The Loire and Dordogne 2026 - Up, up and away!!

 
Saturday 19th September - Bracieux, Centre-Val de Loire
 
The roundabout day!
 
At 3am Rio decided he wanted to get up on the bed - the bed is too high for him to get up on his own. We really don’t want that happening every night so Richard returned him to his bed and told him, very firmly, to stay there. He tried it once more then gave up and stayed in his bed for the rest of the night. At home he now has free run of the house at night and will sometimes appear on the bed during the night. Motorhome rules are different Rio!!
 
We moved on to the Loire today.
 
There were two ways of going. One way was on a ferry across the Seine and the other was round Rouen. As navigator I just couldn’t make my mind up but finally chose the ferry. While we were waiting five of the group went passed us heading for Rouen so we ducked out of the queue and, like sheep, followed them!

I’m glad we did the Rouen route as the road alongside the Seine was, for me, wonderful. There were very interesting houses, mainly tall and narrowish with high white cliffs behind and a view of the Seine in front of them.  I really fell in love them and now Duclair is the place I want to move to!  We saw the little town the other day and it’s really lovely. Only 1.5 hours from Caen.
 
Going round Rouen was a doddle. We actually crossed the Seine three times.  This bridge is Pont Gustave-Flaubert, Europe's tallest vertical-lift bridge, featuring 86 metre twin pylons designed to lift the road deck so large cruise ships and tall-masted vessels can reach the inner port during maritime festivals.
 

I’d set the satnav for a Carrefour just off the main road at Evreux. Of course it was Saturday morning and busy but we finally found somewhere to park Kiwi and I found my way in - we had actually parked in a very good position. 1.5 hours later I was back - note to self, do not go to such hooooge supermarkets.
 
It was a very flat and rather boring drive down to Bracieux. It seemed to be one roundabout after the other.  We skirted round Chartres and Orleans and could see Chartres cathedral on the horizon at one stage.   Finally we were on the A10, a toll road with an excellent surface and Rio finally fell asleep. He doesn’t like roundabouts at the best of times.

We crossed the Loire River and entered a forest which was rather like the New Forest with cattle grids.  It was a lovely drive through until I glimpsed the most wonderful chateau - Chateau Chambord. It took me a while to comprehend what I had seen - yes it was that amazing. We will go and have a proper look tomorrow.

Our site for the next three days is lovely with everyone in the trees.  I’ll do more on it tomorrow.
 
We had our usual evening meeting. They are getting longer and longer with people chatting on long after the meeting has stopped. This is our fourth trip with Kat and the best weather. In the past everyone has raced back to their vans when the meeting had finished to get warm!
 
The Loire Valley has an extraordinary number of châteaux, largely because during the 15th and 16th centuries the French royal court spent a lot of time in this part of the country. And once the king builds somewhere enormous, everyone else apparently feels the need to keep up.  A 280km stretch of the Loire Valley is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not just because of the châteaux but because of the whole landscape — the river, towns, villages, vineyards and farmland which have developed around it over centuries.  The Loire itself was effectively a motorway long before motorways existed. It was a major route for trade and communication from Roman times right through until the 19th century.
 
189 miles
What3words
dishwater.ploy.drains

Sunday 20th September -  Bracieux, Centre-Val de Loire
 
A very quiet day. The morning was spent doing, basically, nothing!!  I caught up on emails and there was chatting to be done 😂. This is our fourth trip with Wandering Bird and is certainly the most sociable, but then again we are all outside more with the lovely weather.
 

In the afternoon we walked into Bracieux which was very quiet and dead as it was a Sunday afternoon. Everywhere  was shut up and not very welcoming. The highlight of the town is the 16th century covered market hall (Halle de Bracieux) which is timber framed and holds weekly markets showcasing local Sologne produce.   The Town Hall (Marie de Bracieux) is 146 years old and quite impressive.

Back at camp we were hosting a communal barbecue and gradually tables, chairs and barbecues appeared followed by people and salads. We had two barbecues, two teppanyaki grills and one airfryer - it all seemed to work really well.  It was a lovely, convivial evening

We have a very early start in the morning. Why?  I will tell you tomorrow!!
 
 
Monday 21st September - Bracieux, Centre-Val de Loire
  
A marathon of a day and a marathon of a post.
 
The alarm went off at 6am, it was still pitch dark outside.  We struggled out of the door at 6.30am and walked to the campsite entrance where we, plus seven others, were picked up by some nice young men and taken to a field in the middle of nowhere!  Got it yet?  Yes, we were going to do a hot air balloon ride 🎈 

We had to work for the ride by helping to get the basket off the its trailer and lay out the balloon - this was all in the dark though we could see the dawn beginning to break.  It was also pretty cold!  

Two huge fans blew cold air into the balloon until it was full, then some gently hot air was blasted in until the balloon was upright.  While watching the balloon I was also watching the sun rising, and that was spectacular too.  

We clambered into the basket, easier said than done, given our landing instructions, then we were up and away.  I thought we were going to hit a wall but we skirted over the top and continued to climb.  It was amazing.  

In the distance we could see Chateau de Chambord with all its gardens laid out.  We got closer and closer and it got more and more spectacular.  

I felt so lucky to be where I was.  Once past the chateau we seemed to drop a bit and I was a bit concerned that we were going to come down in a tree as it was all forest which spans about 21 square miles.  

The good thing about being so low is that we could see wild boar running around and some people even saw deer.  

We could see the end of the forest and, what we thought was, an escarpment, but it was an optical illusion because as soon as the forest ended there was open land with a few houses. 

