Tuesday 15th July, Saumur to Gennes

Another sunny morning and we were able to pack away a dry tent. We didn't wake till 8:30am this morning as the fireworks and concert across the river kept us awake till after midnight. All good as we knew we only had a short ride today.

After setting off we had a ride through some of the old streets of Saumur then found a large shopping centre with the help of some locals. We bought a salad for lunch and then headed off along the trail once more. We had a steep hill to climb up to St Hillaire-St Florent to keep us off the main road. We passed the national equestrian school and the trail then took us back down to the Loire.

We stopped along the Loire to have our picnic lunch before making it to the historical towns of Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault. We found a historical heritage itinerary in English so decided to lock up or bikes and take the walk. First stop was a Gallo-Roman temple from the 2nd century, only the foundations remain, next the remains of a Gallo-Roman dwelling further up the hill. The track to get up to it was very steep and Catriona's calf muscles were burning half way up! Other points of interest were the remains of an 18th century windmill, a Priory and the Notre-Dame de la Prée des Tuffeaux church. 

After the strenuous walk in the heat we had a rest before mounting the bikes and heading off for Trèves. Along the way we saw a restaurant in a cave that sold cold drinks so we decided to go in to get out of the heat. You could also take a tour of the cave where they had not only the restaurant but a cellar, a. gift club as well as growing mushrooms. We found the reception in a wine tasting room. We had our drinks in the cave and found out you could do wine tastings. So after our beer/ coffee we sampled 3 reds and a sweet white which David said Veronica would have loved.

We bought 2 different reds and set off out into the heat and on our way. We passed through the other two towns with their medieval buildings. In Gennes we found the campground and checked in then set off to get some dinner before settling down to enjoy a mug of wine from one of the bottles we bought today, a Saumur-Champigny from Cabernet grapes. 

We finished the bottle after dinner with some 85% cacao chocolate overlooking the Loire. It was a very enjoyable day cycling through old villages on the banks of the Loire. Total km cycled today 24km.