We've enjoyed the lush river valley of the loire. We visited only 2 of the more than 300 chateaux in this area. They range from quite modest to spectacular, from hilltop to river, from derelict to luxurious 5* hotel.

In 2003 we visited this area with Ros and Carly and visited the underground chateau, which has now been excavated further, although much of it is unsafe for visitors. This is Brézé, known for its enormous pigeon loft as well as the fortified underground dwellings. I think JK Rowling must have been influenced by this place. (see photos). This is one of the most heavily fortified chateaux, though an 18m deep dry moat seems excessive.

Chenonceaux is one of the most famous chateaux, its owners playing major roles in French politics. The wife of Henri II, Catherine de Medici, pinched it from her husband's mistress after his death, insisting the mistress swap it for her chateau a few miles away.

During WWI its owner created a hospital which treated hundreds of wounded soldiers, then in WWII the chateau, which bridges the river Cher, was used by the French Resistance to cross between German occupied France on the North bank to Free France on the southern one. A German artillery post was set up to flatten it at the slightest excuse, luckily they didn't carry out the threat.

Today, our last day here, we found a small vinyard where we were able to have a guided tour of the vines. The owner's wife explained the processes in excellent English, and told us some of her husband's family stories. They have been farming here since 1804, and for all that time a family diary has been kept. A wartime entry has a detailed account of a dangerous expedition via Chenonceaux into German occupied territory to buy oil. It occupies half a page, and ends with the words....'and today my son was born'. This was the birth of the present farmer's father, and we walked through vines planted by him in 1961.

We were interested to hear how they have chosen to grow the grapes with the minimum of chemicals, instead analysing the soil so thay add only the trace elements which are low. They prefer to accept up to 10% crop damage by butterfly larvae rather than preventative spraying of pesticide, and have already won some awards for their wine although they only took over the business in 2003.

Tomorrow we leave for Northern France, we'll be back in the UK late on Thursday so this will be my last blog. One thing has been very noticeable throughout France: dog muck. Sorry to lower the tone, but it really is ridiculous the way the French dote on their dogs but will not clean up after them. Some places have signs, some have signs, bags and bins, but it seems to make no difference. Sarlat had an adapted scooter with a vacuum pooper-scooper, we saw him riding around ignoring most piles. He obviously wasn't being paid by weight collected!