law kicks in Pete! Just decided we’re spending too long wandering about bits of familiar France and need to get our fingers out and bomb south. At 50mph. So that’s more of an amble still, but south it is. The Pyrenees were and still are the plan, just need to get ourselves pointed at ’em! Thanks again for all the info – it might just come in handy to someone reading through these comments in future though? Cheers Pete, Jay
Busted plughole not nice at any time, has your Bodgit and Leggit repair worked? or find a slightly smaller plastic bowl and tip it down the shower plug hole till you can replace / repair …. remember check test, check test, check test :-) a few remove berore flight tags might come in handy? ….pleasant onward journey and Up the revolution :-)
Bill Weir
Haha! Slowly getting brain into correct order for living in here, can’t promise not busting anything else though! Ju’s just reported a minor drip from the glued-up bit, but seems to be where the U-bend bit fits the downpipe, not the bit I bodged, so I think I’m in the clear… 3 days since last shower so heading in there myself shortly to check. Cheers Bill! Jay
Just a note, I remember from your previous post you needed LPG (GPL)? You can DL an app for your tablet, try mylpg.EU , hope it helps you as much as it does me. Stay safe. Very windy down here in Tarragona. Wayne.
Hi Jay
Saw you as you drove through Chabanais today, we were on the edge of the market
Waved but you didn’t see us.
Regards
Ian and Gill
Sorry we didn’t spot you – our satnav told us there was a service point there and we were trying to see if we could get to it through the market – while eyeing up the stalls!! Hope you got some bargains!
Hi, was the Dutch van you saw in Villandry, flat towing their car? i.e. with an A frame?
Hi Alan, Yes it was. They took it off when they arrived at the aire.
Have a great trip