Cycling the chateaux loop

While we were in Blois I was keen to try and get to as many chateaux as possible, even if that meant just spotting them from the road, as I knew we wouldn't be able to go into all of them. In Blois and around the ones we chose to visit were Chambord, Cheverny and the Palace Royal du Blois, but there were plenty more on my list of potentials, including chateaux Beauregard and de Troussay.

So when I spotted they were both on what I've called the chateau loop - and is actually called Pays de Châteaux à Vélo or circuit number four, which is easy to follow with signposts along the way - I was quite pleased and I knew that on one of our Blois days we'd be doing that cycle.  

From our base near the station in Blois it was around 33 miles, so a long days cycling as we spent some time visiting Cheverny and snuck in some winetasting too. Well, when in France...

OUR 33 MILE ROUTE TICKING OFF THE CHATEAUX

This time as we left Blois instead of turning along we the river headed straight on towards the forest and Chateau de Beauregard, after first crossing a rather stinky (it must be said) wooden footbridge at Cellettes. No photos from there, as my nose was having a sensitive moment and the river at Cellettes was recovering from an overflow from the Loire. The footbridge was impressive and reminded me of cycling in East London's Bow Locks and I'm sure the smell was just temporary.

We cycled right up to the Chateau gates and contemplated stopping for a coffee, but managed to stay strong because it wasn't on our list. We tried to get a glimpse from the entrance and failed so I snapped the sign instead as proof of our visit.

Back onto the quiet roads and we were soon joining the loop proper and heading towards Cheverny. We stopped in the town at a farmers market, buying strawberries to supplement our lunch. The photo below indicates the market was empty, but it wasn't. When I got the camera out, everyone stepped back which was quite sweet of them, but completely unnecessary! 

WHERE IS EVERYBODY? 

We cycled onto Cheverny and quickly found the bike racks. Having locked everything up our next stop was the toilets where we found about fifty more bike racks. And as we're collecting signs in this post, here's the Cheverny one. If you're cycling to Cheverny, there are plenty of bike racks so if the first smaller set are full, don't despair!

You thought I wasn't going to show you a picture of the chateau didn't you? I don't think I could resist; I love its elegant exterior, and its symmetry - it was also great inside and I'll share some photos of the interior soon.  I hope you'll be as wow-ed and amazed as I was.

Not a bad view into the garden is it?  

After walking round as much of the grounds and as much of the interior as we could, checking out the cafe and nipping into Maison du Vin for a wine tasting, it was time to get back on the bikes and complete the loop.  And there was a fair bit still to do.

The next chateau we stopped at was Château de Troussay and this was our view from the road. It looks romantic doesn't it, and I kind of wished we'd chosen a smaller chateau to visit as well.

My disappointment was short lived though as we turned the bend I spotted what turned out to be a gîte. Parking the bike I explored a little closer on foot, much to MOH's amusement.  I mean just look at that roof, the shape of the building, and oh that wall...

Prised away from getting the perfect shot we headed off again, not really getting very far before we saw this quirky little place.  Knowing he was beaten we pulled up again and off I disappeared with the camera. It's actually part of a local vineyard, but doesn't it have character and charm?

Peering up the road I could see the more of the vineyard's buildings, but knowing time was getting on and we still had a fair few miles to cover to get back to Blois, and I was fading fast I headed back to MOH and my bike. The whole day was a longer ride than we'd expected, and at around 33 miles our longest cycle of the holiday so far. And if we didn't get pedalling there wouldn't be time for our ritual beer in the town as we arrived, and we couldn't be having that!

So while we set out to spot chateaux - and we did do that - as well as visiting Cheverny, the highlight of my day was these two quirky cottages which to me screamed Frenchness, and summed up what I love about France. And Cheverny is well worth a visit too!

Arriving at Chambord by bike

After looking around the pretty town of Beaugency we were back on the bikes and cycling towards Blois. Rather than take the same route as the day before we decided to head inland once we reached St Dyé towards Chambord. We'd seen the Loire à Vélo signs the day before and were confident it wouldn't add too many miles onto our journey. 

But first we had to get to St Dyé. I hadn't taken many photos on this part of our cycle so I planned to put that right. Starting with this quaint little building. I'm sure it had a practical use but it looked pretty too.

As we cycled close to where we'd had lunch the previous day we agreed to stop and slap on some suntan lotion as we could start to feel it burning through the clouds. We've caught the sun on cloudy-but-warm cycles before and didn't want to get caught out again.  And this pretty setting for a bench made the perfect place for that. The hedgerows behind were covered in elderflower and their scent was starting to make itself known.

On the move again we cycled steadily along to St Dyé and paused to admire the full river.  And it was hard to imagine this pretty, sleepy village as the former river port for Chambord, where all of the building materials arrived. It's hard to believe now isn't it?

My plan was to wander around the village and take even more photos, a plan that had the approval of MOH too. But after heading past three Swiss cyclists and stopping for a beer, when we left the bar the photographs were forgotten as we didn't want to be overtaking them again. And so it wasn't long before we found ourselves at the entrance to the estate of Chambord and this rather charming lodge. 

The stag between the first floor windows made me smile and I hoped was an indication of the grandeur that awaited us. And well, I wasn't wrong or disappointed.

We cycled around the edge of the main grounds to get the shot above and cycled much closer for the shot below. The week before our visit the chateau had been shut as they fought to keep the rising waters away from it, so it was really good to see it open. In fact it was a relaxed type of place and one that didn't object to people cycling around the grounds, even close to the outer wall.

After posing for some photos and then taking even more we found a bench with a view to eat our baguette and cheese of the day. Not a bad view was it? 

