Talmont st Hilaire to St Gilles Croix de Vie

Talmont st Hilaire to St Gilles Croix de Vie
Talmont is built on top of a hill around the old Chateau and it’s remaining walls. Our first stop was here to have a closer look and we had great fun exploring what was left of it. It had been started in the 9th Century by William the Bald, (a new one to us) but he built it out of wood and it didn’t take his enemies long to work out that all they had to do was set fire to it! So it didn’t last very long.
200 years later Richard the Lionheart based himself here with his court whilst planning and making the crusades. (he only spoke French and didn't come to England much, contrary to the Robin Hood movie a few years ago!) Unfortunately sometime later still Cardinal Richelieu took it upon himself to destroy it as it was seen as a protestant stronghold.

The rooms inside this building are huge with vaulted ceilings and a spectacular view. Very dark and scary!

Renaissance style mullioned

windows complete with window

seats!

It has a great sense of history and you could really imagine people living in it. Cleverly they have laid out all sorts of medieval games – archery, quoits, stilts and a theatre to entertain people. The tower from where you can see a very long way is extremely dark, and I was amazed that a young English couple with their two little boys managed to get them in there at all. The older of the two kept asking us whether there were any dragons (because it certainly felt as though there should be) but I could see his father anxiously indicating don’t scare him so we agreed that the dragons were out and that like cows they only ate grass.

After Vivi subjected herself to the 'cow shoeing machine' it was inevitable that I'd have to do something similar!

We then had a perfect day’s biking again. We started off on small roads along a ridge a few miles inland from the sea, where the countryside is really very like England although on a rather larger scale. We passed through St Mathurin and Vaire and heard chiffchaffs and saw a yellowhammer for the first time, it is strange to hear some birds that we are used to hearing in the U.K. The cuckoo is much in evidence. We are still trying quite hard not to retrace our steps where possible so delayed dropping back down to the coast until after the town of Sable D’Olonne. I think we must be a little fitter than 6 months ago as this area seems more accessible. Today we even had the wind behind us which was a real treat. Lunch was a picnic of mostly butter and cheese with a small amount of bread left over from last night to go with it. Delicious! It then started to rain annoyingly hard as we joined the cycle route at Brem sur Mer following the coast to St Gilles Croix de Vie. At Bretignolles sur Mer we stopped to watch the surfers again

and they must have been practicing as they were even better than last year.
On arrival at St Gilles Croix de Vie we were pleasantly surprised. When we were here last October we weren’t that impressed as it all smelt a bit fishy. However it is amazing how much difference a bit of sunshine makes, and as we were coming in from the south we found a hotel which overlooked the beach and was conveniently situated. We walked into the centre where we found the catamarans all moored in a row of the first 6 competitors back from the St Gilles to St Petersburg yacht race.

We were rather more impressed with how far we have traveled, but this is the route of the St Gilles to St Petersburg race (for all who enjoy their sailing vicariously)

You can just see all 6 masts of the boats which have made it back so far.

This didn’t look like very many but apparently 2 have had to retire and one is still out there somewhere!
Cleverly the town has embraced the Russian connection and decorated the Municipal Flowerbeds with a Russian theme – although we aren’t too sure about the dolphin!

Russian dolls, very clever we thought!

and a dolphin.