Loire Valley - July/August
Discussion
Having lived in Saumur for 10 years, I would describe the local Police as pragmatic, rather than tolerant, of alcohol consumption. They tend to do breath tests in the morning, their assumption being if you are over the limit then, you have a serious problem.
The area is a huge producer in French terms and so you are most unlikely to find the Gendarmerie hanging around the gates of Robert & Marcel looking for inebriated buyers.
Remember you can taste the wines without swallowing the contents of the glass. The key thing is "try before you buy", we see so many Brits in supermarkets filling their trolleys with wine that they have zero knowledge of other than the price.
Mind you it is still probably better than this week's bargains from Tesco et al.
The area is a huge producer in French terms and so you are most unlikely to find the Gendarmerie hanging around the gates of Robert & Marcel looking for inebriated buyers.
Remember you can taste the wines without swallowing the contents of the glass. The key thing is "try before you buy", we see so many Brits in supermarkets filling their trolleys with wine that they have zero knowledge of other than the price.
Mind you it is still probably better than this week's bargains from Tesco et al.
Loire is nice. I know France pretty well, speak (average) French and travel a lot. The region has nice food, nice wine, the accent is very "correct" French and so understandable (unlike say, the impenetrable south west accent); they are quite friendly to the Brits and there is a nice place of life. The locals are the politest French people I know, aside from Savoie. As ever, if you speak a bit of French, or try, they suddenly remember that they speak some English. ;-)
Plus it is only 5-6 hrs from the tunnel, so it isn't a whole day gone. Nice old towns, etc. Gets nicely warm without being too hot. It isn't "petit Angleterre" like large chunks of Normandy, Brittany, etc. What's not to like?
Plus it is only 5-6 hrs from the tunnel, so it isn't a whole day gone. Nice old towns, etc. Gets nicely warm without being too hot. It isn't "petit Angleterre" like large chunks of Normandy, Brittany, etc. What's not to like?
I'm afraid I can't offer much advice on what to do in the local area but I have stayed at that campsite about 10 times.
My parents used to take me there on holiday. EVERY. YEAR. Im 28 now, so thinking back probably haven't been in over 10 years.
As a kid I loved it, and it was always very busy with the same faces year after year.
Brings back a lot of memories.
My parents used to take me there on holiday. EVERY. YEAR. Im 28 now, so thinking back probably haven't been in over 10 years.
As a kid I loved it, and it was always very busy with the same faces year after year.
Brings back a lot of memories.
Vaud said:
Loire is nice. I know France pretty well, speak (average) French and travel a lot. The region has nice food, nice wine, the accent is very "correct" French and so understandable (unlike say, the impenetrable south west accent); they are quite friendly to the Brits and there is a nice place of life. The locals are the politest French people I know, aside from Savoie. As ever, if you speak a bit of French, or try, they suddenly remember that they speak some English. ;-)
Plus it is only 5-6 hrs from the tunnel, so it isn't a whole day gone. Nice old towns, etc. Gets nicely warm without being too hot. It isn't "petit Angleterre" like large chunks of Normandy, Brittany, etc. What's not to like?
I can speak a bit of French (poorly!) but I always try to speak some of the language, wherever in the world I am. One of those things that I wish I had tried harder at when at school.Plus it is only 5-6 hrs from the tunnel, so it isn't a whole day gone. Nice old towns, etc. Gets nicely warm without being too hot. It isn't "petit Angleterre" like large chunks of Normandy, Brittany, etc. What's not to like?
FrankAbagnale said:
I'm afraid I can't offer much advice on what to do in the local area but I have stayed at that campsite about 10 times.
My parents used to take me there on holiday. EVERY. YEAR. Im 28 now, so thinking back probably haven't been in over 10 years.
As a kid I loved it, and it was always very busy with the same faces year after year.
Brings back a lot of memories.
Well, that's a good thing (I think!). We were recommended it by someone else who has taken their caravan there for the last 3 years. It's obviously doing something right!My parents used to take me there on holiday. EVERY. YEAR. Im 28 now, so thinking back probably haven't been in over 10 years.
As a kid I loved it, and it was always very busy with the same faces year after year.
Brings back a lot of memories.
Mind the Andouillette sausages 
We also fell in love, so much so we went and bought a house! For us the ease of a 1 hour drive to Portsmouth, overnight ferry and 2.5 hour drive makes it compelling. The wine, the history, the food...
The only downside is the Loire is considered the break point between Atlantic driven weather and the more stable and warmer continental weather. It's often very similar to the weather back home, just a couple of degrees warmer.
We also fell in love, so much so we went and bought a house! For us the ease of a 1 hour drive to Portsmouth, overnight ferry and 2.5 hour drive makes it compelling. The wine, the history, the food...
The only downside is the Loire is considered the break point between Atlantic driven weather and the more stable and warmer continental weather. It's often very similar to the weather back home, just a couple of degrees warmer.
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