La Loire à vélo: Nevers - Orléans

20 – 25 July

One of the more popular cycle paths in France is that which follows the Loire, from Nevers to the Atlantic near Nantes. When Julian and Susan had a week to spend with us in France, the section from Nevers to Orléans seemed a good section to cover. Rodney and I took trains from Beaugency to Lyon to meet them when they flew in from London, and we spent less than 24 hours getting a bike for Susan and camping gear for them both. Julian’s bike was already in Lyon, from last year.

We all took the train from Lyon to Nevers, through hilly country where the train had to really work to get up to the top. But it was able to coast down the other side! More of France profonde, very pretty and not at all overcrowded.

The hotel over the road from the station, where Rodney and I had stayed last year, were great about storing 4 bikes safely and handily – an important aspect for the bike traveller.

Nevers is an interesting place to spend a night, as it has lovely walks, whether by day or night, when monuments are lit up. There is the Cathedral, which was heavily damaged by an error in allied bombing during the war but restored in the 2 decades or so after that. New stained glass windows were completed, after 35 years of work, in 2011. Lit from inside, Julian had them lined up for a photo –at which precise millisecond the lights went out!

Nearby is the Ducal Palace, which is considered as one of the first castles on the Loire, and is especially pretty. Lovely little lanes to walk up and Nevers pottery often displayed in windows. A walk under the 12th Century ramparts – what is left of them- takes you down to the river. There’s also a remaining fortified gate (restored) to walk or drive through. It is part of the street system (the street with the most fabulous pottery display at Faïence Bleue).

From Nevers the path is straightforward along the canal and within a quite short time we reached our first pont-canal, a bridge that takes the canal over a river, the Allier. Just beyond is the confluence of the Loire and the Allier, so at this point we started the journey following the Loire. The Canal lateral à la Loire shadows the Loire river but the véloroute follows the Loire where practicable and there are many beautiful views of this lovely river en route.

At just the right time and distance we chanced upon a restaurant alongside the canal with lots of cars beside it. Figuring that to be more-or-less in the middle of nowhere (truly, the name of the spot is Givry if you can find it on a map), and to have such a following, the food must be good, we decided to try. Good choice! The Auberge de l’Ecluse.  Recommended. Absolutely amazing food, and we waddled out more than two hours later. This restaurant has to be THE stand-out of the trip. We also needed a lot of water – hot day, dehydration threatened - and the staff made a joke of trying to keep water on the table for the four of us.

The first night was spent beside the river at La Charité-sur-Loire, a town ‘with character’, and lots of bookshops. There was a bookfair on but most of the stalls had folded up by the time we got there. Can’t carry them anyway. Beautiful river views from our pizza restaurant.

This route also passes through Sancerre. Last year when we did the canal de Bourgogne we were very close to Sancerre and had some fantastically delicious wine with a meal. This time we needed to test again. Still good.

Other places of interest: Belleville-sur-Loire, site of a nuclear power plant and where Mathilde worked for a while (in its downtime, maintenance time), Briare, where there is a magnificent pont-canal, nearly 120 years old and used all the time.. This is where the Canal lateral à la Loire crosses the Loire River, well below! You can still see the old locks, which were used to access the canal before the bridge was constructed. This is also where we stopped to eat at a café, since it was so very hot and the tables were shaded and it was right on the edge of the bridge. That was before. Just as we finished eating a storm came hurtling over the river, with thunder and lightning, wind and heavy rain. We, and others, were forced to shelter at the chocolate shop attached to the café. Small space, lots of people, lots of rain and the most delicious array of chocolates and dessert cakes to feast the eye on. If we hadn’t already eaten some for dessert we certainly would have then. Totally recommend their ‘opéra’ (chocolate, coffee flavours).

St Brisson-sur-Loire is a medieval castle with a special aspect today – a display of catapults and other machinery of war, with real people and working models. That was a lot of fun.

Gien, where we actually had a dip in the Loire (very shallow, not much current by the camping ground) is a picturesque little town, dominated by a castle that was closed for repairs/maintenance/restoration. Lovely river scenes, looking across to the castle. Great bridge. Yet another of these magnificent Loire crossings.

A lot of the biking along the Loire is along stop-banks, which over the centuries have been constructed and improved, to try and contain the devastating floods this huge river is capable of. Everywhere there are plaques on buildings showing where the great floods came up to. From the levees there is often a good view of the ever-present sandbanks and only sometimes do you have to share them with people who live there or who are going fishing.

Sully-sur-Loire was a real find. Superb castle and the means to leave our bikes and all our gear in safety. Bonus, maybe – but necessary. Sully has it all. If you can only see one castle on the Loire, this one encapsulates so much! Wide moats still filled with water, high towers, a large keep, a certain elegance, yet protection at the same time. It stayed in the hands of Sully’s family until 1962, which I find fairly amazing. (Sully had bought it in 1602 and enlarged and strengthened the original castle, which had been built at the end of the 14^th century to protect the crossing of the Loire at that spot.) The furnishings are lavish, 17^th century and there are tapestries dating from the same era. All in all a very good experience.

St-Benoit-sur-Loire:  The Abbey of Fleury, a Benedictine monastery founded in 630. The monks dispersed during the revolution and it wasn't until 1944 that the abbey was re-founded successfully. It is a ‘living’ monastery, whose 40 or so monks lead a life based in prayer and work. People can go there for retreats, mostly in silence. There is an attractive Romanesque basilica, built 9^th to 11^th centuries to house relics of St Benedict in a worthy setting. St Benoit is a small village. 5km away, linked by a cycle track, is a small camping ground set in almost wild surroundings by the river edge. A beautiful setting. We biked over to the church and were also able to buy food in the village to eat with the beer we bought in the bar. Such was the heat of the day and the distance we had travelled that we all (except Susan, who was off all alcohol) thought that beer had never tasted so good! The basilica has a crypt where the relics of St Benedict are found in a lovely setting. I guess that’s the essence of both the abbey and the basilica.

Germingy-des-Près: 11^th century seems old but the church here dates back to the 9^th century. People mostly go to see the mosaic of the ark of the covenant, on the ceiling of the apse. This is the only surviving Byzantine mosaic in France and owes its survival to being plastered over during the French revolution. It was rediscovered during the 19^th century. It’s singularly beautiful – I don’t know if it has been recently ‘retouched’ or not.

From St Benoit to Orléans was straight-forward, though we took a detour at Jargeau onto the right bank of the Loire, so as to be able to follow the canal d’Orléans down into the Loire at Combleux. The canal d’Orléans remains separate from but still ‘in’ the Loire river until very close to Orléans. 

The canal 'in' the river

Arriving in Orléans in ‘the season’, as we did, we were able to just keep biking along the trail to find the summer camping ground (July and August). As it happened, Chris and Mathilde were in Orléans when we arrived, in the later part of the afternoon, and were able to drop in and see us. Later we met again for dinner – first time all together!

Julian and Susan had a day or so with us before returning. Mathilde, a 'local', took us to Talcy castle nearby, a very impressive little place, complete with gardens and a dovecote in excellent condition.
It encapsulated such a lot, on a 'do-able' scale, with furnished rooms and kitchens with bread oven and stone sink included. All in all a fitting end to this section of the Loire.

Dovecote