18th September

We left Chinon early(ish) to make our way to Villandry. We were now very familiar with the road and I was happy driving the 20 or so miles to Villandry. The fun started when I tried to find a parking space for the motorhome. I drove up and down the road and spotted an aire which looked it had a car park next to it. No. After executing 2x 3 point turns Tim decided to take over driving and strangely we finally spotted the way in to the motorhome parking space. Phew!

Villandry has over 1000 years of history. In the 12th century it was a fortress and in July 1189 Henry II king of England signed a peace treaty recognising his defeat by Philippe August, king of France. Fast forward 400 years and the medieval fortress was razed to build a chateau with only the foundations and keep remaining. In the 18th and 19th centuries there was a succession of owners, including Jerome Bonaparte (younger brother of Napoleon 1) who each expanded the buildings and gardens.

In 1906 scientists Joachim Carvallo from Spain and his wife, Ann Coleman from America became the owners and set about restoring the chateau and re-designing the gardens. Their great-grandson is now the custodian and in charge of running the estate which employs a team of 10 full time gardeners.

Villandry is famed for the gardens, but the interior is worth taking the time to look around. We were able to watch a short film (in French with English subtitles) which explained the history of the estate and was interesting. Covering 7 hectares of land, the gardens are divided into distinct areas. It’s worth viewing them from the top of the chateau tower or high on the hillside to fully appreciate them.

The love garden is under the windows of the chateau and features 4 box beds symbolising the four states of love:

Tender love is represented by four hearts separated by little flames. At the centre are the masks worn at masked balls.

Passionate love also features hearts, but this time shattered by passion.

Flighty love has four fans in the corners, wings and butterflies.

Tragic love features box shaped into the dagger blades used in duels and red flowers to symbolise bloodshed.

The garden is organised in terraces with a large pool at the top which feeds the cascades and the moat. The lower part is home to the ornamental kitchen garden which is a glorious homage to beautiful fruits and vegetables grouped according to colour, shape and form. A vegetable garden like no other!

We were able to return to the motorhome for lunch and then go back to explore the water garden, sun garden and maze. Reluctantly, at the end of the afternoon we decided that we should leave and head off to Tours for our overnight stop. It really is a must see for any keen gardener.

We’d juggled our itinerary a bit to accommodate staying in Chinon and visiting Villandry before heading to Tours for an overnight stop. We knew it might be late afternoon before we arrived at the campsite (Camping Only Camp) so booked and paid for the night online. That bit was easy. When we arrived we were given a site map and told which was our pitch – only problem was none of the pitches were numbered! After going back to the site office we found we were right next to the toilet block and people walked close to our van to get to the loos. Ah well, only one night we thought. On every toilet door was a sign in French and English “Please relieve yourself in the toilet, not next to it”. Off putting to say the least. The loos were not very clean and neither was the shower block, so we used our own facilities and were pleased to leave early next day.

It was a shame as we’d had a lovely day in Villandry, but then it was on to Le Moulin Fort and Chenonceau.