15th September

A late change of plan and we decided to go to Chinon before continuing to Villandry and Tours. We were so glad we did! We stayed at the municipal campsite a short walk into town and up to the castle. Chinon is delightful, medieval buildings and streets, wine caves and of course the castle. We decided to stay 2 nights and take time to explore.

The castle was our first visit and it was really interesting. Over 1,000 years old, it had been the focus of dispute between English kings and French kings as to who had the right to it. Joan of Arc met Charles VII at the castle in March 1429 claiming to have heard heavenly voices telling her she must meet Charles and lead his army into battle against the English. She was at his side when he was crowned King. Sadly, she was the victim of political/religious power politics and was burned at the stake when she was just 19 after a rigged trial by the English. She was later made a saint and has become a symbol the patron saint of France, honoured as a defender of the French nation.

Shaking off that bit of history we descended to the old town and happened upon one of the wine caves. (I know, you can see a pattern emerging here!) After some judicious sampling of the wines, we bought a couple of bottles and staggered back to the campsite. I’ve come to the conclusion that municipal campsites are pretty good. The toilet block was good, really clean and they had industrial washing/drying machines which was very helpful as we had more washing to do. We were able to pick our own pitch and it was very pleasant with a lovely view up to the castle.

We chose another lovely day to make the trip up to Azay. That was fun! (Not) All went well till we actually got there and then couldn’t find where to park up. The main car park had a height barrier, there was a campsite/aire but you couldn’t park there, and eventually, along with some other frustrated motorhomers we found the parking area for motorhomes. Feeling slightly frazzled we made our way to the Chateau and then were delighted to be told it was free entry that weekend.

The chateau has a very long history on the site. The first chateau built in the 12th century burnt to the ground in 1418 falling victim to warring factions in the 100 year war. The castle remained in ruins till 1518 when re-building work started. It was a slow process, hindered by the financial misdemeanours of the then owner and disgrace at court. It wasn’t until 1792 that the chateau renovations were completed. The chateau and estate were purchased by the French government in 1905 and it is now a national monument.

The grounds are lovely and we were able to leave to explore the village and then return later. I was amused to see a British telephone box, converted to a library. A lovely day out and we decided to visit Le Clerc on the way back to Chinon and fill up with diesel and lpg.

All went well till we got to the fuel station. When we had our Gaslow system fitted we were given what we were assured was the european adapter for the gpl pumps. No, it wasn’t! It was suggested that we visit a B & Q type store in Chinon who might stock one. No, they didn’t and sent us back to a motorhome dealer a stone’s throw from Le Clerc who thankfully was still open. European adaptor purchased we finally filled with diesel and gpl before heading back to the campsite. The moral of the tale is make sure you do have the right adaptor!

We decided to have another night in Chinon just walking and relaxing and were delighted to find late in the afternoon an estate car carrying lots of crates of wine was parked up on the campsite and the vintner offering free samples. Well, what can I say? Of course we had to try some of his wines and buy some. So a pleasant evening passed in a blur and we were ready to head to Chateau Villandry and then Tours for an overnight stop the next morning.