After Fontevraud Abbey we stopped over in Chinon for lunch and a stroll around the town. Having been only very recently in Saumur, we found the layout to be remarkably similar, with a large castle dominating the skyline above the town which sits astride the Vienne river. The Chateau de Chinon was the favourite residence of Henry II of England and was heavily developed during his reign; indeed he died here in 1189 after suffering considerably due to a bleeding stomach ulcer. His body was buried at Fontevraud Abbey.

Naturally no visit to the Loire would be complete without paying our respects at as many wineries as possible… The excellent M. Plouzeau wines tasting and sales area is situated in a cave dug into the riverbanks. I did not have my tripod to hand, and was of course already busy (these wines don’t drink themselves, you know!), and so I pushed the 5D Mk III’s iso up to 6400… Noise cleaned up in Photoshop…

Dinner at the Grand Monarque in Azay-le-Rideau, where the food, accommodation and overall service was absolutely superb…