The Loire and Dordogne 2026 - Saumur and Angers

Saturday 10th October - Saumur, Pays de la Loire
 
We woke up to sunshine, a first for a couple of days and it stayed with us all day.
 
We were heading to Saumur but stopped off at Le Chateau du Rivau with its history spanning over 800 years, moving from a medieval stronghold to a renowned equestrian centre and a fairytale estate. 

In the 13th Century the site was originally a medieval wooden fortress that passed to the influential De Beauvau family through marriage.  In 1442 Pierre de Beauvau, Grand Chamberlain to King Charles VII, obtained royal authorization to fortify the site. He added stone ramparts, a drawbridge, a dry moat, and a square keep - combining a medieval defensive structure with the comforts of a noble manor residence.  During the 17th century, Cardinal Richelieu spared Le Rivau from destruction (which was happening to many regional fortresses) because his sister Françoise was married to Jean de Beauvau.  After 247 years in the Beauvau family, the estate was sold in 1693 as the family relocated to Lorraine.  During the 18th and 19th Centuries the castle changed hands several times and operated as an agricultural estate. In 1918, it was classified as an official French Historical Monument.  In 1992, Patricia and Éric Laigneau purchased the property, which had fallen into neglect. They launched an 18 year restoration to repair the medieval keep, outbuildings, and Renaissance stables.  They created 14 fairytale inspired gardens around the property and integrated contemporary art installations, transforming Château du Rivau into one of the most distinctive destinations in the Loire Valley today.

There is a connection to Joan of Arc at the Chateau as, in 1429, during the Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc went to Le Rivau to obtain horses for her campaign before marching to relieve the Siege of Orléans. 

 
It was pumpkin weekend at the Chateau which meant there were lots of children there but there were also quite a few artisan stalls - we treated ourselves to some almond macaroons.

 
We walked around the fairytale gardens, which, I have to admit, didn't feel very fairylike to me!  There had obviously been quite a lot of heavy rain as so many of the plants were beaten down plus they were all at the end of their summer blooming too.

Dogs aren't allowed in the chateau so I wandered through on my own.  There are only five rooms open to the public and they are an eclectic mix of old and new, which, surprisingly, I really liked.  One room is dedicated to Joan of Arc with, what must be, almost 100 statues of her. I have to admit that if it hadn't been for the pumpkin weekend I think we might have found the place rather a non-event 😢

 

We continued our journey to Saumur.  Yes, I know, we had been before on our way down to the Dordogne but our drive north took us very close to Saumur and as we hadn't had time to look around we made a deviation.  There is a Camping-Car Park on the Île Millocheau in the middle of the Dordogne River so we had booked.  This was a wise move as there was an even on, Festival Les Temps d’Art, on and there was only one space when I booked yesterday.  Live music until 11pm, so no early night tonight!

As we approached Saumur, I saw a sign saying something to do with the Greenwich Meridien and discovered that, indeed, the Meridien goes just 5 km east of Saumur.  I use co-ordinates a lot in my route planning and had noticed that today's longitude was -0.0654.

We also saw the imposing dome of Notre Dame des Ardilliers. This was built in 1454 around a sacred spring and a small statue of the Virgin Mary.  There has just been a four year €2.2 million exterior restoration project which was completed on Thursday October 8th.  (2 days ago as I write this).

 

45 miles
What3words
couple.agreed.lighter

Sunday 11th October - Saumur, Pays de la Loire
 
We didn't rush this morning as it wasn't a moving day.

 
We crossed over the River Loire from the Île d'Offard to Saumur on the Pont Cessart.  Construction of the bridge started in 1756 and took 14 years to build.  In 1940, during the Battle of Saumur, young cavalry officer cadets made a heroic stand against advancing German forces. To slow the invasion, French engineers dynamited the bridge's third arch.  In August 1944 retreating German forces inflicted further explosive damage on several arches as Allied troops advanced across France.  

