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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3072 |
10th September 2016 Hiking - Walking: Around Lac Mezieres Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: Distance Covered: Saturday 10th September – walks **** sunny and warm Not our best night’s sleep of the holiday as there were a couple of Gary boys whizzing around the car park in the early hours :( But we were pleasantly surprised this morning that considering it is the weekend there was no-one around until late morning! We were expecting joggers round the lake etc but no just us :) We did our exercises with the beautiful blue sky and view over the lake in front of us. After breakfast we walked the 3 miles around the lake and were intrigued by a man with a little boy who looked like he was setting windsurfing gear up near the sailing club. We wondered what he was going to do with the lad but it became clear when we got closer to the board that it was actually a stand up paddle board and he had placed a home made wooden ride along seat in the middle to take the little boy with him! He had a tiny life jacket in place ready to go and when they set off they gave us a cheery wave and bonjour. What a great way to spend a sunny Saturday with your Dad :) We enjoyed our walk and had a go on several of the keep fit equipment – you don’t need to join a gym around here! We had a good laugh doing that. then set off as soon as we got back. We kept to the small roads instead of going over to the motorway and although the route map promised more river and lake views, an ancient fort, an aquaduct, and standing stones, none of them materialized which was disappointing!! We went into the centre of Chartres and got a better look at the Cathedral as we drove past. We have seen it in the distance on countless journeys but have always been on the by-pass. We couldn’t park anywhere near so didn’t bother stopping. We headed on towards a small town called Bonneval which seemed like a good place to turn off to a windmill on our map but when we got to Bonneval we had to stop because it was such a lovely place! It was a little like Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds. A really old town with a canal all around the outskirts and small electric pleasure boats cruising around. The river Loir (no e) runs through the town too. We quite fancied having a little boat out for 15 euros for 20 minutes but they were all pre booked as now September has arrived they are only open weekends so are busy. We had our lunch near the castle like walls of the Abbey and then went for a walk round. It is a very pretty place with lots and lots of flowers everywhere, making it smell lovely too. We had a map which showed the various historic buildings to look for and even had another of our usual Saturday treats in France, a wedding party leaving the church with the bells clanging and children blowing bubbles all around the bride and groom. We did think about staying for a while because they had a free camper aire but we decided to head off and give one last chance to a standing stone on the map. Yet again nothing – we asked some people and they thought it might be inside the football stadium in the next village over but didn’t seem too sure – lots of head scratching!! We decided to give up with that!! Our next destination and hopefully overnight stop was the Min de Frouville, a windmill near Ozoir le Breuil. We found it easily amazingly with our luck today! And…… it was working :) The only working mill among the many that this area (la Beauce) is known for. It has been described as the lighthouse in a sea of corn because it is the only thing apart from corn fields for miles around. It is a truly beautiful building and to see the sails going round was amazing. It got better, there was a man sitting inside the windmill door ready to give us a personal tour for 2.5 euros each. The way it has been restored, attention to detail and workmanship is something to be truly proud of :) It was originally built in 1214 and although once burnt down was rebuilt and finally stopped working in 1912. It was completely restored by a local protection trust in 1982 with the work taking several years. The man only spoke French but his gesturing got his passionate message across and it was totally fascinating. How all the cogs, levers, pulleys and ropes worked and the millstones went round, then and most amazingly how the roof rotated too. He showed us it all and we were right up in the roof, he stopped the sails and re-started them – great stuff and something we have never done before and probably won’t again. We thanked him very much and returned to the van for a cuppa while he packed up as it closed at 6.30. When he putted off on his moped we made camp and relaxed watching the most amazing sunset yet again. This one went on for hours! We were hoping the windmill would be lit up when it got dark because there were lights around it. We had just decided that that wasn’t going to happen when at 9.30 it suddenly lit up and an owl flew right over us – frightening the life out of us! Then at 10 all went black again! What a great day despite the disappointing standing stone situation! |
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