So today we had our first glimpse at a proper chateau, just from the outside. We would go in, but not today as we still had to get ourselves to Blois, 11 miles or so further on. The other reason for not going in today was I hadn't been organised enough to buy my chateau-multi-ticket - or the Pass Châteaux de la Loire (see below) - online and that was a job for tomorrow in Blois.

Need to know

Loire à Vélo cycling trail

This is a well signposted and ever growing route which links the towns of the Loire Valley. There are plenty of accredited hotels all of which are located within 5km of the path. There's also a special Loire à Vélo train which runs between the towns, although we were a couple of weeks too early for that, and there's much more information to help you plan your trip on the site.  Thoroughly recommend the site and the trail.

Chateau de Chambord

it's probably one of the most well-known chateaus in France and work started in 1519. Amazingly it wasn't built as a permanent residence.  It was included on the first historical monuments list in France in 1840; the forest and wall were listed in 1997. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

Pass Châteaux de la Loire

I'd love to say that I found this with my extensive pre-holiday research, and I did find it before we went but just not in enough time to buy online, so luckily the tickets were also available from the Tourist Office in Blois.  If you're visiting the Loire and have chateaux in your sights then take a look at the many options to buy a multi-ticket. 

Cycling to Beaugency on the Loire à Vélo path

The first of our cycling adventures on our Loire holiday had been hastily replanned so to avoid the extraordinary flooding at Orleans. Instead of cycling from Orleans to Beaugency, we set out from Blois and followed the Loire à Vélo path in the opposite direction to which we'd planned. And the opposite way to the detailed route in our guide book.  

On paper it made sense to do it, but as we started out on our first ride we weren't sure how easy it would be. It turned out we had nothing to worry about as the path was easily signposted and easy to follow.  

We left our hotel - the Hotel Le Monarque - after admiring their TinTin memorabilia. I tell you, if you're going to theme your decor you can learn a lot from this hotel. It was tastefully done but didn't overwhelm either the space or its visitors. As I said in my round up post I wasn't sure of the TinTin connection, but just by walking through the hotel, I knew there was one! 

As we checked out we saw the sign for "Panier Pique-Nique" and immediately wished we'd seen it sooner. No sarnies in sight for this deluxe lunch and I was particularly intrigued as to what the Creme caramel would be like... 

And then I noticed there was wine included too. How very civilised I thought. And by now doubly regretting my lack of attention to detail on arrival. We were only taking one pannier each to Beaugency (having dumped our extra clothes in our car  in the station car park), so we - that's the Royal we there - would have had room to accommodate these. 

The idea was banked for another day.  Back to the cycling.

We headed down the hill in Blois - phew - and across the bridge, then headed left along the river. We soon got into the hang of looking out for the path and were happily cycling along until bam! 

Yes, there was no way past that.  So we backtracked half a kilometre or so until there was easy access to the road above which runs parallel to the river, and cycled along the road until we reached St Dyè. The road was relatively quiet, well surfaced and easy to ride along. There was some traffic but it was far from cycling on the roads in London.

We were making good progress and decided food was needed. Our pique-nique was nowhere near as grand as the one advertised in the hotel, but fresh baguette, local cheese followed by some just ripe apricots wasn't so bad.  And nor was our view.

I think this is the prettiest - and most enticing - set of steps I've seen in a while. And while I was itching to pop up there and explore, but less keen to bump the bike up there and back. But what if it was just a housing estate up there? Unlikely, I think, but I chose not to explore liking instead the intrigue and leaving it to my imagination.

The rest of our cycle was uneventful, the gorgeous scenery continued and it was easy to find Beaugency - it was clearly signposted and once off the path we headed towards the centre of the town and started what would become our customary end of cycle routine - finding somewhere to enjoy a refreshing beer!  

And I needed one as I made a bit of an entrance into Beaugency. As we were deciding which way to go, I pulled into the kerb and completely misjudged it and parted ways with my bike. I've no idea how but I did, and it seemed to go in slow motion and I ended up on the pavement. Quite embarrassing really, but no damage at all not even a scraped knee.

We found our hotel by cycling around a bit, well it was a small town and I was confident I knew what it looked like. And I knew I'd know it when I saw it. MOH was less sure of this approach but sure enough, it was easy to find - just don't ask me how! I went inside and we were soon being led into the secure garage come courtyard garden.

This was full of shabby-chic style items for real, and it was fab! I think there's a whole other blog post on my findings, and how by having a bike you see places you might not otherwise see, so I'll leave that for another day.  We opted to leave our bikes just by the trailer and in front of the bins and the armoire. They were undercover and secure and safe in that knowledge once we'd taken our things to our room and freshened up, we set about exploring the town on foot.

Need to know

Hotel Le Monarque in Blois

Great breakfast, tastefully TinTin themed decor, Panier Pique-Niques available and covered bike storage in the courtyard car park. Free wifi and friendly on reception.  It's located at the top of the hill in Blois - so I was glad we were leaving, not arriving - but well placed to wander into town of an evening; there's some good restaurants nearby - we tried two of them - and there's a restaurant in the hotel too (untried).

Le Relais des Templiers in Beaugency

Another great breakfast in this traditional French hotel. Our room was simply decorated, but no less comfortable for it. It was another well located hotel and the owner recommended two restaurants close by. After a walk around the town we tried one of them and I had the largest piece of Bavette steak I've ever had - it was a hit! The bike storage here was in the garage and it's one of the places where you get to see behind the scenes all because you've got a bike. 

Loire à Vélo cycling trail

This is a well signposted and ever growing route which links the towns of the Loire Valley. There are plenty of accredited hotels all of which are located within 5km of the path. There's also a special Loire à Vélo train which runs between the towns, although we were a couple of weeks too early for that, and there's much more information to help you plan your trip on the site.  Thoroughly recommend the site and the trail.