Lunch was first on the agenda and we went off to find the Place Saint Pierre, where we knew there were some restaurants.  We chose our place and gave our order.  The drinks came quickly but the food was so slow, we were there for 2½ hours and getting cold as the sun went in.  The food was quite good!  The square is framed by historic 15th and 16th century half-timbered houses one of which was part of the restaurant.

We sat right by the Eglise St. Pierre a 12th century church built in the Romanesque style.  During the French Revolution, religious services were suspended and the building served as a prison for Royalist forces from the Vendée uprising before being converted into a military warehouse.

After lunch we took a wander and came across the Maison du Roi, a rather stunning 15th century building that hosted King Louis XIII during his visits to Saumur in the 17th century, notably during periods when the royal crown was reinforcing Catholic authority in the Protestant-leaning town. 

Saumur has a Petit Train so we couldn't resist a trip.  We had hoped that it would take us up to the Chateau as Richard's knees wouldn't have made it!  It is a stunning building and has a magnificent view, but there are more attractive chateaux in the Loire Valley.  The history of the chateau spans over a thousand years, evolving from a 10th century wooden border fortress into a lavish ducal palace, a heavy artillery stronghold, a state prison under Napoleon, and finally a world-renowned museum.  Between 1810 and1889 the French Ministry of War converted the fortress into an army arsenal and munitions storage depot, which led to significant interior decay and neglect of its decorative stonework.  In 1905 the City of Saumur purchased the château from the French state for 2,500 gold francs and began an extensive restoration campaign, finally opening it in 1912 as the Municipal Museum.  In April 2001, a section of the northern rampart collapsed following severe rainfall, prompting a multi-million-euro restoration project that fully stabilized the bastion walls and upper terraces.

The best part of the tour, for me anyway, was going past the buildings of The French National Riding School where The Cadre Noir de Saumur,  France’s elite corps of master riding instructors (Ecuyers), are based. Founded in 1815, it is one of the world's four premier classical riding academies, alongside Vienna's Spanish Riding School, Jerez's Royal Andalusian School, and Lisbon's Portuguese School of Equestrian Art. 

 
In 1815. following the heavy loss of horses and cavalry officers during the Napoleonic Wars, King Louis XVIII established a centralized riding school in Saumur to train cavalry officers and standardize military horsemanship.  The name Cadre Noir originates from the elite corps' distinctive dark blue and black uniforms (introduced in the 1830s to distinguish them from other military regiments wearing blue or red).  Originally a military cavalry academy (École de Cavalerie), the institution transitioned into the civilian National Riding School in 1972 while preserving its military heritage and ceremonial uniforms. 
 
During the chaotic summer of 1940, the master riders (écuyers) of the Cadre Noir worked to evacuate and hide the school's high-bred horses.  Many of the elite horses were transported south to Tarbes and Fontainebleau in the non-occupied zone to prevent them from being seized as war booty by the German army.  Following the French defeat of Saumur in 1940t, the Cavalry School complex in Saumur was taken over by German occupation forces and converted into Stalag 181 to hold French prisoners of war.  With the military school formally dissolved, many instructors joined the French Resistance or fled to North Africa to join the Free French Forces under General Charles de Gaulle.  After the war ended the school was rebuilt and today perform public gala demonstrations showcasing classical high-school dressage movements, mainly at home, but also in France and, occasionally internationally.

We managed to get the train driver to drive us back to the camp site as it was on the train's route, but it was 5pm and we were the only people on board.
 
 
Monday 12th October - Angers, Pays de la Loire
 
We woke up to light rain which continued most of the morning.
 
Our first stop was Carrefour which wasn’t as easy as it should have been. The car park was a multi storey so we had to park round the corner. However, there was road surfacing going on which meant a pedestrian deviation. Eventually I managed to find my way into the store which, to me, was very badly laid out!! Back outside the roadworks had changed and I was greeted with a kerb that I had to negotiate. The trolley was loaded with beer, coke and wine plus other essentials 🤣. I couldn’t lift it up the kerb and had to call a workman over to help me.  This was all in the rain!
 
