Peter and Rosemary in the Loire After much discussion our ten days in France were planned. Not too much driving and time for a little light cycling, exploration and general R & R. We set off on Monday October 7th for our first overnight stop at the Chateau de Sarceau, just outside Alencon. An enormously long drive finally revealed a pretty chateau set by a picturesque lake. On arrival, Madame la Marquise set us down on the terrasse for English tea. A...

Published by kind permission of John of Millstone Our First Tornado. We had lived through the 1987 hurricane which tore through south east England - unscathed apart from a flowering cherry tree across the drive. On New Year's Eve in 1999 we had huddled nervously together, in what we thought was the safest room of our French house, as the great storm of that night howled and shrieked its way from the Atlantic coast at La Rochelle at wind speeds of 200 km/hr o...

Voici un blog de Villiers-le-Roux, un petit village de la France profonde. Since we got here in early August the weather has been kind, but occasionally - at 38 deg - a bit hot for les ballades en velo, especially between the hours of 11 and 4, but since that interval is dedicated on most days to lunch in the shade, followed by a brief restorative 'sieste' to work up a thirst for the first aperitif before dinner, ca n'a pas beaucoup d'importance. Today howev...

The little village of Villiers-le-Roux lies deep in the heart of the Charente region of South West France. As far as the eye can see, vast fields of yellow sunflowers sway in the balmy breeze. At nearby St Fraigne, the climate and soil combine to produce the sweetest Charentais melons. To the south, the gentle slopes are host to the neat rows of vines which produce the world's most celebrated golden spirit, Cognac. Further south and west is Bordeaux, and the...

Ragstones: Forging Bonds What are the primordial experiences that underpin the steely Ragstone bonds? One such was in 1994 - an NSPCC ride from London to Paris - extended by the embryonic Ragstones to include the return journey. The Ragstones started at Tower Bridge and then fought a galeforce head wind to Portsmouth - a mere 85 miles - to catch a ferry to the North French coast. There were then three days of rides to Paris. Despite chaotic organisation, the...