Sid’s and Gedinne

I had thought to ride my Brompton at Sid’s, but in truth it was nice to be a passenger in the car.

Having not pedalled for several days, I hitched up my skirts and hit the cycle paths for a mile and a bit into Vierzon, somewhere I have never been to.

It sits on a hill, above the quite attractive river Cher, which is canalised in part:

IMG_1103.jpegIMG_1105.jpeg

That aside, I’m afraid that there is not too much to commend the town, a lot of which shows empty shops, all of which look to have been closed for some time:

IMG_1106.jpegIMG_1107.jpegIMG_1108.jpegIMG_1109.jpegIMG_1110.jpeg

I did though manage to find what seems to be the only bar in town:

IMG_1111.jpeg

IMG_1113.jpeg

If anyone wonders about the cap, it comes from the bar in the paddock at Spa-Francorchamps race circuit. The bar is L’Arbre ‘qui tue’, literally ‘The tree that kills’, in recognition of the hundreds of trees that used to border the track and did for many racers
 
Last edited:
I have read a little about the town. One oddity was that Vierzon was divided in the last war, the river Cher forming the boundary between the German occupied north and the ‘Free French’ Vichy south. It was later hit very hard by a USAAF raid.

Economically, it suffered post war, with the collapse of the local iron and light industrial works.

Is it somewhere to come back to? In a word, no. The campsite is nice enough (in a campsite way) as is the river. But the town itself is definitely in decline, with the usual bunches of feral looking youths hanging about.
 
Staying there again tonight or on the move today?
 
Udders said:
Staying there again tonight or on the move today?
Click to expand...

One night only, not least as there is little to keep me in the town.

Now to Gedinne. I am not sure what day the circuit campsite (it’s a field) opens, so I’ll stay locally and then investigate. I suspect it’s Thursday, but who knows?
 
Last edited:
Gedinne camping is suitably relaxed, not least as the reception is closed until Wednesday.

However, in Franglais, I gathered from the three (remarkably polite) youths at the barrier, that a phone call to the owner would sort it out.

They were right! The code to open the gate was given to me over the phone, along with some suitably vague instructions as to where to park and hook-up the power:

IMG_1121.jpeg

Once again, an adaptor for the power supply is a necessity:

IMG_1122.jpeg

It’s my kind of place, so I have booked in for two nights, then going to the field at the circuit for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. The owner told me to put the money into the post box, if he is not around when I come to leave.

I’ll pedal into Gedinne later, to see what its flesh pots offer.
 
Last edited:
Mad Hatter said:
Only just caught up with this thread. If you’re ever down that way again, stop in, or close, to Bourges, much much nicer place than Vierzon and just a few km further south. I used to live there. Nice medieval centre with cathederal.
Click to expand...

The strange thing is that I chose Vierzon, simply as I remembered seeing signs for the place over the years. I should have done a little research, as I usually do. The laidback time at Sid’s made me lazy.

:beerjug:
 
Mad Hatter said:
Only just caught up with this thread. If you’re ever down that way again, stop in, or close, to Bourges, much much nicer place than Vierzon and just a few km further south. I used to live there. Nice medieval centre with cathederal.
Click to expand...
a few people have mentioned Bourges as a decent place. Seems to be the right sort of distance, if arriving on a ferry at 6am in Caen, as a stopover when heading towards the Ardeche. Maybe a couple of nights and have a day mooching about in Bourges before heading further south.
 
There’s certainly plenty to see and do in the area. Not least you can pretend you are back in the 100 Years War and torch villages.
 
wessie said:
a few people have mentioned Bourges as a decent place. Seems to be the right sort of distance, if arriving on a ferry at 6am in Caen, as a stopover when heading towards the Ardeche. Maybe a couple of nights and have a day mooching about in Bourges before heading further south.
Click to expand...
Bourges is lovely .
Always stay at the Mercure .

IMG_6317.jpegIMG_6318.jpeg

There’s a great Italian 10 minutes walk

IMG_6319.jpeg

The restaurant is now called La Scaleta for some reason

IMG_6320.jpeg

Been many times , the last in May this year
 
There is one bar in Gedinne, which really is nothing more than a large village.

IMG_1146.jpegIMG_1148.jpegIMG_1149.jpegIMG_1151.jpeg

The good news is that 50 cl is cheaper at EUR 5.40 than Vierzon, where it was EUR 8.

IMG_1147.jpeg

As it is in the southern part of Belgium, in the ‘Land of Valleys’, a gentle drizzle is falling…… nothing new there.
 
Last edited:
Mad Hatter said:
Only just caught up with this thread. If you’re ever down that way again, stop in, or close, to Bourges, much much nicer place than Vierzon and just a few km further south. I used to live there. Nice medieval centre with cathederal.
Click to expand...
A French mate of mine describes it as the "dead centre"
 
Arsey said:
Bourges is lovely .
Always stay at the Mercure .
Click to expand...

I was looking a d'Angleterre which seems to be a Best Western, they seem to a bit like Logis in France, all independents under a marketing banner. It is more central and has a garage. One of my regular travelling companions has a disability so likes to be pretty central. Closer to that Italian too, and plenty of other nearby options.
 
Wapping said:
Indeed.

I am no great fan of Stella, but equally (as with higher octane red wines) I have gone off beers that break 7%, just for the sake of it.

:beerjug:
Click to expand...

some friends were caught out recently in Sedan, where most bars have Belgian beers on tap. They didn't want the Jupiler piss and asked what I was drinking. I pointed to the Tripel and they started necking pints. The following night, they were on the Jupiler. Bloody lightweights.
 
Wapping said:
I have gone off beers that break 7%, just for the sake of it.

:beerjug:
Click to expand...

I hope you don’t insure anything in Gdansk, some of my favourite tipples in Poland start at 7%, usually washed down with a few Vodka before bedtime.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top Bottom