Rain! For the first time this trip we feel we have weather more usual in England. The hot sunny days are now behind us and we woke to heavy skies.
Not to be deterred, we walked from the campsite to Château-Gaillard. Considered a cutting-edge example of military architecture in its day, it was constructed by Richard the Lionheart in record time on the high chalk cliffs dominating a great meander in the River Seine. Today it is a ruin. The two villages we visited, that sit below, Le Grand Andely and Le Petit Andely, have merged to form one riverside village, Les Andelys, in the heart of an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Richard the Lionheart ruled a kingdom through his marriage that stretched from the Pyrenees to the Scottish borders, encompassing England, Normandy, Aquitaine, Poitiers, Maine and Anjou. He had the castle built to protect his Norman possessions, and its capital, Rouen. It took just two years, 1196-1198, some say possibly in only one, to build.
Richard and Philippe Auguste, the powerful French king of the day, had gone on Crusade together but they fell out on the way. History does not tell us why, but it hardly mattered since Richard died of gangrene after he was shot by a crossbow bolt in 1199. He was succeeded by his hapless, hopeless and helpless brother King John who would soon be landless as well (he is known by history as King John the Landless) since he lost both the castle and Normandy as a result!
We tried to reclaim the castle by shouting “for England and St George” from the ramparts. Not sure we had any success, so settled for coffee in a very damp Les Andelys!
The Brindley Boxer 