Next was trying to get into the motorhome park in Angers.  It is a secure park with a code to open the gates via the Tourist Office only the office is closed on a Monday. Fortunately, there is a call button at the gate and the guy let us in. The question is - will we be able to get out tomorrow??

 
We walked into town to find Le Petit Train, our fourth one this trip. We discovered that Angers was built on both sides of the River Maine.  The are some lovely half-timbered houses, one in particular is called Maison d’Adam, a 15th century building which features intricate wood carvings, depicting figures ranging from saints to whimsical and satirical character sketches and is one of the most famous medieval residences in France.  It is truly wonderful.

We passed the Couvent des Bénédictines du Calvaire (Convent of the Benedictines of Calvary).  During the French Revolution, religious orders were evicted, and the state seized the complex. The convent was converted into a women’s and children’s prison during the height of the Reign of Terror and the War in the Vendée.  It held hundreds of female prisoners, including royalist sympathizers, non-jurying nuns, and local peasant women accused of aiding Vendéan rebels, before many were tried or sent to the guillotine.  After its years’ operating as a jail and temporary housing, the Benedictine nuns managed to buy the building back and reoccupied parts of the monastery in 1821.  It is still a convent today.

We kept coming across small squares which used to be cemeteries.  Prior to the 18th century, Angers contained 16 urban parishes and 11 intra-Muros parish graveyards. Following royal health decrees - most notably Louis XVI's Royal Edict of March 10, 1776, which banned burials inside walled cities and near churches - these small parish graveyards were cleared and built over during subsequent urban redesigns.  Several public squares now occupy the sites of these former parish cemeteries.

We went down one particular narrow street (most of them were narrow) where the residences were above the street and below them were weaving cellars. 
 
These weaving cellars - known locally as caves de tisserands - represent a vital piece of Anjou’s industrial and architectural heritage from the 17th to the late 19th century.  Throughout Angers and the surrounding Anjou region thousands of artisanal weavers worked directly beneath their family living quarters in semi-buried or underground cellars from the 17th through to the late 19th century. Weaving at home required specific atmospheric conditions, which made basements and cellars ideal.

During the tour it came over that the buildings in Angers has been either religious or owned by the wealthy.  We passed quite a few old convents (no monasteries) and some of the grand houses, which we could just about see behind high walls and gates, were beautiful.

However, the highlights of Angers are the Chateau d’Angers and Cathedrale Saint-Maurice d’Angers. 
 
The Château d'Angers is a massive 13th century royal fortress sitting on a rocky promontory overlooking the Maine River.  Built primarily by King Louis IX (Saint Louis) between 1230 and 1240, it is famous for its imposing pentagonal curtain wall flanked by 17 twin-toned towers made of local dark schist and white limestone.  During the French Wars of Religion in the late 16th century, King Henry III ordered the destruction of the fortress to prevent it from falling to enemies. Governor Donadieu de Puycharic stalled the order, keeping the perimeter wall intact but dismantling the tops of the towers by roughly 10 meters and removing their conical roofs so heavy artillery could be mounted. Only the Tour du Moulin preserved its full height. The castle was used by German forces during World War II as an ammunition depot. An explosion inside the fortress in 1944 caused severe damage to the internal structures.  Following the war, major restoration efforts returned the site to public life.

Cathedrale Saint-Maurice d’Angers, as it is today, was built between the 11th and 12th centuries.  It seems to have gone through the centuries with very little damage from all the different wars, but during the Revolution in 1793, the building was temporarily converted into a "Temple of Reason". Though it escaped major destruction, the medieval outer entrance porch was demolished in 1806 due to decay.  A lightning strike ignited the central steeple in 1831, triggering major restoration work throughout the 19th century. During World War II (1944), Allied bombings damaged parts of the nave windows, which were expertly restored in the 1950s.  In 1980, archaeologists discovered remarkably preserved 13th century wall paintings hidden under whitewash behind the choir stalls, depicting the life of Saint Maurille.  It certainly is a spectacular site from across the river.

