Last summer, I blogged about previous un-blogged holidays in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. As I’m away on this year’s holiday at present, I’m going to write about our 2018 holiday. Although our holiday fell before my blogging hiatus, it only got a brief mention at the time.
This particular holiday was our nine-year-old’s first trip outside England, although as it was seven years ago they were two at the time, as that’s how maths works. Nominally, our holiday was in the Loire valley in France – yes, the same place as 2023 – but we fitted some other places in too.
Cadbury World
I suppose our holiday ‘started’ in the West Midlands, at Cadbury World. This was one of several places that we called at on our journey down. I’d been before with Hari – her family is from Worcestershire – but this was the first time we’d been as a family.
Cadbury World is adjacent to the Cadbury’s factory in Bourneville, a model village built by Cadbury’s for its workers that now forms a suburb of Birmingham. It tells the story about Cadbury’s – the history of the company and how chocolate is made. So whilst it’s a museum, it’s also very much a tourist attraction, with indoor rides and a chance to watch professionals make chocolate. During my earlier visit in the 2000s, you were able to see some of the actual Cadbury production lines in the factory, but I don’t remember seeing them on this visit.
It’s not quite a full day out, which suited us as we’d arrived there having set off from home – it was over two hours’ drive, and we had further to go afterwards. The attraction is run by Merlin (the Alton Towers and Sealife Centre people) so whilst it can be quite pricey, there are various discounts available if you can book in advance.
We stayed overnight near Oxford, where we met up with my parents and had a meal for Father’s Day.
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
As per usual, we entered France by ferry from Portsmouth. Having driven down from Oxford in plenty of time, we spent the afternoon visit the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, home to a museum and various boats such as HMS Warrior (pictured) and HMS Victory. The museum is huge, and is actually split across three sites with a shuttle boat between them. We were only there for the afternoon, and so we only saw about half of the museum. It’s also home to the wreck of the Mary Rose – again, we didn’t have time to see it.
We did, however, have a late evening stroll around Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth.
Our ferry was the overnight Portsmouth to Ouistreham (for Caen) service. In subsequent years, we’ve taken the longer Portsmouth to St Malo service, which leaves earlier and arrives later, giving you a better night’s sleep. The Caen ferry leaves Portsmouth at 11pm UK time, and arrives at 7:30am French time (6:30am UK time). I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you then have to drive once you’ve arrived.
Blois
We called briefly in Blois on the way to our campsite to have some lunch. It’s a city with a large, well-preserved château in the centre – bits of the château date as early as the 13th Century, but it was substantially complete by the 17th Century. We had a quick look around, but didn’t go in.
Château de Chambord
One thing the Loire is not short of is châteaux, and Chambord is the chonkiest. It’s an absolute unit.
It was built in the 16th Century as a hunting lodge, and so as you would expect, the surrounding parkland is huge. Following the French Revolution in the 18th Century, it was abandoned with its furnishings removed. During the Second World War, it was used to store works of art normally displayed in the Louvre in Paris, and later on the 20th Century it was restored and opened to the public.
Inside, many of the rooms remain unfurnished. Most notable is a double spiral staircase.
Zoo Parc de Beauval
As mentioned, we stayed in the same area in 2023 and made a return visit to this zoo, so I won’t go into much detail here. It’s a fantastic zoo and arguably one of the best in the world.
Château de Chenonceau
Chenonceau is the château that is also a bridge, spanning the River Cher (which then flows into the Loire further downstream). You can indeed hire a rowing boat to go under the château, should you wish – we didn’t. And whilst it spans both sides of the river, you can’t exit on the other side.
Most of the château dates from the 16th Century. In the 20th Century, the château had roles in both World Wars – in the first, it was used a hospital, and for a time during the second, it was a way to smuggle people out of occupied France. It was then occupied by the Nazis, leading to the Allies bombing it in 1944. Thankfully, it was restored in the 1950s and remains one of the most popular Loire châteaux for visitors.
Parc Floral de la Source
This was somewhere that we hadn’t originally planned to visit ahead of time, but decided to visit on a whim. And it was lovely.
It’s a huge garden, with several different themed areas. Indeed, it’s big enough for there to be a little train that runs around the park – we saw it running (and it’s the header image of this post) but it was only open to a pre-booked school group. As well as a wide variety of plants and trees, there are animals too – some birds, a butterfly house, and some farm animals. I think we spent most of the day here, before we hit Auchan in nearby Orleans – Christine’s first time in giant a French hypermarket.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel
On the way back now, and we called off at Le Mont-Saint-Michel. It’s a small island, accessed via a causeway from the mainland, and it’s very photogenic. I’ve been before, and on a previous visit you could park your car on the causeway and then walk up. Nowadays, you park on the mainland, and a double-ended shuttle bus takes you across the causeway.
As well as the abbey at the top, there are lots of little windy streets selling everything a tourist could want. Indeed, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the most-visited bit of France outside of Paris.
Matlock
Back across the channel now, and we called in at Matlock in Derbyshire for a couple of hours on the way home. It’s a picturesque inland spa town on the edge of the Peak District, and we had a wander around the town and the park. Nearby is the Heights of Abraham – we didn’t go, but it’s on my long list of places to visit in future.