ST OLMER de BLAIN to REDON

THURSDAY, 30th MAY, 2019

After breakfast provided by Eric and Dominique and shared with our fellow guests, a couple and their young son from Paris, we left our accommodation under a threatening sky and with a cool temperature.

In the first kilometre we stopped a few times to take photos, the path was good and it was easy riding.

Not surprisingly as it was a public holiday today, there were plenty of people boating and cycling, making the most of the canal.  There were also several people fishing along the canal banks,  family groups with their picnics, umbrellas and folding chairs, groups of friends including half a dozen young men who had their beer supplies and their portable barbecue and a few going solo, all seemed to be having a lovely, relaxing day.  

At Guenrouet we stopped at a bar/cafe where we shared a lunchtime pannini and salad with coffee,

and where there is a church on a site of religious foundations dating back to the 11th century.  During WWII, the church tower was destroyed on the 7th December, 1944, on the day Mike was born in Essex in England.

Before crossing the bridge over the canal and up to the church, we got talking to a couple from Lyon who were cycling to Vannes via Redon, which is where we were headed.  We also spotted a boat which we'd seen yesterday, with a group of French people on board, travelling in the same direction.

Thereafter, the path was a little bumpy

 and we were pleased when we finally came to the last section which was bitumen and we arrived at our accommodation in Redon.
Redon is at strategic junction of the Vilaine and the Oust Rivers,  was once a thriving commercial port and is now a busy centre for pleasure boats.

After settling in to our accommodation, we strolled along to the port where we watched this boat go through the lock,  it was the same boat we'd seen earlier today and yesterday but we didn't have our bikes at the time and none of the crew recognised us without them!.

We strolled on  into the town which was very quiet, had a snack meal and met the couple from Lyon again, then returned to our B&B where our hosts Michele and Frederic invited us to join them for a cuppa and we spent a very pleasant couple of  hours chatting with them and their friend Christiane.

NORT-sur-ERDRE to ST-OMER-de-BLAIN

WEDNESDAY,  29th MAY, 2019

The sun made a brief appearance early this morning then disappeared for the rest of the day, so it was another day of layers of clothing with rain coats at the ready.

We rode through very busy traffic which included several large trucks, back to the canal 5 kms away and immediately stopped to don the rain coats, mainly to keep the wind out but also because the sky was looking a little menacing.

The path has been good so far, graded gravel with a couple of sections of bitumen and just a few little ruts....the only nasty bit was several feet of sludge from the bottom of the canal across the path.  We had to go through it, it stank and stuck....well,it stuck like sludge to the bikes.  There was some canal cleaning going on with a strange looking machine clearing weed and another machine sucking up the sludge but why it was deposited on the path is a mystery.

We exited the path at Bout de Bois and had lunch at a bar restaurant a short distance away.  It was similar to yesterday's where for a sum (today it was 8 Euros) a buffet of serve yourself salads is available along with cheeses, dessert, red or white wine, and bread.  For another 3 Euro 80, the plate of the day which is a hot meal, is also available.  It is a very popular formula.

I resisted the temptation to stop every five minutes to take photos, though extremely pretty, they would all be much the same.

We've passed several locks now, watched a few boats go by,

passed a few cyclists and at Blain, took a little detour of the track, across the canal

 to see the impressive Chateau de la Groulais which dates back to the 12th century,

On reaching our accommodation, the lovely Dominique showed us to our room which, though small, is beautifully decorated with great attention to detail, it's a shame it won't stay that way.  The table is set for breakfast.

NANTES to NORT-SUR-ERDRE

TUESDAY, 28th MAY, 2019

Leaving the hotel in Nantes this morning was a bit of a challenge.  Mike rode in the lift from our floor down to the underground secure car park to retrieve the bikes but wasn't able to do so as the hotel staff had misplaced the remote control for the garage doors (3 of them as the car park is shared with other businesses).  One of the staff went down to help and managed to open two of the doors but not the third, so we had to squeeze the bikes in to the lift one at a time and then wheel them through reception.   Having done that and put the bags onto the bikes, we headed off through the town and to the start of the path but....the path was blocked by extensive road works so we had to ride on the road until we were able to find our way to the Erdre river and the path which would take us close to the Nantes-Brest Canal.
The path was quite rough though riding along a boardwalk section was relatively easy,

and we encountered many runners, walkers and joggers and a couple of groups of elderly people out for a stroll.  We rode through a most beautiful park which boasted a very good path

but at the end we were back to the rough stuff and I mean really rough!  We had to lift the bikes over huge tree roots on a couple of occasions and were relieved when we emerged to find a bitumen road.  Thwarted again!  That was the end of the path and there was no way through so we followed the road into a town, found a cafe and stopped for coffee and then continued along the road (in the dedicated bike lane) until we reached Suce-sur-Erdre.  By this time we were ready for lunch and found a cafe away from the river (those along the riverside are way too expensive) where we ate a delicious meal.  The cafe was full of working men and a couple of young women, long tables so diners sat together, all very jolly and most enjoyable.

On leaving the cafe, we donned our raincoats as there was a black cloud hovering, stopped at the post office (yay...we finally found one) and were on our way again.  Most of our ride today was on the road, sometimes with a bike lane, always with courteous motorists and a little way before Nort-sur-Erdre, we came across the path to the canal.

