DAY 3: BRAIN-SUR-VILAINE - BOUAYE: 79.4km
TUESDAY 15 JULY

We joined the other guests and ate a good breakfast (there was cereal as well as bread and croissants) in our hosts' beautiful dining room that was full of antiques. Large windows over-looked the sunny garden. It was going to be another beautiful day which was a relief. I dreaded waking up to find it raining.

We were on the road by 9am and started by following the Vilaine and then turned on to the lanes and past fields of maize and corn (again!).

The Tour de France had obviously been through this forest too

In the centre of the forest was a roundabout called the Rond Point de la Belle Etoile. It was supposed to represent the Arc De Triomphe with all roads leading to it but it was totally lost on us. However, we were surprised to find a toilet in the middle of the forest - it was an ecological design and according to the information board it used peat as a drainage system.

This was a convenient surprise

It was on the main forest road that we had a near miss. A huge tanker came up behind us blasting its horn and nearly sending us into the verge. It took us by surprise as until then we had been given a lot of room by passing motorists.

We cycled through a couple of nice towns

We took the decision not to stop too often as our destination for the night (and the next) had a swimming pool and that was a very good incentive to keep going! Also, if the website was anything to go by, it was going to be a lovely place to stay and we wanted to take advantage of that and settle in ready for our rest day.

We were planning to buy a picnic lunch in Fay-de-Bretagne but when we got there it was absolute chaos. There was one main road running through the little town and as it was approaching midday there was a major traffic jam with everyone trying to get home in time for lunch. It all seemed so stressful after the calm of the country lanes that we decided to keep going to Temple-de-Bretagne instead.



We were back on the Tour de France route for a time


We bought a picnic lunch in Temple-de-Bretagne and cycled on during the lunch period to take advantage of the fact that the roads were nearly empty as our route for the next few kms was on a main road and we knew there was a hatched hill coming up. As we started to grind up the hill we were aware of a lorry behind us but, unlike the last maniac driver, he waited patiently behind us until we got to the top of the hill before passing us with lots of room.

We stopped to eat in a park in St. Etienne-de-Montluc

We were really hungry and managed to get through a french stick and a whole brie together with some quiche and a cake we had bought! After lunch we headed towards the ferry where we would cross the Loire.

What a perfect road

The lane was bordered by a wet marsh and the countryside spread before us for miles. The fields of maize had been replaced by pasture.

It was so peaceful

We didn't have to wait long at Coueron for the ferry

We enjoyed a short sit down in the sun during the crossing

Unfortunately Le Pellerin looked better from the other side of the river than it did when we arrived. We decided to find a bar anyway as we were hot and thirsty and I was very disappointed to discover that they had run out of ice cream! As it wasn't very pleasant we decided not to linger as the pool at our chambre d'hotes was beckoning.

We cycled through some villages and up some hills that we weren't expecting. The scenery had changed noticably now and the landscape continued to be more rolling pasture.

Painted plaster had replaced the dark stone

It had turned into another really hot afternoon and the thought of the pool kept us going. We were ready to arrive by the time we reached the outskirts of Bouaye and found our chambre d'hotes.

This is going to be good

We could just about cycle up the deep gravel drive and then we saw it.

Absolutely breathtaking

We just stood there staring - we could not believe our luck! I had found Chateau Bois de la Noe during one of many hours of searching on the internet for accommodation and at only €80 a night it seemed too good to be true. There is always a risk that the website doesn't quite tell the truth but we took the chance and in this case had struck lucky. In this case the website didn't do it justice.

I had always wanted to stay in a cheateau

We received a very warm welcome from the down-to-earth owner. He told us that he had bought the chateau as a wreck three years ago. He had made a fantastic job of the rennovation.

What a good choice for a rest day

We were shown to our room which was in the top of one of the turrets

It was just fantastic

We were the only guests and the owner was very much in the background as he lived in one wing. We felt at ease wandering around the grounds and relaxing by the pool.

What a perfect way to end the day

We relaxed by the pool for a couple of hours as it was still beautifully hot. I didn't feel as if I had been cycling all day - I felt I was on a lovely relaxing summer holiday. When it was time to eat we walked up the road to a restaurant that had been recommended. We were pleased to find it had a covered terrace and a good menu.

It was nice to have a choice of what we ate - and eat on our own

We walked back to our chateau enjoying the warmth of the summer's evening happy that we had had another good day on the bike and had made an excellent choice of accommodation for our rest day.