I am holidaying in the Loire this summer, quite close to Tours. Can anyone suggest suitable places to visit within a couple of hours drive in any direction please? By “suitable” I obviously mean vintage aeroplanes!
I used to go there every year, I don’t recall much vintage stuff but the low flying by the French Airforce was pretty exciting, mainly Fougamasters and Alphajets. Bastille day morning, we were having breakfast outside when a massive, loose formation of Alpha jets nearly took the roof off.
I would recommend the tank museum at Saumur which is the French equivalent of Bovington. We were very lucky to be in the right place at the right time once. It was the summer after the first Gulf War and the local Army unit, The Daguerre Division, had erected a stadium in the centre of the town near the museum and were practising their equivalent of the Royal Tournament, they had absolutely no objection to us coming in and watching with them, some of the officers were still bandaged up from their wounds.
At one point a top general appeared with a mysterious briefcase handcuffed to his wrist, surrounded by heavily armed troops who sat round us and messed around with my young son, who loved it, though I was a bit wary of the fact that the weapons were obviously loaded.
Eventually they did a tableaux of tanks through the ages, starting with WW1, and finishing up at the Gulf. Everyone was in perfect running order including what was then the worlds only working King Tiger.
It finished off with tanks from the Gulf doing a perfect synchronised routine and them loosing off an extrememly loud volley of blanks.
At one point I walked into the tank park where I had left the car and one of the MX tanks fired a blank as I was walking under the barell which left a perfect smoke ring, the French troops were laughing so much at my reaction that some of them fell off the tank.
Also at Saumur you can see the famous tunnel that was one of the first targets to recieve the attention of 617 with their Tallboys.
Next item, St Nazaire, visit the magnificent U-boat pens and the dock that was destroyed by the Campletown commando raid, there was a sub displayed in the armoured entrance lock.
Next, go to Chinon and see the castle that was home to Henry 11 and have a trip on the steam train from there to Richlieau, no crisps and mouldy sandwiches in their dining car, local wines and cheeses of your choice.
Then to Fontevraud L’Abbaye the tombs of Henry 11, Elanore and Richard the Lionheart are in the Abbey. Napoleon did not like the Abbey’s relationship to Britain and had it converted into a prison, they only began to restore it several years ago and it may be completed now.
Don’t forget the Chateux, particularly Chenonceux straddling the river and Chombard which is so unbelievably massive.
Is that enough to be going on with.
tags.
Sign In