Having reached the canal, we then rode down to the first lock at Quiheix,

watched a boat begin its way through,

then started to retrace our steps but didn't get far before the huge black cloud dropped its load onto us.  We had no choice other than to carry on, past the second lock and just before the third lock, turned off the path onto the road into and through the town to our accommodation. By this time, the cloud had gone and the sun was shining!

A DAY in NANTES

MONDAY, 27th MAY, 2019

Nantes is the sixth largest city in France (pop. 290,000), grew up around the confluence of the Erdre and Loire Rivers and now occupies both banks of the Loire and an island between two arms of the river.  In the early 18th century, the city became the principal port of western France and a key part of the triangular trade that took manufactured goods to Africa, slaves to the Americas then brought sugar, tobacco and cotton back to Europe.

Today, we put on our tourist hats and visited the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany, the medieval Bouffay district, a gelato shop where we bought and devoured wonderful ice cream 'flowers', 


bought postage stamps from a tabac shop when the two post offices we found had moved to other addresses, didn't find a yellow post box where we could post letters, discovered the tunnel we were planning to travel through tomorrow is closed for repairs, visited the local bar for cold refreshments and enjoyed a relaxing, enjoyable day.

le Lieu Unique.....formerly a biscuit factory, now a cultural centre.

ANCENIS to NANTES

SUNDAY, 26th MAY, 2019

It was definitely not a shorts day today!  In fact it was quite cold so we rugged up before leaving Ancenis but had to stop along the way to don rain jackets to keep the wind from blowing right through us, though the cold didn't seem to bother the several groups of runners we passed.

The ride to Oudon was easy and enjoyable, and just as we reached the town, raindrops began to fall....great timing as we were able to park the bikes under some scaffolding and take refuge in a cafe

 where we had coffee and waited till the rain eased.

Leaving Oudon was a bit tricky as there was a large market in progress, people everywhere and traffic jams in the narrow streets so a visit to the chateau was deemed too difficult, but once out of the busy part of town we found the path and were on our way again until.....a sign saying the path was closed and we should take an alternative route.
The trouble was, as there was no indication as to which was the correct route, we went the wrong way up a very steep hill,  found a friendly local cyclist who was happy to assist us with directions and we backtracked, found the path and continued on.  The path was not a good one,

and concentration was required to avoid the major ruts, potholes, loose rocks and muddy patches.

When we reached the closed section,

on close inspection we decided it was the only way through without going all the way back to Oudon and riding on the road from there.  As it was Sunday, no work was being done so we made our way through a gap in the barrier and bumpety bumped our way along the track between the railway line and the Loire, meeting other cyclists who'd also ignored the 'closed' signs and passing a series of architectural features cut into the cliff face rising behind the railway line.

When we at last reached a clearing with a picnic table, we stopped to eat the lunch we'd brought with us, chatting to a French couple who'd become lost while on a run and another couple on bikes, one of which was a three wheeler with a large box attached to the front for their very large dog! 

We were intrigued by a picnic table, alongside the path, which was covered by an assortment of video tapes.  There was no sign or note of explanation so we're still wondering what that was all about.

Desperation stakes led us to a public WC in a park at Mauves-sur-Loire before rejoining the track and on to a quiet country road with marshy foreshore and intensive vegetable cultivation, past a vast camping area and stopping beside a football pitch at a kiosk where we bought cold drinks.

It was not far then to Nantes and after checking in to our hotel, we went walking into the old town....so much more attractive than the newer part of town and visited the cathedral,

and strolled through several of its many streets,

shared an excellent pizza washed down with wine and beer and returned to the hotel, by now turning blue as it was bitterly cold.  We'll be here for two nights so will explore some more tomorrow.

ANCENIS

SATURDAY, 25th MAY, 2019

Between our accommodation and the Chateau d'Ancenis (not open to the public) is a carpark where a small fresh food market was held this morning.  We watched the setting up of the stalls from our window and then had a wander around....there were breads and pastries, fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, seafood, nuts, olives etc....we bought bread and fruit for our breakfast fruit salad.

Our apartment has a laundry attached which was welcome after several days on the road. After successfully washing and drying our clothes we retrieved the bikes from the basement and rode to the Lidl supermarket for supplies, then later went for a walk around the town,

visited the church, a bar, a patisserie for desserts and were impressed by a house number fashioned from old keys.

It's been a pleasant, lazy day.

ANCENIS and ANGERS

FRIDAY, 24th MAY, 2019

Having changed our minds about visiting Angers which is now about 50kms behind us, and as riding back there is not an option, this morning we rode the 4kms from Lire across the Loire to Ancenis,

where there is a railway station.  We booked accommodation for two nights and after leaving our bags in our room and locking the bikes in the basement behind the hotel, we were about to walk to the station when the hotel manager very kindly offered to drive us there.
It was a 22 minute train ride into Angers, the capital of Anjou which sits beside the River Maine, 8kms above its confluence with the Loire, and the main reason for our visit was to see the Apocalypse Tapestry.  This stretches for over 80 metres, depicts the story of the Revelation of St John, and is on display in a purpose built gallery in the well preserved medieval castle which has 600 metres of surrounding walls with 17 bastions and saw action during the Hundred Years' War (1347-1453) when Anjou was fought over by the English and French.

After our tour of the chateau, we enjoyed strolling through the town,

had a sit-down late snack lunch while resting our weary old legs before heading back to the station for the return journey to Ancenis and a refreshing cold beer at our 'local'.