Sunday 26 June 2011

Moulin Fort

I have spent quite a lot of time at Chenonceau lately, and while Susan is inside the château I usually sit near (or in) Célestine.

In the carpark at Chenonceau.
Célestine always attracts attention
The last couple of visits I have gone off for a wander along the river or through the village, and on one such wander I ended up at the Moulin Fort at Chisseaux. Not the mill itself - according to Google Maps that would appear to have been on an island (not sure how that would work, really, as there doesn't ever appear to have been a bridge to the island) but the northern bank.

I rather suspect that the actual mill was on the southern bank associated with the weir, as the map shows a stream that looks suspiciously like a mill race, and usually a weir is necessary to keep water levels high enough to make a mill usable all the year round.

The weir and lock at Moulin Fort
Also associated is a lock, dating from when the river was used for transport. These days the only transport on the river is the occasional canoe, and tourist sightseeing boats which run a very short course down under the chateau and back.

I have tried to discover more about this mill, but the only references on the internet are about a pair of camping sites - either side of the river - which share its name.

It's a nice place for a wander though.

Simon

2 comments:

GaynorB said...

On our first ever visit to the Loire valley with our children, back in 1991, we stayed with our caravan at site near Chenonceaux called Le Moulin Fort.

GaynorB said...

I can spell Chenonceau - honestly.

Well at least I can now!!

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