The mountain stage - Sancerre

Distant Sancerre, on it's hill

From La Charité to Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire - our intended next stop-over, took us along the trail, partly on the levée and partly on roads, directly past Sancerre which we wanted to visit.  The lure of the local wine played absolutely no part in this decision....  We had also hoped to swerve across the river into Pouilly-sur-Loire, home of the famous Pouilly-Fumé wine with it's distinctive smoky aroma, but never saw a signpost - a consistent fault we found with the Loire Valley trail.

The villages and towns associated with the trail simply did not take advantage of the passing potential and shout their wares.  A sign pointing off the trail to a nearby village that had an épicerie, shop or boulangère would have been very welcome as finding food was an important consideration on each stage.

Lunch-time at the 'lavoir' - St. Satur

We had been warned that Sancerre was at the top of a considerable rise and they did not lie..!  Fortunately about half-way up the steep, busy road we found a bread shop and a delightful little resting place built over an old 'lavoir' - the village washing area.  Circled by a pond and decorated with pots of flowers were sets of tables and chairs (carefully screwed down onto the wooden decking) where we were able to enjoy our sandwiches and cakes in relative comfort.  Crossing the road to 'Chez Brigitte's' we had one of the better cups of coffee of the trip.  Hats off to the commune of St. Satur for having the imagination to provide such a welcome spot....

Tom and Mary - Le Feeling...

We walked most of the remaining steep hill into the town centre, finding pushing on the pavement easier than dicing with death in competition with the fairly heavy traffic.  The town was very quaint, busy and full of tourists so we joined the throng and walked slowly through the centre, taking in the sights as we could and enjoying the views from the various viewpoints.  The descent, back onto the Loire Valley trail, was via a very steep, rough road which we had avoided by sticking to the main road but it did rejoin the trial just a few k's short of Cosne and our next campsite.