Travelling to Loire Valley
Good Afternoon,
We haven't been to France since before brexit,so would appreciate any help/advice... sailing from Poole. Probably a few days near Granville,then down to Le Mans and then near Blois for a couple of weeks. Any site recommendations would also be appreciated.
Many Thanks
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If you head south from Blois towards Montrichard and then west towards Blere you will find Le Moulin Fort at Francueil.
Until the covid situation we had visited every year since 2012 for between a week and a month. It is our favourite site. Sited on the river Cher it is a pleasant cycle ride to Blere and Montrichard. The site is small but pitches are large. The pool a bit small but generally quiet as the site does not attract teenagers. The showers were getting a little tired and the restaurant was not a selling point, but it is now under new management, one of whom is a chef. An excellent restaurant had also opened up less than 500 m from the entrance near the railway crossing. You will probably enjoy the site and sound of hot air balloons taking off less than a mile away. Chenonceau Chateau is virtually in view of the campsite and Amboise some 8 miles away is a must visit location for shopping, market, the town in general and seeing where Leonardo da Vinci ended his days.
We are going again for all of Sept when on ACSI we are paying 18 euros per night.
I'm not sure how you will be travelling down from the coast, but if from the direction of Rouen then avoid Le Mans and put in Dreux as a via point on your satnav. These non toll roads are fast and clear, offering a bit of decent scenery, aires to stop for a break and cheap fuel. You will also save on the tolls.
Colin
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It’s hard to recommend a site near Blois when I haven’t the faintest idea what type of site you want. Some want sites with bars, swimming pools and water slides. Some want somewhere simpler. How can I know?
But in case you would like something like a big CL, with lots of space, good showers and very hot water, close to a very respectable village, no other British visitors, and run by two very nice old people who speak no English at all, then I venture to suggest Camping Rural de Chatillon at Huisseau sur Cosson. It’s about 6 miles from Blois , on the way to the big chateau at Chambord.
We liked it. But would you?
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We're hoping to get to France at last this June having missed 2 years and are also thinking about returning to the Loire valley. In the past we've used the municipal at Amboise which is ideal for us, low key and relaxed with a nice walk across the bridge to the town with its restaurants and market etc. And speaking of hot air balloons, when we were there they were taking off from a field behind the site and flying very low overhead. Quite impressive.
This year we though of going a bit further downriver - somewhere like Montsoreau. There seem to be a lot of riverside sites in the area. We like a municipal by the water's edge with a short walk / cycle to local boulangeries, restaurants and market so any further recommendations would be welcome to us.
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We looked at Camping Isle Verte for an overnight due to its proximity to Montsoreau and its restaurants etc.
A quick Google for “camping municipal “ shows lots but for us it would have to be a short walk to what we need!
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Ian , Have you explored the Loire upstream from Orleans?
There’s a municipal site which we liked, about 50 miles upriver from Orleans on the river bank at Chatillon sur Loire- Camping l’Ecluse des Combles - good reviews on UKCampsite.co.uk for that one. We wanted to see Gustavo Eifel’s aqueduct which crosses the Loire nearby.
Then 30 miles further there’s another municipal - Camping Malaga - on the river bank at Pouilly sur Loire - but scarcely any reviews in English for that. A good sign!We pushed on more than once up the Allier tributary valley because we love a garden visit to the Parc Floral at Apremont sur Allier - Camping Robinson (yes) at La Guerche sur laubois is about the nearest small site. Municipal again but with a lake rather than the river.
But those are all outside the typical tourist stretch of the Loire valley as most people know it.
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Up the road a bit from Montsoreau is Saumur and it’s medieval castle/chateau, well worth a visit and a good base. We stayed at Camping L’lle d’Offard which is set on an island in the Loire in the centre of Saumur. The D route that follows the Loire from Saumur to Angers is a nice drive.
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+1 vote for L'lle d'Offard in Saumur with its on-site pool, cafe and leisure facs. It's part of the Flower Camping group and also takes ACSI cards out of peak season.
Saumur is a very interesting town with a spectacular chateau and large weekly market, all about a mile away from the site, an easy walk or bike ride away.
We were there for 2 weeks last September and there was only one other Brit unit there.
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Forgot to mention….if you’re going via Le Mans because of the car racing connection the 24hrs of Le Mans Museum is a must see. Easy access.
The 24hr circuit in its entirety obviously won’t be there, but you can drive the Mullsanne Straight and other famous bits of the legendary circuit if you’re that way inclined.
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Ooh, too much choice! Yes, we were also looking upriver. I think we used the site at Chatillon about 40 years ago - tent camping - and I remember the aqueduct which I believe has very baroque staues on it. That trip was spoiled to a large extent as I came down with food poisoning and we spent a very uncomfortable few days in a scruffy hotel in Clermont Ferrand. The only thing I could keep down was orangina.....
As an aside I've just booked the ferry - Brittany Ferries. I had a look last week and there was plenty of availability - this morning many of the night crossings had no cabins available so we had to adjust our sailing dates. Fortunately as we're retired that wasn't a problem. So anyone dithering (as we were) best to get in soon. The flexi fares which are £10 extra allow almost infinite rescheduling as I understand it.