The pilot told us that he was going to land just before a row of trees and before we knew where we were in our landing positions, which was quite painful as we had to squat for, what seemed like 5 minutes, but was probably only about 45 seconds or so!!  In the end I sat down for the actual, very smooth, landing then had to get myself upright again, not the easiest of things,  I’m sure my exit from the basket was not the most elegant of things, but at least I was out!!  We then all had to work at getting the air out of the balloon and finally out it back into its trailer.  

Our work still wasn’t done as the basket had to be out back on its trailer too.  We were then rewarded by croissants and coffee and finally given our certificates.  What an amazing experience.  In case you are wondering, we didn't take Rio, We left him with Liz and Kevin.

 

Following our return to the campsite, we had Kiwi to tidy up as we had left in rather a hurry and were off to see Chateau de Chambord from the ground.  As I said, the forest is 21 square miles and we had quite a way to go to the motorhome car park. For €15 our parking was valid for 24 hours, so we could have stayed the night.  The only other charge was to go into the actual house which was quite steep at €31 per person.  

We wandered round some of the gardens before I decided that I would go into the Chateau while Richard and Rio went back to Kiwi.  To me the Chateau lacked something.  Most of our stately homes in the UK are magnificent yet homely, but this was grand but bare.  Some of the bedrooms were furnished with, I have to admit, fascinating beds!  

On the fourth floor are terraces which go all the way round and have great views of the grounds.  However, I found the the rest of the floors rather difficult to navigate as there was no route to follow and I know I must have missed bits out.  

In the very centre of the Chateau is a double helix staircase.  Don’t worry, I had never heard of one either!!  It is the architectural centerpiece of the castle, sitting at the intersection of its main hall crossways. The staircase consists of two intertwined spiral ramps winding around a central hollow core.  Two people can start at the base on opposite sides and ascend at the exact same time—seeing each other through inner openings carved into the stone core—without ever actually meeting on the same steps.  King Francis I commissioned it to prevent guests, servants, or visiting dignitaries moving up and down the château's floors from bumping into one another.  I tell you what, it’s a long descent from the fourth to the ground floor!

I met Richard and Rio at a restaurant in the grounds and we had a very good lunch.  Richard had a chicken burger and I had a huge chicken Caesar salad.

 We returned to the campsite for about an hour before going off again, this time to a wine tasting.  We only had about an 10 minute journey to Domaine Daridan, a a 21 hectare family-run wine estate.  Led by Benoît Daridan—the 7th generation of his family to run the vineyard—the estate has been managed by him since 2001. It focuses on sustainable and organic farming practices.  The estate features a 50-year-old plot of Romorantin, a rare white grape variety unique to the region that was originally introduced by King Francis I.  Our sommelier for our visit was a young Italian woman, Eloise, who had studied wine making at university and was very knowledgeable.  The first thing we learnt was that the hot summer had really affected the grapes.  Usually harvesting starts at the beginning of September but because of this year’s dry summer, it started at the beginning of August to prevent the grape skins from becoming too tough.  The grapes were also very small.  We were shown round the steel vats where the fermentation is done and we could hear the wine gurgling away!  Next was the wine tasting which was paired with some “snacks”.  I think I must be a wine heathen as I really don’t like good wines and certainly not red ones!  The four we tasted were not to my taste and two of the snacks were goats cheese - yuk 😂🤣

Back, once again, at the campsite, we had our daily meeting before heading back to Kiwi where I caught up with my writing on the day’s events.  It had been a long but amazing day.
 
The Château de Chambord is the largest and most iconic château in the Loire Valley. Its history spans over 500 years, transforming from an ambitious royal hunting retreat into an emblem of French Renaissance architecture and national heritage.  Following his victory at the Battle of Marignano in 1515, the 24-year-old King Francis I commissioned Chambord in 1519. It was intended not as a primary dwelling, but as a grand hunting lodge to showcase his power, wealth, and sophisticated taste to foreign rivals like Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.  Designed with a central medieval keep surrounded by fortified towers, the château incorporates classical Italian Renaissance aesthetics—a style Francis embraced after his military campaigns in Italy.  Although Italian architect Domenico da Cortona oversaw major plans, Leonardo da Vinci (who served as chief painter and architect to Francis I in nearby Amboise) is widely credited with inspiring the central floor plan and the famous double helix staircase.  Construction took nearly 30 years and required roughly 1,800 workers. Despite the monumental effort, Francis I spent only 7 weeks total at Chambord before his death in 1547.  Days.  Because the château was massive, drafty, far from major towns, and difficult to heat, it was impractical as a permanent residence. Monarchs brought complete sets of furniture, tapestries, and supplies every time they visited and took them away when they left.  For over 80 years after Francis I's death, the castle fell into decay. In 1639, King Louis XIII gave it to his brother, Gaston d'Orléans, who carried out essential restoration work. In 1792, revolutionaries looted the château's remaining furnishings, sold off timber, and left the building in a state of disrepair.  Napoleon Bonaparte briefly granted the estate to Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier. In 1821, a national subscription purchased the estate for the infant Prince Henri, Duke of Bordeaux (later known as the Count of Chambord). Although he spent only three days there, he funded extensive restoration work. The French state officially bought the estate in 1930 to begin comprehensive, long-term conservation.  During WWII, Chambord served as a secret, secure storehouse for thousands of national treasures from the Louvre and other museums—including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo—protecting them from air raids and looting.  In 1981, the Château de Chambord and its surrounding forest park were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Today, Chambord stands as one of France's most visited national monuments, famous for its 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces, 77 staircases, and vast 5,440-hectare walled forest estate.
 
23 miles