Loire Atlantique gites proudly present our tried and recommended walks.   This will a be a great guide to lovely, easy holiday walks within our area as I do them myself.   I hope to post them at least weekly so that you get ideas of where you’d like to go when you get here.

Yesterday was a glorious day and a group of us locals set off from La chapelle-de-Brain,  from the church (facing it) the path is reached just up the hill on the right after the new Mediateque building.   The first stage is in front of a war monument dedicated to the martyrs of the 2 world wars.   Through the dappled shade of the forest it’s a very easy stroll suitable for all ages.   Follow the path past fields, livestock and horses with glorious views of the surrounding countryside,  along the way there are numbered signposts explaining local information about the road like number 4  ‘The way of the dead’ which isn’t as grim as it sounds, merely the old path funeral cortéges took from nearby Brain sur Vilaine to the church at La chapelle.

We took the shorter route which on the ordinance map shows as C and B, covering 7 kilometers and bringing us to the banks of the river Vilaine.  The path runs along the length of this river and is wonderful for both cyclng and walking as well as horseriding.   So after 1 hour 40 mins we arrived back at the church in La Chapelle de Brain, if you decide to walk during the week, the village has a lovely boulangerie, cafe/bar and is an interesting place to mooch around.

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To enjoy one or more of the delightful walks or cycle paths around here, just book one of our gites http://www.loireatlantique.co.uk/properties/ and find when they are available by clicking here.

Even in the glorious Loire Atlantique you can get the January blues although this year there’s no logical reason for it as the weather has been so kind to us.

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   It’s like a kind of dolrums that sets in as it’s too cold to feel like doing much in the way of gite maintenance, too early to be planting anything, and there’s only so much time you can spend on the computer before you get stir crazy.     But … Ian rises above that sort of thing and the pallet king of Guemene Penfao is at it again.   Now it is a masterpiece entirely for his own pleasure – a gypsy caravan.  Purely static but amazing nonetheless,  it will be the centre piece of a small ‘Chelsea Flower Show’ type garden and will be his to create and enjoy.

Not one to be left out, I decided (a bit late in the year I know) to dig over and regenerate our raspberry patch as the originals have gone totally mad, sending out runners all over so that I have no idea where what is nor when it’s supposed to fruit and be pruned.     So while the mild weather was still with us I cleared the area and decided to do it by the book.  I found some great new varieties (I hope) and for only 3.50€ for a bundle of 5 bare roots I bought 3.    The trench took some digging, lots of lovely compost at the bottom together with some chicken manure all ready to plant …. then the frosts came.    This morning  was white as snow outside so I guess I’ll have to put it on hold for a bit and although I know we do need these cold snaps I hope it doesn’t last for too long.

We’ve also started taking long walks or at least I walk, Ian rides his bike as it’s kinder to his knees and I like to speed rather than saunter.   This way we are discovering lots of lovely tracks and trails (yes even after being here for years) which we can then recommend to the more energetic of our future guests.   So as we watch the setting sun and comment with glee on how much later it is than the previous day, we are counting the days to spring while counting our blessings in being able to live in these lovely surroundings.     You can enjoy our countryside too by booking one of our lovely gites http://www.loireatlantique.co.uk/properties/ at any time of year.

Loire Atlantique, I’ve decided, is the place for me and I’d live here even if I didn’t have gites.  There seems to be no end of stuff to do and places to go, especially in the summer. 

Not only that, but our actual location is great for seeing so much more of the country then let’s say if we were on the coast and had only 180 degrees in which to be able to travel.    Here it’s the whole 360 and there’s somewhere great to go regardless of which direction the fancy takes you.  

Last weekend, (23, 24 & 25 Julio) saw Plessé’s annual fete which started on Saturday with a fair, disco and ended with a spectacular firework display all around their lovely lake and all for free.   This year we didn’t go (too tired after a double changeover) but have been every other year since we arrived and have never been disappointed, the atmosphere is great, loads of families, friends and kids gathering together and enjoying themselves.  No drunks, no agro, no vandalism, just a lovely time for all and what always makes me smile – at the end somehow everyone drives away with civility, curtesy and in no time at all with no outside assistance (cops) unlike the heavily policed versions in the UK.   O joy!   On Sunday we did go to the horse racing event also in Plessé, it’s the first time we’ve been to that course and were quite impressed at the infrastructure considering it’s only used 2 – 3 times a year.    With the mandatory bar, gallett/crepe/saussice outlet and coffee shop, it also had a great spread for kids with a gigantic bouncy obstacle course, pony rides and a race track of their own as well as traditional games all set out to one side of the  compound.  

Even though the weather wasn’t at its best and quite wet, we had a great time and Ian managed to place a winning bet (first 3)on every race which must be his record.   No chance of retiring just yet though as his biggest win was 10€ but he did cover all his expenses for the afternoon.   On our recommendation the Fitzgeralds who were staying in le camelia went the following day and also thoroughly enjoyed themselves.   Of course, we simply had to finish the day at our favourite creperie in Guenrouet overlooking the Nantes-Brest canal.   Lovely fresh crepes & gallets and very reasonably priced,  great friendly staff and beautiful terrace on which to relax and enjoy – what more can one ask for?

Ian is now on the great shed build phase 4,  after the greenhouse (phase 1) he decided to build a garden shed to house all my gardening stuff and the mowers.  On finishing that,  we thought it was just too nice to be simply a shed so it became my sewing room complete with power and a counter top for my machine.  One great disadvantage of living in small spaces is that you just can’t leave stuff around and so I hardly ever used my sewing machine as it meant always having to pack up for meals as we needed the table.  Not any more – I can make as much mess as I like and walk away to continue another time.   So then of course another shed was needed to house the evicted tools, chemicals and mowers – hence phase 3.   But it is a very small shed so Ian decided to extend my greenhouse to give more growing space and house the implements leaving the phase 3 shed for the mowers.   I really think this is the end of the shed building, although can you really ever be too rich, too thin or have too many sheds?  Watch this space …

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Loire Atlantique celebrated the re-opening of a stretch of canal between St Nicholas de Redon and Fégréac last Saturday (3rd July 2010). 

 This has been a few year years in the planning and works and now there is a clear waterway between Redon and Fégréac which then continues on to Guenrouet, Blain and ending in Nantes.   With a footpath suitable for walkers, cyclists and riders this is going to be a great asset for the locals and tourists alike. 

The first barge arrived at St Nicholas de Redon around 12 noon closely followed by a flottilla of other boats and barges which then anchored by the new lock in town.  With a Breton band following and musicians on the some of the boats, it was a very festive event.   There was also a turnout of demonstrators against the proposed new passenger airport terminal at Notre Dames des Landes which althugh very strident, was peaceful. 

After the various speeches, free drinks were laid on to accompany people’s picnics with more music throughout the afternoon.    We left about 3pm and wondered back along the tow path to where we’d left the car (very naughtily in a store’s carpark).   It had been a lovely afternoon and luckily not too hot to make it uncomfortable and I hope that all our visitors make use of this new addition to our lovely local waterways.

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