Garden of France Rally 2016

[BedfordGeorge]

Garden of France Rally 4th – 16th September 2016
Following the success of last year’s rally to La Tholy, in the Vosges Mountains, we decided to visit the Loire Valley this year, again in conjunction with Select Sites. As you can see below we have put together another rally that offers the exceptional value for money that we are known for. With our mixture of free time and coach trips to exciting places, all fully included in the price, along with Dover – Calais Ferry crossing and 12 nights pitching fees we offer a rally with no hidden surprises.
Outline Itinerary … September
Sunday 4th Arrive at Camping La Citadelle, Loches
pm : Wine & Nibbles with George & Bill
Monday 5th Free day – Evening Welcoming Meal at Restaurant Le Vicariat
Tuesday 6th am : Visit and Wine Tasting at Cave du Pays du Bourgueil followed by a 3 course meal.
pm : Visit to Chateau Villandry including the Gardens
Wednesday 7th am : Free time but it is Market Day at Loches
pm :Tour of Loches on Le Petit Train
Thursday 8th Free Day
Friday 9th am : Guided visit of Fortresse Royal de Chinon, then a 3 course Lunch.
pm : Guided Tour of Chinon in English
Saturday 10th Free Day
Sunday 11th am : Guided Visit of Chateau d’Amboise
pm : Guided Visit to Chateau & Gardens du Clos Luce-Parc, home of Leonardo da Vinci
Monday 12th Free Day
Tuesday 13th Visit to Zoo de Beauval
Wednesday 14th Free morning - Afternoon visit to the town & Chateau of Montressor
Evening leaving meal at Restaurant Le Grand sand
Thursday 15th Free day
Friday 16th Depart Camping La Citadelle
The cost per couple including Dover – Calais Ferry, 12 nights Pitching Fees and all the Coach Trips and Meals outlined above is ……….. £985* per Couple
We already have some new people joining us this year along with some regulars and the rally is open to all, for more information or to book contact Select Sites on 01606 787635
If you want to contact me you can do so on
01234 772181 07971 593802 gjandm.roberts@gmail.com
Best regards,
George Roberts
* Cost may vary depending on time of sailings chosen. Cheaper off peak rates are available.
Charges will apply for extra people

 

[Hutch]

Sorry George, will not make it, we ferry back from Dunkirk on the 8th of September, might make maybe one night there, on our way up from Carrcissone. Stayed at Le Cittadele a couple of years ago for two weeks and was lovely, a great town a very easy walk to lovely restaurants, good supermarche about 5 minutes away, good forest walks etc. A nice caravan site, have a good rally. Every one enjoy it. Beware the Market cheese seller with the hat.
Hutch.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hello Hutch,
You will be most welcome to join us if you can make it on your way to Dunkirk, if it is on one of our trips hopefully you will be able to join us. I have been to the site before and agree with you, what we look for when choosing a site is ...... walking distance to village/town, min 10amp Electricity, close to Supermarket and with plenty of options within 50 mile radius for our 4 coach trips.
I will look out for the Cheese seller with the hat, as I am a hat man myself.
Thanks for confirming the site is a good one and well placed, hopefully may help some others who are able to join us, to make the decision to do so.

 

[Hutch]

Hello again George, loking at your Gardens Rally, have you had many takers. We are off again 26th of July. For six weeks, dont know if we can meet up with you, in le Cittedale. Depends on route up from Carcissonne. . Just had good few days away at Blue Lias pub. Warwickshire. £20 a night, fantastic site.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hello Hutch,
Good to hear from you, we have 11 vans attending the rally, same number as last year. I was hoping for more, as we do offer great value and an all inclusive pricing. I hope you will be able to drop in on us, as you make your way back home, it would be good to meet you.

Hutch I hope you have a great trip, and the weather is good for you, we and France have had so much rain this year, surely it must change to hot and sunny soon.

We are still able to take more if anyone is interested, the details are all in the first post, with my contact details.

Regards,

George

 

[Hutch]

