Sunday, August 21st – Day Five – Bain de Bretagne to Blain, which was closed!

I started the day with a run around the village of Bain de Bretagne.  It is not a huge town but set on a hill so there was plenty of variety in the level of effort.

As I ran past the cemetery I decided to check out the 11th-century tombstone – a bit battered by the elements to be sure – but still there!

Another long cycling day and Husband’s rear is starting to feel the pain from yesterday climb to 346 metres – and it is gonna get worse but he says he is really enjoying it!

We are heading on country roads to the commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France known as Blain – population under 9,000 and shrinking.I was not hopeful that we could find our hotel

I was not hopeful that we could find our hotel La Mercerais, which appears to have the same name as the three roads it is based in the middle of, despite no website to check with … but they did promise private parking and free Wifi! We thought it should be okay?

Reality check time!  This B&B, although run by delightful people and being spotlessly clean has a few drawbacks, e.g. There is no Internet access whatsoever, no hairdryer and no opportunity to eat dinner there;  it is also several miles from the centre of Blain and the postcode completely flummoxed the tyrant SatNav, which gaily took us to the opposite side of town and dumped us ….. We had not arrived at our destination although Jane stoutly maintained that we had done so!

But, if you are visiting Blain and need a bed,  La Mercerais appears to be the only option, certainly the central hotel in the Centre Ville was not only closed for Sunday but boarded up  with a notice for sale! Therefore, if you have booked through Booking.com make sure that you also obtain the GPS coordinates for a smartphone, because, not only does the SatNav not understand the situation but Blain is not exactly a lively, happening place, especially not on a Sunday afternoon! We found that the launderette was the only place open in the whole town and it took some time to find someone in it who had even heard of La Mercerais!

Unfortunately,  we didn’t share our concerns with another couple, with bicycles, who were obviously also searching for a residence the centre of Blain, they turned out to also be seeking the same B&B and they finally worked it out through using the coordinates for their Smart phone. They arrived almost at the same time as us – on their bikes – whilst we had put John’s bike back in the car and negotiated the lengthly scenic routes as advised by the man in the launderette!

Lovely people, Kath and Nigel – we later all partook of pizza in one of the two restaurants in town open on a Sunday evening in August. The second one, a Chinese Take Away with some tables, was already closing when we left the place around 9pm! Who knows, maybe we will see our new friends again in Florence next year?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Skipper69 Wolfgang Bauer

Famous for the Loire Château de Blain on the Banks of the Loire River- we are beginning to make our way down through France now -although sadly we didn’t have enough time to visit the castle.

As we had to drive to and from the B&B to the town centre we had to restrict our alcohol intake last night but in Nantes tomorrow I am looking forward to the wine from the Loire Valley – Sancerre being a long time favourite!

The high spot of this stopover for me was an early morning run through the French countryside.

Mist over the hillsides, the white sun rising through the mist, a shaggy pony in a field trotting  alongside whinnying for a chat, exotic looking flowers competing with the dandelions in the hedgerows – it was a magical experience and I doubt whether this area has seen much change this century, or even last?