Loire Valley - Day Ten

Our last day in the Loire Valley.  This morning we visited Chateau de Saumur for a more detailed look.

We opted to enter via the Sally port entrance with it's small drawbridge across the moat.

The interiors of the chateaus we've visited are very similar.  The wall hangings, paintings, etc are obviously replicas.  It's the architecture that's interesting.

Being located on to of a hill means a dry moat.

Two interesting things in the above photo.  The rough stonework suggest part of the chateau has either been removed or failed.  At the top the battlement overhangs the wall with opening in the base. 

Used to pour  heated sand, water or oil down onto attackers.  They are not Garderobes (toilets).  I doubt anyone would want to walk to the top of a castle to go to the toilet

This is a garderobe.  The pigeon might have an unlucky day!

The next chateau was Chateau de Breze.

It didn't look as impressive as those we'd previously visited until we realised it's reputedly the largest fortress in Europe.  The majority of it is underground.

The troglodyte network under the castle and in the moats, including rooms used for daily life (bakery, stable, grape press and wine storage)

The dark grey portion in the above phone is the portion of the chateau above ground and the light grey underground.   It has a wide 18 metre deep dry moat and the stone excavated from the moat was used to construct the chateau.

The thin stone column in the above photo supports a foot drawbridge

Tomorrow we leave the Loire and head northwest.