Loire, Part 1

10th September, 1999

We returned to La Poste, in Hennebont, where the young lady was able to initialise our card and set up our e-mail account.     We then used the extra day to look at Hennebont a bit more and it rather surprised us.     It has an impressive church with an interesting story concerning the Black Death from which a tradition has grown around a silver Madonna.    In the remains of its castle is a museum which turned out to be a little Jewel.      Room by room it tells the story of the town.      It was a thriving port long before Lorient but declined when the latter was founded and developed for trade with the East Indies.   Hennebont traded with South Wales exporting pit props and importing scrap iron.   It had a good mediaeval centre before the war but, as with so many of the places we have been, was flattened.  The bridge across the Blavet also has an interesting history, having had many incarnations.

11th September, 1999

We broke camp and moved to Nantes on what turned out to be a very hot day and were very glad of the Scorpio's Climate Control.    After one stop to try to listen to qualifying at Monza on Radio 5 we had a glitch with the starter but after lifting and dropping the bonnet it worked.    The fault report says 'cleared by percussion'.   (With acknowledgements to Nantes Neighbour, Derek)

The map below left shows our track.   We chose Nantes as a base to explore the Loire and also because one of the things that we were taught was the Edict of Nantes.   The camp site we chose is close to one of Nantes' two Tram Lines near the Petit Port and getting into the town is very easy.

12th September, 1999

Sunday being a "Race Day" we struggled to get a good picture, despite being in a wooded valley, and watched our local team win an exciting race at Monza.  Afterwards, we took a trip to the town centre to see if we could find the Cyber Café we had been told of by the camp receptionist.   We found it easily, but of course it was closed on Sunday, as was La Poste nearby.   Both are close to the monument to the 50 hostages shot by the Germans as a reprisal for resistance activities.   The monument is shown, above centre.   The cathedral is being cleaned and restored.   It had had a disastrous fire in 1971, shown in a painting, above right, and before that its stained glass was blown out when the town's arsenal exploded nearby in 1800.   The day was also Leonard's 70th birthday.   Leonard and his wife had arrived just before us at the site and together with Derek, we consumed some wine that night - and indeed into the early morning.  

Monday, being Monday, was washing day and we used the camp's excellent facilities in the morning, despite being somewhat the worse for the previous night's binge.  Being washday, of course, it rained and our washing was hung all round the awning, so we abandoned the camp and returned to town, visiting the Cyber Café to check our e-mail.   We stopped by the castle, above left, where the Edict of Nantes had been signed in 1598, then set off for the station, where we were assured we should find English newspapers, where we could read the report on yesterday's race.  Our route took us by the Parc des Plantes, not mentioned in our guide books, but a veritable treasure.   Choosing a picture, above centre, to represent the Parc was difficult as there are so many splendid displays of colourful flowers, trees.  With typical French flair, there is a clever living picture made up of two different shades of green shrubs, which shows a panda on one side and an elephant on the other.   Our final picture in Nantes is the Passage Pommeraye, which is a Victorian shopping arcade on three levels, with a wide staircase.   The weather was deteriorated and, when we returned, we decided to fit the side panels to our awning.    We now realise that it is a definite rule when caravanning that, if the weather is so good when you arrive that you are tempted to use the awning as a sun shade without sides, it will definitely rain the next day!   It is considerably less pleasant to put the awning sides up in the rain.

Last updated:  18/03/01