Thursday 24th September 2026
Heading on south towards the town of Chateaudun, we stopped at a couple of places en-route.
Moulin Pelard:
This small windmill is just off the main road, so as we were passing, we stopped to take a look. It is surprisingly old and is constructed of oak shingles to the face.
Still working, it was built in 1796 and is capable of 360 degree rotation, being mounted on a huge, single post:
Bonneval:
The small, medieval town of Bonneval is built on the river Loir (not the Loire) and the central area is surrounded by the river which was used as a moat.
The Benedictine Abbey, founded in the year 887, is now a psychiatric hospital.
It is a very pretty place, with old medieval buildings mixed in with newer property.
There were also some quite unusual things to be seen:
There are numerous Lavoirs (places to wash your clothes) along the riverside. I should think they would come out dirtier than before.
Chateaudun:
The town of Chateaudun, with its huge chateau, is also on the River Loir.
We cycled to the chateau from our site, which is a little further up the river. The hill top to the chateau entrance and most of the town-centre, was steep and strenuous.
The chateau is L-shaped with a large courtyard within:
The oldest parts of the building are to the left, with the more recent, renaisance parts to the right.
Note the very ornate facade which conceals a wide spiral staircase with balconies at each level, open to the courtyard where the occupants could see …and be seen.
In the 17th century, part of the building were used as a courtroom and some rooms were converted into cells:
Clearly, the people held here, had a lot of time to kill, so there is a lot of graffiti, some of it quite elaborate:
Throughout the building were placed many old wooden chests, some of which were very finely detailed:
There is also a fine collection of tapestry which is in much better condition than many of similar age, with quite vibrant colours:
There is also a modern take on tapestry, with this horse completely covered in tapestry woven fabric:
There were also some exhibitions, one about mermaids and another about furniture, but I did not photograph many of these. I did wonder however, what you are supposed to place through the hole in this screen:
In an exhibition about the French royalty and wars with the English, there was an original painting of Joan of Ark.
The view from the terrace is extensive:
That isa it for today. TTFN and see-u-later.
