Sunday, 13 July 2025

Rare Bulbs in the Wild in the Loire Valley

Are you a botanist or a gardener who loves spring bulbs? Did you know that we have a rare bulb that grows wild in the Loire Valley? This area is one of the last strongholds of the strange origami box shaped flowers of the Snakeshead Fritillary. If you visit in March or April you may have a chance of seeing them in the wild, along the Indre River near the Chateau of Azay le Rideau. 

Snakeshead Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris, France.

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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Sunday, 6 July 2025

Instagrammer Watching in the Loire Valley

Instagrammers are a strange young breed apart as far as most of our clients are concerned. They are mostly old enough to be the Instagrammer's grandparents, and find their behaviour a bit vulgar. Happily, the Loire Valley is not infested with extreme Instagrammers posing ludicrously and pushing ordinary visitors out of the way. So when we encounter one we can treat it as part of the entertainment and enjoy the show. Like others in the room we proceeded to take our own doubtless inadequate photos of the proceedings for later posting on social media. This young woman had sensibly timed her arrival at Chenonceau on a busy day in May for the very late afternoon, when most visitors have gone home. Despite having a team of photographer, director, and a bloke we dubbed 'The Handbag Wrangler', she did not cause a scene or any inconvenience to anyone else. She was also wearing a classier outfit than a lot of them that we've seen. Properly professional we'd say.

Instagrammer at Chenonceau, Indre et loire, France. Photo by loire Valley Time Travel.




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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel. 

Sunday, 29 June 2025

Wild Daffodils in the Loire Valley

Did you know that Wild Daffodils are native to France and can be seen in the Loire Valley if you visit in March? Because we specialise in both the cultural heritage and the natural heritage of the Loire Valley we are always keen to point out natural seasonal highlights. Visit the Loire Valley in March and we will be making sure to show you drifts of Wild Daffodils. These were brought into gardens centuries ago and are the ancestors of many of the lovely cultivars you enjoy today, and which you can also see in the Loire Valley. 

Wild daffodils Narcissus pseudonarcissus, France.


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For details of our private guided tours of chateaux, gardens, wineries, markets and more please visit the Loire Valley Time Travel website. We would be delighted to design a tour for you.

We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos. You may also like to check out our YouTube channel.