Time for a bit of proper France. Today I left the channel at Ouistreham and headed for the Loire Valley via Le Mans for a quick run around the bits of the Circuit de la Sarthe that are still public roads. After a bright start the weather turned grey and drizzly from Le Mans south but not too much of an issue. I made an 18 minute charge and comfort stop on the northern outskirts of Le Mans. The car does what it says on the tin when it comes to charging rate. Initially I took a short stretch of péage on the A86 to check that my toll tag was registering correctly and, as expected, no problem. From then on it was D roads to enjoy the countryside. A joy. From Le Mans I stopped at Le Lude with its smart Chateau on the river Loir. Not a spelling mistake but actually a tributary of the Loire itself. Plenty of water! Then on to Vernantes with its towering old and new churches. From there it was a short hop to Saumur, a big city on a very wide Loire. In fact the river is so wide, about 900 metres, that there is a sizeable urban island in the middle. The river banks were a little flooded as you will see in the snaps. I followed the north shore, heading east along a tall flood protection levee to Chouzé-sur-Loire before crossing over to end the day in Chinon on the Vienne. A very enjoyable day finished on a very wet night with dinner in a bistro in town. I’ll start with Saumur above then by the river in Chouzé. Heading back there are a couple of shots from Vernantes and then I’ll finish with a couple of fixer uppers the river Loir and the lovely chateau at Le Ludes. Not quite finished as I would be remiss if I did not show some sunshine on the N158 in Normandy. Don’t worry the car was on autopilot when I took the photo. I had intended to post a video of my lap around the Circuit de la Sarthe but uploading to Vimeo is at glacial pace so maybe tomorrow.