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Jim, there’s also a little aire by the entrance if I remember correctly?
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These are the sites we have visited in the Loire region although some on other rivers. If you click the links it will take you to a review of each campsite.
David
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_la_citadelle.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/CampingdeLEtang.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_municipal_de_la_route_d_la%20Fleche.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_de_nevers.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_les_cochards.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_ile_de_offard.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_le_moulin_fort.htm
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_lisle_Verte.html
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_les_portes_de_l.html
http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_au_coeur_de_vendome.html
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SeasideBill posted : Jim, there’s also a little aire by the entrance if I remember correctly?
Yes, an Aire Camping-Car Park - not so little either, about 35 pitches.
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We loved this site when we went a few years ago (2014). The lovely old couple were "getting on a bit" even then. Are they still there and the site open?
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- I wondered too, and thought that perhaps one of their children had taken over, but there’s a Google review dated just 8 months ago urging people to continue to support the old couple who have now been running the campsite for 42 years.
- They themselves have no website (of course) but they get a mention on Gites de France and the Loire Valley tourist office sites. So let’s hope other Club members will bravely break free from the ACSI list and hunt out campsites like that one. We found a few.
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Another plus for the campsite at Huisseau. We moved from a site a few miles west of Blois, Grand Tortue, mainly to escape noisy and ignorant English, and glad we did.
Nothing much wrong with the Tortue site except for drunken Englishmen, hopefully not a regular occurrence. The Huisseau site totally different. Like several excellent CLs we stay at in this country only a bit bigger and the elderly lady owner was exceptional.
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i'm afraid I find the area like much of England, cold,wet and boring, but I go through it each year to get to the really lovely warm Med areas and the more southerly scenic areas of France filled with beautiful villages and scenery.
An excellent site in the area is in Loches near Tour which we usually use as first stop on our way down and last on our way back.
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I always consider crossing the Loire is the weather transition point. Many times in summer we’ve experienced the sun making an appearance there and more settled weather beyond. The region is possibly more popular than it deserves to be given the ease of getting there, but as they say, ‘each to his own”. If I’m looking for rivers, scenery and ancient towns/villages I’d continue south to the Lot or Tarn regions. That said, I enjoy the odd chateau, but when you’ve seen one…..
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When I used to tour France on a motorcycle, I always saw the Loire as an obstacle in the way south to the Alps or Pyrenees. Now more laid back it's a nice destination in its won right - far enough from the Channel to seem "different", close enough to get there easily.
But still can't decide on exactly where. Plenty of time to mull things over however.
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We have done the Loire a few times and do like Chateau and gardens however you can get a bit castled out after a week or so (another day another castle syndrome) I prefer the Dordogne as a river much more dramatic and interesting, the Loire as a river is not very nice to look at unlike the Dordogne.
We will visit the area again and will likely stop a few days on way south as there are still some chateau we have not visited and being in a MH its great to be on the Aires right beside the river with a view, in fact we found a new one a few years ago that had river cruises starting from it so we spent a nice evening going up and down the river tasting the local wines.
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I'd have to agree that the Dordogne does offer more in the way of scenery, but the Loire is more accessible. For us our best balance came with 6 weeks taking in three sites:-
Ile de Re at Arse en Re
Dordogne at Limueil
Loire at Francueil
Colin
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There's nothing wrong with the Loire, especially for first time visitors or those that wish to explore different bits of it. We have good memories of our various times there, visiting such places as Montsoreau for Richard the Lionheart, Amboise for Da Vinci, the best apricots we ever tasted from a market stall run by the apricot grower at Sully-sun-Loire, cycling (if you exclude the sand flies), wine tasting and buying from various vineyards. Plus a few of the gardens and chateaux (but not all of them). It's also handy as a stop over to become acclimatised to France if en route further south.
We wouldn't tarry now but would probably visit somewhere we hadn't been before if we pass through again and if it's convenient.
We wouldn't bother now with the South of Spain which will heresy to some but we're not great sun,sea and sand worshippers. Each to their own.
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Not exactly heresy, but to describe South of Spain as only being about sun, sea and sand is a huge misconception. The region has a lot more to offer than that, but you need to explore beyond the traditional ‘Brit stops’. In particular, the area from Estepona going west to Ronda, Tarifa, Trafalgar, Cadiz, Jerez and Seville would rival most places in Europe without spending a single day on a beach. But, as you say each to their own. Also, the wine is much better than the insipid stuff they produce in the Loire!
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I have had tours around those very same areas that you talk about but have no great wish to return. I did see many things that I enjoyed but the area just doesn't draw me back.
Just as a point of correction I did not describe the South of Spain as only being about sun, sea and sand. I said not retuning to the South of Spain would be considered heresy by some. I also pointed out that I wasn't into sun, sea and sand holidays. No big deal. Glad other people find it enjoyable. As I said each to their own.
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Personally as the OP has asked about sites in the Loire then that is the information we should try and provide the OP with. I am sure that if the OP wishes to visit the Dordogne or even Spain they will ask that question. The Loire Valley is steeped in French history and even in a fortnights holiday you are only likely to scratch the surface. So perhaps we should stick to answering the OP's question and not confuse the issue with other suggestions?
David
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