Travel: bike to Caen, train to Angers

Cycling: 11.3 miles

A quick Airbnb review: we stayed overnight in a two room annex to a family home about a mile from Ouistreham ferry port. It was a typically quirky little space but the basics – a comfortable, quiet bedroom, hot shower and relaxing furniture – made it a winner. 

The coffee machine was predictably tricky to work. Like the kettles of old, it only performed when you’d given up hope and moved onto other matters. Then it stuttered into life, dribbling out a bitter and slightly stale tasing brew. 

We popped out early into the town for a decent coffee and croissant. It was really chilly – definitely autumnal. Our puffa jackets, which we hadn’t really expected to use on this holiday, but had packed due to their light weight and compressibility, were immediately pressed into action. 

However, two hours later, as we headed off to Caen to catch a train to Angers, the sun had emerged and late summer had re-asserted itself. 

The 16km to Caen was on a lovely tarmac bike track which followed the canalised river Orne right into the city centre. We passed or were passed by numerous other cyclists of all types, plus almost as many runners. 

Mid-route we rode by the famous Pegasus Bridge of D-Day fame. 

Even within Caen, the bike routes and Komoot kept us safe and largely traffic free: apart from crossing a handful of roads, the only tarmac we shared with vehicles was the final 200m to Caen Station. 

We’d pre-booked tickets for our journey to Angers, including bike spaces. But no one ever turns up for a train journey with a bike without, at least, a sense of trepidation.

Lugging two heavily loaded bikes up and down staircases to reach our platform was tricky and reminded me of bike and train travel in the UK (i.e. bikes are an afterthought). But the train had dedicated bike spaces, complete with hanging hooks and we also found seats. 

Despite being delayed by a technical issue, we made our connection at Le Mans where we again tackled a pretty unfriendly stairway and boarded a second train, this time with more rudimentary cycle provision – a space by the toilets. It was good to see wheelchair users getting dedicated support from friendly station staff. We could have done with something similar. 

One final set of steps at Angers station and we were free from public transport (hopefully) for the time being.

Angers is a big and busy city and there’s lots of redevelopment work that’s not been finished. Footways and cycle paths are hard to differentiate as nothing is labelled. This meant a “make it up as you go along” journey to our Airbnb.

Having left the busy centre passing the chateau and crossing the Maine river in the process, we then had a few short cobbled streets to contend with before ending up in a leafy suburb. Our Airbnb is on the top floor of what appears to be a dance school.

Evening Update:

An evening in Angers revealed what a busy and vibrant city it is. It’s also hilly and has some spectacular architecture. At bit like Bradford would be if it was in the Loire region.

We picked a busy restaurant full of families and enjoyed a very good chicken burger (Phil) and seafood salad (Julie). Plus beer and ice creams.

A dusk wander through the streets included another more leisurely look at the awesome Angers chateau, which is more of a traditional castle than many of this region’s famous chateaux. Its distinctive banded stonework is very striking and the whole building is remarkably intact and massive.

Julie adds. Angers is definitely worth another visit. It has a lot of green spaces and also according to the guide books a very impressive tapestry depicting the Apocalypse housed in the castle!