Loire Valley chateau photograph...

Chateau du Rivau

You can see more chateaux pics here

Patrimoine day 2013...Part III...the lost chateau

Seeing the town of Chatillon-sur-Indre from the top of the donjon meant we could get an idea of how the former chateau (which we weren't really aware of before) fitted into to the fortified enclosure.

In 1274 Philip lll gave Chatillon to Pierre de la Brosse who was a favourite of the royal court. It was he who had the prestigious lodgings (chateau) built.

With its modern flat-roof  extensions and alterations the view from the inside the former courtyard isn't impressive...

....and once you enter through the normally closed doors, it doesn't really improve that much - as inside has, sometime in the past,been turned into a theatre...

...judging by the carpet and material and style of the seats it was probably back in the 60's!

This is no longer in use and has been superseded by a newer alteration underneath.

You do not really get any feel for its former grandeur until you pass through the building onto the large west- facing terrace which had been built in front of the now destroyed western 'curtain' wall.

From here you get great views and a strong sense of security.

The views from the street below does not give much away.

You can get better views from aerial views on the town's website here. It is claimed that it was used as a model for the royal lodgings at Loches - you can definitely see the similarities.

Just like Azay...

Was going through some pics from last year and came across our visit to Chateau de l'Islette just outside Azay-le-Rideau which reminded me that I had not added it to my list of chateaux on experienceloire.com.  The chateau is privately owned and is similar in style to its more famous neighbour in the town.

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The chateau sits in beautiful, relaxing grounds with its own lake.

The other thing I remember is that the house is still used by the owners out of season and there was evidence of this as you pass through the rooms, although it did not spoil the visit - would recommend it!

Sometimes you have to stop...

After dropping some friends off at Poitiers train station yesterday we had to go over to Angles-surl'Anglin, so we decided to go cross-country and see if we could find some roads we had not been on - this is always interesting without a map or compass and certainly no GPS. We decided to leave the D910 main road a little earlier than we would usually do  through Chasseneuil de Poitou on the D18 and then on to the D4.

A little up the road were pleasantly surprised to see on our left a chateau that was new to us. It was closed but I took these shots over the wall - looks interesting plus there was a lot of work going on - preparing for the new season we supposed.  

It is Chateau de Vayres a private chateau that is available for marriages, conferences, seminars or, as they put it, any 'other gathering'. You can rent the chateau including a tent with a capacity of 700 people and soon after the 2013 work is completed a room with a capacity of 250 people. Do not think we will be needing their services but if you did I'm sure it would make a great venue.

Revisiting Rivau...

One of the 'revisits' we did last year was to the delightful Chateau du Rivau to see how its gardens were maturing ...we were not disappointed, the owners are doing a great job in turning it into a fairytale-like castle to enchant children and parents alike.We have updated our experienceloire site after our visit.

You can check out Colin and Elizabeth's post on Rivau's jousting tournament here.

A walk around...Villandry gardens.

The gardens at Chateau de Villandry here in the Loire valley are one of the 'must see' visits of any trip to this beautiful part of France. Split on three levels, the ornamental garden, the water garden and the kitchen garden.The gardens change with the seasons... here a picture is certainly worth a thousand words...