Meung-sur-Loire - 12 May 2022

Thursday, 12 May 2022 - Meung-sur-Loire

Last night was a quick to assemble avocado, tomato, cheese and couscous salad, followed by watching Gentlemen Jack.

It was really peaceful overnight as all the cars left. Back to hearing lots of frogs, and loud birdsong early morning.

Bed change day, takes a while as we use six elastic straps on each sheet to keep them from rumpling!

I drove for about an hour today, after having decided that we’d come back down towards the Loire and all the good cycle paths and interesting places to see.

The tourist office was closed, so went inside the Saint-Liphard church, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles. Exceptional stained glass windows!

We dithered about whether to visit the château, and very pleased we did. It was €20, but so much better value than some others. Was also a bonus, as we went at lunchtime and nearly had the place to ourselves!

It is a private home with more than 25 furnished rooms, 2,000 items on display and you get given an information guide in English that’s really interesting - more about life, rather than just all the names from history, which sadly we have already forgotten the names of!

It was the Bishop of Orleans residence until the French Revolution.

It has a medieval and a classical facade. Joan of Arc came here too!

The sage bush looks brilliant - and the bees liked it as well.

In the grounds is an ice house - 8m deep by 4m wide. It could contain 100 tonnes of ice and can last up to 2 years. It was also where a French poet was imprisoned.

There is a linen room, with an inventory from 1801. Basically it said they only washed twice a year, so had hundreds of everything! Laundry took at least three days - and was all dried in the attic.

We were allowed in the attic - really warm - are we all missing a trick these days?!

Each room had some interesting facts. One showed how the candles were all made together, another the little box you could wear with vinegar inside to ward off bad smells and headaches, how the stethoscope was invented in 1816, and I love the idea of the protective overshoes, worn to rise above the mud and dampness of the streets and to keep the delicate shoes clean!

We went right down underground to the storage areas and torture chambers - just being so cold would have been torture enough!

If anyone is interested, I have taken photos of the descriptions for each and every room, but won’t bore you with them here!

Overall - definitely worth a visit.

On a walk around, saw one of the fattest cats I’ve seen, too busy eating to appreciate affection!

After collecting lots of maps and information from the lady at the tourist office, we came back to Dave for a cuppa.

We then went for another walk, saw the Loire - again! Then went to see some of the 16 watermills.

At one time this area was a swampy marshland but the monk Saint Liphard cleaned up the marshes and created canals of the water of the Mauves which now run through the village, the water mills were built in the 12th century to make flour and paper and also the water was used by the tanneries.

To be honest, I had been expecting more! You could just see the water running, I guess under each arch there used to be an actual mill…

We found the Pont d’Amont, the gateway was built in 1629, and used as a lookout tower, and it’s bell rung in times of danger.

There’s certainly a medieval feel to the town with the usual half timbered frame houses.

As for the weather, well it’s been very pleasant - still t-shirt and shorts weather, but between 20-25°.

We’re parked up where we try to avoid - in a proper moho service area - in a line with lots of others. Heyho, it’s a good place to cycle from tomorrow.

I’m sure Tintin will include lots of photos below to give you an idea of what we’ve seen today.