Up the Loire to Orleáns and onward towards home

Loire Valley from Nantes to Orléans

I Started off to complete the trip up the Loire leaving Nantes quite early, well quite earlyish but I was out of the campsite before 09:30. I had decided to travel using the non-highways, this is not hard as long as you take your time and keep to the speed limits, 90kmh is now 80kmh, so do not take the 90kmh signs as the law, they are NOT. It is a fantastic drive, through vineyards, pretty, ancient villages, passing the bombastic castles and palaces (you are welcome to pop in if you wish, I didn’t), but travelling at a sedately 70-80kmh it is very nice and easy. I stopped at Tours for the night, another very nice campsite, I am beginning to think that as we have not had a bad site yet they must all be above average. I am staying tonight (Saturday 15^th) on the outskirts of Orleans, I was going to go into the city earlier, but decided to give it a go tomorrow morning, as there will be a lot less traffic and hopefully Orleans less congested. I found this small campsite quite a way out of town, I arrived early 13:00 of course closed opens at 13:30, but never the less the sign saying “complete” did set alarm bells ringing, I have never been turned away in my life, who do they think I am Joseph. I waited and at 13:30 the reception opened, and a very helpful man said if I was only staying 1 night he could squeeze me in. As Linda would say ‘tear ya go, luck of the Irish’. This is a very small site, well run and immaculate, the Pizza van comes around on a Saturday, but I had a couple of lamb chops and sausages for tonight. 

For lunch I opened a tin of Lentils and sausages (French style) very tasty for a quick snack. I ate those and then had a couple of hours snooze. 

When I awoke, I decided to go to the reception also a bar and had a glass of local red and enquired about using the washing machine, no problem €5,- and its yours. So, washing on the go I had a walk about the site.

The river which runs through the campsite is a tributary of the Loire and is called the Loiret, it has good fishing and there is a nice canoeing entry point at the bottom of the site which seemed well used. The site is in a small town called Olivet about 10Km South of Orléans, it is a bit off the beaten track, but well worth another stay when next passing this way.

There is Wifi, but not very strong (I think I shall invest in an amplifier). But by sitting outside the reception I was able to get a reasonable reception, I ordered a baguette for the next morning and drank a nice cold beer and read the news from Berlin and looked at a few videos of my Grandson Aiden, I think I must visit him soon he is growing up ever so fast.

I planned my trip so that I would go into Orléans proper, I had had a look the evening prior on Google and seen that the Cathedral Sainte-Croix de Orléans was right in the centre of the City, so by getting there early I could see the tomb of a certain witch burnt at the stake (I bet they didn’t ask her how she liked her steaks, hee hee). Alas I hadn’t reckoned with a bicycle race, the whole of the town was part of a very large “velo-toure” and no matter which way I turned, I was met with “Detour de Velo” signs. In the end I gave up as it was to be a long trip that day, I had decided I would try and get to Metz, well over 450km distant.

I had put no motorways into the Sat Nav but had main roads set up, the roads that I travelled were in the main 110km roads so I made good time, stopped for a bite to eat at lunch time in a small layby, well I did have my fresh baguette and plenty of cheese and wurst to finish off. There was a particularly penetrating cheese that had accompanied us up from the Brittanie, it was double rapped and in a sealed Ikea box but the smell still got out.

But I made it to Metz and found the campsite, it was not as I remember it, but it is situated on the banks of the Moselle (French Mosel). It has both grassed and hard standings and I got a hard standing right next to the toilets and showers, that will do me, I had the wifi password but again it was only of use in selected areas, so I went to the restaurant and had a couple of cold beers.