I can’t remember the last time Team Basil has spent so long on a Campsie, if it ever. has. We will have been 7 days on Camping Moulin Fort by the time we leave tomorrow.

The weather has been unbroken sunshine and with a constant view of the River Cher from our chairs, it has been verging on the idyllic.

We’ve done some walks and as a result of one of them yesterday I collect my first ever TICK!!!! We are well used to ticks in Team Basil, but up until now our dogs have been the sole blood donors, but yesterday one tick decided it was time for a bit of human haemoglobin. Sarah quickly whipped it out using a technique honed over the years on Skye and previous furry members of Team Basil.

While we’ve been here there have been a few hot air balloons floating overhead towards the Chateau. But yesterday evening there must have been a balloon festival because 20 brightly covered dirigibles drifted overhead.

Throughout our stay here we have seen canoeists floating down the river towards the Chateau at Chenonceau and then they and their canoes are brought back to the start by minibus. So we went over the river yesterday to see if we could take Skye with us for a paddle. With my broken French and the canoe company owner’s basic English I thought we had arranged for us to clamber into a boat at 2.30 pm today. However, when I telephoned to confirm he told us they were full.

Today we thought we should get off site so I found a Google page detailing the best Loire Chateau’s for dogs. I told me that Chateau Montpoupon, which is only 15 miles from our campsite, allows dogs not only in their gardens, which most do, but also in the fully furnished Chateau. So we set off early to avoid the projected 29ºC heat later in the day.

Chateau Montpoupon turned out to be a rather plain Chateau, originally built as a Castle possibly 1200 years ago, which was mostly destroyed during the hundred year war and then rebuilt as a Chateau during the Renaissance.

It was mildly diverting. The rooms were mostly decorated as they were early in the last century and took about 20 minutes to view. There was a separate chapel and there outbuildings had been turned into a fairly tatty Museum of Hunting, which Sarah did not visit.

My conclusion is that choosing buildings to visit based on how dog friendly they are may not be the best way to proceed!

On the way back to the campsite we called in at a winery, hoping to sample some of their wares. Unfortunately we arrive at five minutes to midday and, you guessed it, they closed at noon. Not be deterred we bought four bottles of different wines and the idea is to sample them tonight and if any are palatable we will pop in on our way to Le Mans tomorrow and fill Basil’s boot.