 
We walked back to Kiwi and shared the huge RV/Coach park with two other motorhomes.
 
43 miles
What3words
elbowed.until.loosed

The Loire and Dordogne 2026 - A horrific and harrowing visit to the Village Martyr of Oradour-sur-Glane

Wednesday 7th October - Brantome, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
It rained most of the night, but that wasn't the problem, it was the wet branches of the tree we were parked under sweeping the van roof.  It was very annoying!  It was dry when we woke up which was a nice surprise as we were expecting rain for the 24 hours.
 
We made the short journey to Brantome and found our aire for the night.  It is right by the River Dronne with lovely pitches, though perhaps in the high season vans may be more jammed in.  Each pitch has electricity too.  Cost? £9.39 for 24 hours!
 
We settled in for a day off because of the rain, but as none was forthcoming, we went to explore the town.

Brantôme (officially Brantôme en Périgord) is famous for its island setting encircled by a bend of the River Dronne, earning it the nickname "the Venice of the Périgord." 
 

Next to the site is a park alongside the river which Rio really enjoyed, as he was able to have some off lead time.  He has walked for miles on the lead while we have been away, but it's not the same as being able to mooch and have zoomies of course! 

We crossed over the river using the Pont Coudé (Elbow Bridge), a distinctive 16th-century, L-shaped Renaissance stone bridge.  There is a lovely building on an island in the river.  Le Moulin de l'Abbaye (The Abbey Mill) was originally constructed by the Benedictine monks of the abbey to grind grain for the monastic community and local villagers.  It is now a luxury hotel and fine-dining restaurant with a terrace overlooking the river weir.

In the cliff we saw some large caves and discovered that one contained bath like structures.  It turns out that long before modern aquaculture, Benedictine monks utilized the constant temperature and clean water flowing through the troglodyte caves behind the abbey for fish production. 

The Abbaye de Brantôme stands alongside the river.  It was founded by Charlemagne in 769 AD and is one of the oldest and most architecturally distinct monastic sites in Aquitaine. This abbaye has some interesting Viking history.  Due to its riverside location, the abbey was pillaged and destroyed twice by Norse raiders in 848 and 857 AD, prompting the monks to temporarily abandon the site before rebuilding in the 10th and 11th centuries.  As with other abbayes we have seen, it being an active monastery during the French Revolution (1789–1792).  Before the stone abbey buildings were constructed, the original 8th century monks lived inside the natural limestone shelters carved out behind the site.  We could see the caves but entrance is by guided tour only, which I didn't know about.

Brantome is widely known as the "Venice of the Périgord". This nickname comes from its setting, as the medieval town centre sits on an island created by a natural loop of the River Dronne and an artificial canal dug centuries ago by Benedictine monks.

Rio had another run by the river and we got back to Kiwi just before it started raining, we were very lucky!

15 miles

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Affiliates.tripling.conflict

Thursday 8th October - Oradour-sur-Glane, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
It rained most of the night though only gentle rain which didn't keep us awake.  Fortunately, it had stopped by the time we woke up.  It was cold however and was still only 11 degrees when we left our site.  It was a bit of a shock after 29 degrees a couple of days ago!
 
Google took us the scenic route to Oradour-sur-Glane.  It was a lovely route especially as the sun came out, even Richard said it was nice!

 
We were going to visit Le Village Martyr where one of the worst World War II civilian massacres in occupied Western Europe occurred. 

 
On June 10, 1944, four days after the D-Day landings in Normandy, the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich surrounded the village. They rounded up the inhabitants, separated the men from the women and children, and systematically murdered 643 residents  The men were taken to barns and sheds, where machine guns targeted their legs before soldiers set the structures on fire.  The Women and Children were locked inside the parish church, which was then set ablaze and targeted with incendiary grenades. Only one woman, Marguerite Rouffanche, survived by escaping through a small window behind the altar.  The SS troop then looted and set fire to the entire village to cover up the atrocity.

 
Why on earth did this happen?
 
