La Loire à Vélo day 12 - 58km from La Daguenière to Île de Chalonnes

Today is a reasonably long 58km ride from the wonderful chambre d’hôte (B&B) at La Daguenière to Île de Chalonnes, an island close to Montjean-sur-Loire. At breakfast this morning my hosts recommended that I start with a detour to nearby Brissac which has the tallest château in the Loire. I think it took less than an hour to get there and it was a nice stop. I was able to find a nice café in the town centre and ate a nice crépe from a vendor in the market.

Leaving Brissac, I joined the river again and followed the bank. At Saint Gemmes-sur-Loire, there was an interesting stretch with a Mediterranean garden stretching a couple of hundred metres along the river bank.

Towards the end of the ride, I crossed to the Île de Chalonnes and rode through its rather damp, swampy landscape, with mosquitos going for me whenever I stopped. My knee was giving me trouble after so many days riding, so the last few kilometres were not much fun. But I arrived at my destination a place called Au bout de l’île, a B&B where I was staying in a room at the top of the farmhouse, but which also has yurts in the field outside. It also has a Guinguette - a traditional French open air cafe, bar, and restaurant. Guinguettes are typically on riverbanks, but this one was well away from the shore. It was surprisingly popular and for a short time, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to eat there. However, the staff did find me a table and I ate a very pleasant meal. If you consider staying there, it seems that it is best to get booked in for food ahead of time, because there is nowhere else to eat nearby.