Garden of France Rally 4th – 16th September 2016
Following the success of last year’s rally to La Tholy, in the Vosges Mountains, we decided to visit the Loire Valley this year, again in conjunction with Select Sites. As you can see below we have put together another rally that offers the exceptional value for money that we are known for. With our mixture of free time and coach trips to exciting places, all fully included in the price, along with Dover – Calais Ferry crossing and 12 nights pitching fees we offer a rally with no hidden surprises.
Outline Itinerary … September
Sunday 4th Arrive at Camping La Citadelle, Loches
pm : Wine & Nibbles with George & Bill
Monday 5th Free day – Evening Welcoming Meal at Restaurant Le Vicariat
Tuesday 6th am : Visit and Wine Tasting at Cave du Pays du Bourgueil followed by a 3 course meal.
pm : Visit to Chateau Villandry including the Gardens
Wednesday 7th am : Free time but it is Market Day at Loches
pm :Tour of Loches on Le Petit Train
Thursday 8th Free Day
Friday 9th am : Guided visit of Fortresse Royal de Chinon, then a 3 course Lunch.
pm : Guided Tour of Chinon in English
Saturday 10th Free Day
Sunday 11th am : Guided Visit of Chateau d’Amboise
pm : Guided Visit to Chateau & Gardens du Clos Luce-Parc, home of Leonardo da Vinci
Monday 12th Free Day
Tuesday 13th Visit to Zoo de Beauval
Wednesday 14th Free morning - Afternoon visit to the town & Chateau of Montressor
Evening leaving meal at Restaurant Le Grand sand
Thursday 15th Free day
Friday 16th Depart Camping La Citadelle
The cost per couple including Dover – Calais Ferry, 12 nights Pitching Fees and all the Coach Trips and Meals outlined above is ……….. £985* per Couple
We already have some new people joining us this year along with some regulars and the rally is open to all, for more information or to book contact Select Sites on 01606 787635
If you want to contact me you can do so on
01234 772181 07971 593802 gjandm.roberts@gmail.com
Best regards,
George Roberts
* Cost may vary depending on time of sailings chosen. Cheaper off peak rates are available.
Charges will apply for extra people

 

[Hutch]

George, got to advertise it, two years ago, we got a super pitch for two weeks at €16 a night through acsi. , hope i might make a night o two on our way back up.
Hutch.

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Hi Hutch,

As I run it on a personal non profit making basis, I try to keep the costs down, basically just using the list of names who have been on the Practical Caravan Rallies, run by the magazine. When they decided not to continue with the rally after 2013, a few of the regulars asked me if I would step in which I did. I run it in conjunction with Select Sites who being a commercial organisation need to make a profit, but they carry the financial risk, which I would be reticent to do. When I am on my trips I try to involve people I meet along the way, but it is stressful waiting to see if we get enough. I intend to see how this year goes before deciding if I will do it again next year.

Hope we get to meet in Loches and have a beer together.

 

[Hutch]

Fully understand. The route I have chosen going north from Carcissone will take me near to Loche, so see how it goes. Ok mate three week and we are off to Vermenton , near to Chablise. For three weeks and then three days , touring. For the other tree weeks, Hopefully buy you a beer in Loche.
Hutch..

 

[BedfordGeorge]

Well we are back from the rally and our ongoing tour to Berlin, so it is time to give my report on the rally. I have to say that the weather was great, we only had on day of rain and Bill Campbell and I have decided to run another rally next year, I will of course post it as soon as we have it organised. If you have any questions about our rally please do not hesitate to contact me, I confirm our pricing is all inclusive.

