Lavardin, France 🇫🇷 2023

Date: 21st June 2023

Travelled: 105 kms from Voutré to Lavardin  

Visited: Lavardin  

Stayed: Lavardin Aire. Free, N47.74200, E00.88430  

Budget: 30 days @ €101 per day

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Pam’s particularly keen for a walk this morning and despite walking every rue in Voutré we made less than 5 kms. Let’s just pretend it was more I tell her but she walks off solo to get her 6.

An hour later we have serviced the Hymer and roll out of Voutré.

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It hard to imagine a more impressive entrance to a village than Pont Gothique as it crosses the Loire River. In the picture below that’s Lavardin and its castle in the background. Mind you we could not drive across in the Hymer as it was closed for repair. I asked the workers who were busy repointing the stonework to duck down so I could take a photo without the white workers helmets showing.

From our guide book the Most Beautiful Villages in France you’ll find Lavardin on page 31.

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Lavardin has everything (almost) the ruins of a once famous castle overlooking the village and the Loire, a Romanesque church with murals dating back a thousand years and numerous troglodyte dwellings built in the tufa stone hill behind the village.

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It’s a warm and steamy afternoon as we walk around the few streets, that are Lavardin. Directly below the castle we find Église of Saint-Genest. According to our guide book a church has stood on this site since 1000, the murals have been dated from 1200-1500.

The relatively soft tufa-stone makes for some intricate carving around the columns and archways. There is that much to take in, we both sit for a while noting the variation of work from obviously different artists.

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We finally reach the top of the hill and the entrance to castle only to find the gate closed without explanation. Thinking someone must be having an extra long lunch we wander back down the hill. Popping into a small art studio (the only thing in the village actually open), I ask about the castle. The man responds in excellent English telling us some inspector from some government department came out a fortnight ago and ordered it closed due to some safety breach.

He goes on to tell me the whole village is devastated as the castle is the centre of tourism for visitors. So these are the best I could do.

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Back at the Hymer we are joined by an English couple in their camper. We chat on for a while about where we’ve been and where we’re going.

It’s a very warm evening and the fan comes out to give some relief, but it starts drizzling at some stage during the night, making for a good sleep.

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Michael + Pam