Date 7 -17 September 2025
Roscoff, Nantes, Ingrandes, Angers, Tours, Bois, Orleans
Bike Peugeot 531 Pro
Weather mainly sunny or light cloud occasional showers one wet day gentle breeze from the west.
Caught the overnight ferry to Roscoff and cycled through St Pol de Leon to Morlaix in 2 hours. Too early for the bar in St Pol to be open. Red bus no longer at the roundabout wine store. From St Pol used the D73 through Locquenole and the D769 avoiding the D58 which is restricted for cycles.
Got the train to Rennes and changed at Rennes for a train to Nantes. Morlaix is on the Paris to Brest line with TGV trains which have restricted bike space which you have to book with your ticket. Rennes to Nantes is TER trains which have more space and no booking.
Day 1 of cycling. Overnight in Nantes in a room in a flat accessed by a key held in a key safe. Did not have the combination and difficult to communicate with the owner by phone as he only spoke French. Had previously printed Google maps of all accommodation which proved very useful in finding places within the towns.
Next day set off early after a breakfast of coffee and croissants in the nearby boulangerie where I also got a sandwich and cake for lunch. Boulangeries often sell coffee and snacks as well as pastries and most villages have one.
Nantes has a really good cyclepath and shared pavement bike system. Easily found to EV6 route along the Loire which was well signposted the whole trip. Tarmac road for first section then dry sand surfaced gravel well compacted and no potholes. Route followed railway line which cut it off from the villages along this section. At Oudon crossed the river to Champtoceaux and followed the D751 to Ingrandes missing out Ancenis. Logis hotel at Ingrandes was locked but they had e mailed the door access code and my room key was at reception desk.
Day 2 from Ingrandes to La Bohalle. Easy ride well signposted to La Poissonnere but at Bouchemaine made a mistake and followed the River Maine at Angers not the Loire and then got hopelessly lost in Angers trying to find the Loire. Not helped by the police closing roads to control a protest march. Eventually found the D952 and followed it to La Bohalle.
Dat 3 from La Bohalle to Saumur. The best section of the route with pretty villages and houses built of the local white stone. Cave houses near Treves and beginning of wine cellars (caves) in the cliffs. Ran over a dog but owners relaxed as they saw it ran under my front wheel in the middle of the road. First class formula lunch in a restaurant. Visited the chateau in Samur until the Premier Class hotel reception opened at 5pm.
Day 4 from Saumur to Huismes. Morning through the pretty villages along the D947. More historic buildings, caves, dwellings cut into the cliffs. After the Vienne river turned onto the D7 and the off it into a wooded area where the path was not so well signposts and got lost. Lost my compass and my sense of direction and went in the completely wrong direction ending up at the Vienne river. Reversed direction and found the villages of Savigny and Avoine very confusing road patterns. Eventually, after wasting a couple of hours, reached the D7 again and proceeded to Huismes. My nights accommodation was not, as signposted by Booking.com, in the centre of the village but 2km out in the countryside. The lady drove to Huismes and guided my to her accommodation which proved to be the best of the trip and included a couple of glasses of wine on arrival and a breakfast.
Day 5 from Huismes to Tours. Into my stride by now and ignored off-road sections of the path to ride the D7 and a minor road which went along the top of the levee with great views and very light traffic. Lunch at Villandry a popular village because of its chateau.
Day 6 Tours to Blois. This was a Sunday so all shops closed but I had bought snacks for the journey. It was a wet day and my cape was in use from the start. Followed the D751 along the River Loire again light traffic. Amboise was a tourist hot spot, very busy, and lovely town. Deviated along the cyclepath near Mosnes up a hill onto farmland but nothing special to see and descended back into the Loire valley ASAP. Cyclepath went through woodland between Chaumont sur Loire and Cande sur Beuvron where I fell off and grazed my palm and knee and bruised my shoulder. Not holding the handlebar firmly along a wet and uneven path, a low point of the trip. From Chailles to Bois a nice path into town.
Day 7 Blois to Orleans. Last day on the river. Monday so most places closed again. Followed the cyclepath along the north bank of the river. Some puddles from yesterday’s rain so the sandy surface got the bike grubby. Found an open restaurant and had a good meal and a chat with an old Frenchman who rods a French steel road bike the same age as mine. Reached Orleans by late afternoon.
Orleans to Morlaix. A day of French trains. A 4.30 wake up followed by a dark ride to Orleans station. Changes at Nantes and Rennes went smoothly. TER trains have good cycle storage with no booking required, TGY traings have 2 bike spaces reuiring payment and booking. Bagged bike free and unbooked if there is space. 6 hour train ride over a route which I took 7 days to cycle. Last 2 hours cycling to Morlaix just as it was getting dark. Hotel closed as I had booked the wrong night. Got the last available room in another hotel.