The Gardens of France Rally 4th to 16th September 2016
At La Citadelle Campsite in Loches
With the success of our previous rallies to Bad Liebenzell in the Black Forrest and La Tholy in the Auvergne, I was a little worried that it would be difficult to come up with another great rally, I have to say my fears were unfounded. With the help of Bill Campbell and Select Sites, we came up with a great site and some varied and interesting coach trips. The site in Loches is within a 10 minute walk of the historic centre of the town, with its Ancient Citadelle and Castle sitting above it. The town had a good selection of shops and cafes and an excellent market on Wednesday and Saturdays.
On the Sunday evening after everyone had set up, Bill and I put on our usual Drinks and Nibbles night and friendships old and new were renewed and made, the weather was kind and we were able to do it on the field. The Monday was a free day, but in the evening we visited the Restaurant Le Vicariat, for our welcoming meal. The restaurant is situated in the centre of the old city, between the Royal Logis Castle and the Royal Church and the food was well received by all.
Our first coach trip was on Tuesday to visit the Fortresse Royale le de Chinon where we were joined by Annabelle our guide and translator. With her personality she gave us lots of historic information during our tour, without ever confusing us with too much. Having had plenty of time to look around the castle we visited a restaurant outside the castle for an excellent 3 course meal washed down with plenty of wine whilst allowing us to rest our legs in readiness for our walk around the historic town. After our meal we made our way into the ancient town centre and Annabelle walked us around pointing out the various historic houses and churches whilst giving us a potted history of the town.
On the Wednesday we had the morning free to visit, in our own time, the excellent market in Loches. In the afternoon we made our way to the town centre for a trip on the Le Petit Train, this visited all the main sites in the town, with a running commentary in English on the buildings. At the end of the tour we made our way to the Logis Royal, home to the kings of France in the past, where there was a good display of old weapons and armour.
After a free day on Thursday we were off to visit La Cave du Pays De Bourgueil on Friday for a wine tasting. Upon arrival we were met by an Englishman Michael Cridford, who retired to Bourgueil some years ago, and now makes a living working with the local tourist office. He took us to the vineyard and with the use of some large excellent photographs he gave us a talk on the life of the vine over a year, most agreed it was one of the best they had ever had. Michael then took us into the Cave which dates back to the 16th century to visit the museum of wine, which has a unique collection of wine presses. We then enjoyed another excellent 3 course meal in the unique setting of the cave itself, again quaffed down with the local wine. We then had the official wine tasting and many took the opportunity to purchase the local wine before we set off for our next destination, the Chateau and Gardens of Villandry. The gardens are world renowned and were enjoyed by all, the Chateau had a great collection of paintings and many interesting items of furniture. After a long day, we were all tired but happy to be heading home back to Loches.
After another free day on the Sunday we were off again, this time to visit Amboise, having been joined again by Annabelle as our guide. Upon arrival we visited the Chateau where Annabelle again gave us much interesting information on the Chateau and its inhabitants. At the conclusion of the tour we had 2 hours free time to look around Amboise or have a meal and a drink. We met again to walk up to the Chateau and Jardins of Clos Luce-Pare, a home that was given to Leonardo da Vinci by the King of France, where he spent the last years of his life. Annabelle again gave us her normal excellent informative talk. There is an interesting exhibition of his designs within the house and the large gardens have many models showing examples of his work. At the end of our visit we again made our way back to Loches, once more tired but happy.
After a free day on the Tuesday we had a visit unlike any we have had before, we visited the Zoo Parc de Beauval for the day, this is as good as it gets with zoos. The weather, which had been superb up to now, with no rain whatsoever, went in to overdrive and reached 34’c. This was actually too hot, and the animals generally were in comatose condition and it was tiring walking around the zoo, which is built over a few hills. However everyone had a great time and it was particularly good to see the Pandas, which are part of a worldwide breeding programme. The animals all had a good amount of space which was good, and the Parc had Sea Lion and Free Flying Birds shows included, and the feeding times were well signposted for all. On this day we made our own arrangements for eating and there is a good selection of restaurants in the Parc.
The following day the weather changed, and it rained off and on all day, we had the morning free before once again joining the coach in the site car park, where Annabelle was also waiting for us. We set off for a short journey to Montresor, rated as one of the top 100 villages in France. Another day so another Chateau, Montresor naturally where we were greeted by a guide, provided by the Chateau, despite us having Annabelle. The guide was an older lady and very determined to tell us everything she knew about the Chateau, in French! Annabelle then gave us an English version in about 20% of the time, this gave us much amusement which we managed to keep to ourselves. To finish off the afternoon a walk along the river and through the village was the plan, however some decided to head for the local coffee shop, whilst some of us braver souls pressed on, with Annabelle’s commentary once again giving us some interesting facts about the town. We then headed back to the site, before saying our goodbyes to Annabelle, who with her personality had added so much to the rally. Later we all walked to the local George Sand Hotel to enjoy our leaving meal and an excellent meal with some fine wine was on the menu. Unfortunately each course was quickly followed by the next until at 9pm we were informed the hotel restaurant was closing, this was unexpected and disappointing but we had to accept the situation and headed back to site earlier than what we wanted.
The weather on the Friday was rain free and we were all able to take our awnings down and pack them away dry which was a relief. After visiting the local supermarket to stock up on necessities we all had early nights in preparation for our ongoing journeys. On the Saturday morning we made our final fare wells and slowly drifted on our way to our next destination, for some the journey home, for others extending their holiday.
I am pleased to say that the rally met all our best expectations, Select Sites again put it together and I believe it offered the best value for money rally out of the UK in 2016. It has encouraged Bill Campbell and me to run another one next year, so watch this space. I give my thanks to Bill Campbell for his ongoing support, Karen Camara at Select Sites and all who supported us this year.
For more information contact me at gjandm.roberts@gmail.com or Mob : 07971 593802

 

[Hutch]

Hi George, We must meet up, . Glad that Loche was good , a lovely site, decided to go straight north from Perpinian bad move with a heavy car and heavy caravan. Hopefully wiĺl meet up with you soon and have a good get together with new people. Maybe St Neots or over that way.
Hutch.

 

[Anseo]

Hi George, We must meet up, . Glad that Loche was good , a lovely site, decided to go straight north from Perpinian bad move with a heavy car and heavy caravan. Hopefully wiĺl meet up with you soon and have a good get together with new people. Maybe St Neots or over that way.
Hutch.

I've heard about slow and easy conversations :blink:

Hope George wasn't checking for replies every day for the last 1 Year and 3 Months.