DAY SEVEN… 46.5 miles (74.5 km)

Another cold night and morning. I washed my face in a tiny saucepan with a tiny amount of hot water. We cycled to the public loos. No charge. My knees feel very painful and Tim’s back is worse. The sun was warmish at 9.45 as we left the campsite. We stopped briefly for a croissant in the town and again at the Château de Villandry, but we couldn’t get a good view from the outside. My knee pain was quite persistent. Tim changed the toe clips to allow for a better foot position and this improved things as long as we cycled along the flat. Tim then began to suffer likewise.

Château de Villandry, hiding behind its high walls

We stopped for lunch outside the rather insalubrious train station at Tours. There were so many dodgy looking people that we did not brew up as usual. We bought a replacement, better, toe clip and cycled off having lost quite a lot of time. Along the way was the most amazing display of orchids… monkey, bee, lizard, lady and spider, plus a hellebore type of orchid.

Monkey Orchid
Lady Orchid

We arrived late at Amboise (6.30pm) and decided to stay as it was so late. The campsite was actually open and fairly full, although we found a peaceful pitch right at the end of the site.

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