Four days after D-Day, the French Resistance intensified sabotage operations across southwest France to slow down German reinforcements heading north to Normandy. In response, Field Marshal Hugo Sperrle issued orders demanding swift, brutal measures against civilians in areas with partisan activity to terrify the local population into submission.  On June 9th 1944, a high-ranking SS officer, Sturmbannführer Helmut Kämpfe - a personal friend of the division’s commander, Heinz Lammerding - was captured and executed by a local Resistance group.  Historical evidence suggests the SS intended to carry out a reprisal attack on Oradour-sur-Vayres, a nearby village known to harbour active partisans. However, the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich targeted Oradour-sur-Glane instead - a quiet, conservative village that had no active Resistance cells, no hidden weapons caches, and no garrisoned German troops.  Even after entering the peaceful town and realizing there were no arms or partisans present, SS commander Adolf Diekmann ordered the systematic round-up and execution of the populace. The goal was no longer tactical; it was an act of terror designed to crush the morale of the surrounding region and send a message to the French underground.

Oradour-sur-Glane was not an active battlefield. It was chosen - largely by mistake or convenience - to serve as a sacrificial warning to the rest of occupied France.

 

After the war, President Charles de Gaulle declared that the original village should never be rebuilt or cleared, serving as a permanent memorial (Village Martyr) to the atrocities of Nazi occupation. A new village was built nearby in the 1950s.

We walked to the cemetery where the State Memorial Stele (Tombeau des Martyrs) was erected by the French government in 1953, this central monument lists the names of the 643 victims.  The surrounding grounds house traditional family graves, where identified remains were interred. Many gravestones feature enamel portrait photographs of victims - including entire multi-generational families lost on the same day - along with porcelain memorial plaques.  Two glass-topped ossuaries sit at the heart of the memorial area, containing unidentifiable bone fragments gathered from the ashes of the burned church and barns.  Strangely enough the cemetery was untouched on June 10th 1944.

Last year we visited the Dachau concentration camp and that was bad enough but this, well, I can't find the words to describe how I felt.  I asked Gem for another word for horrific and he came up with the following.  They all apply in this case.
 
Atrocious
Appalling
Abhorrent
Monstrous
Heinous
Ghastly
Grisly
Macabre
Harrowing

We hadn't got far to go to our Camping-Car Park for tonight.  It's a nice site and we have a view down over a pretty house.
 
57 miles
What3Words
alights.thus.supermarkets

Friday 9th October - Guesnes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 
A lazy start as we only have a driving day today, 95 miles.  It's going to be a short update!
 
We passed through the village of Mortemart, which is another of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. We didn’t stop but could see that it was certainly pretty. I’ve found a map of the 180 villages so we will try and visit some more.  Apparently, it is a charming , flower-filled village developed around the castle and built in the 10th century by Abon Drut, Lord of Mortemart. Destroyed on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu, only the keep and a few rooms, now used as exhibition spaces, remain . While the Carmelite and Augustinian convents bear witness to the village's religious past , the old market hall and the houses of prominent citizens remind us of that Mortemart was also a prosperous trading centre.

 
Our Camping-Car Park for the night is near a place called Guesnes.  The history of the commune of Guesnes, surrounded by the Scévolles Forest, is undeniably linked to that of its convent. The convent of Guesnes then became a dependency of the Abbey of Fontevraud. The Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of Religion left their mark on the village. In 1944, the building was damaged by English gunfire and still bears traces of bullet impacts. 

Our aire is in the Parc de Loisirs de Guesnes or the Étang de Guesnes - a 16 hectare natural recreation area built around a tranquil 4 hectare fishing lake.  It was really quiet with a few fishermen with their array of rods - what happened to the lone fisherman with his one rod?  The aire has 29 pitches and for quite a while we were here on our own until a British campervan arrived about 3pm.  Rio loved it as he was allowed to mooch outside without being tied up.

Four French vans arrived during the evening but there is plenty of space.

 
95 miles
What3words
centurion.whim.longshore