The Wombles & Wargaming

A somewhat tenous link in the title with The Wombles and wargaming, but all will become clearer soon I hope! Well, we have recently spent a wonderful week on the outskirts of Nantes, visiting our daughter and son-in-law, our first holiday since 2019 and the first with just us. 

The Vendee

In advance, our daughter asked if there was anything I would like to see, and aside from the usual castles and art galleries, I wondered if there was a museum dedicated to the Vendee Uprising 1793-1794, given we would be very close to the Vendee itself. Luckily for me there was a general museum on the Vendee, but one that had a superb section on the Uprising itself. Happy Days! Sadly photos were not allowed inside, but I did pick up the following book for about 4 Euros, so an absolute bargain.

Now a good few years ago I did buy a bunch of figures with the aim of gaming this Uprising, alongside a good book on it, but one that is sadly a rather dull read. But having been to the musem and driven around the area, the spark was re-kindled and this paused project might see the light of day once again. 

So onto the tenous link mentioned above. We drove past a sign to Cholet, which was the place of one of the major battles of the Uprising. I mentioned in passing that one of the Wombles was named Madame Cholet and it turns out that she was in fact named after the town. The icing on the cake so to speak was the fact that our son-in-law was born and lived in Cholet!

Clisson

We took a visit to the town Clisson on what proved to be a very hot day (35C), but didn't feel too hot to us due to a nice breeze and the lower humidity compared to Bristol. However there was an orange heat alert out, which meant that the castle was closed to visitors. Our son-in-law joked that the French take any excuse to have a day off! A real shame as the outside looked fantastic. 

The medieval bridge leading to the heart of Clisson.

The town was destroyed after the Vendee Uprising and rebuilt in the Italian style, based upon the Domaine de La Garenne Lemot the other side of the river.

An idea of how high the walls and tower are from near river level.

The imposing gatehouse and drawbridge, as would have been.

The other side of the castle and I just love that tree!

Another entrance from the town side and high above the river.

Very impressive I must admit and bought from the Lords of Clisson by a sculptor after the Napoleonic Wars to use it as a folly.

The rebuilt church in the Italian style, as it looks completely different to any other churches we saw.

Churches

One thing that struck me when walking around Carquefou, where we stayed, and other villages we visited, was just how big the churches were compared to those in the UK. They also invariably sat at the highest point of the village and formed the centre of it too. This made finding our way around very easy as you just had to look up to reorientate yourself!

The front entrance to the church in Carquefou, which had a very nice interior too.

You get a good idea of the sheer size of this church when viewed from here.

WWII

On Google maps in advance of our visist, I noticed a street called 9th August 1944, which I imagined signifed part of the liberation of Nantes. And so it proved to be, or at least when the first American soldiers arrived in Carquefou. Below is a photo of the memorial signage and the current view of the Place St Pierre.

Memorials

Aside from street names commemorating famous people or actions etc, I did notice plenty of War memorials on all of our trips out. They ranged from quite modest ones like this, to some pretty spectacular ones in Nantes itself.

On this side it noted the widows and orphans (I think) created by WWI, not something I'd seen before.

A reminder of the other Wars fought by France over the years.

Sorry for the very blurred photo here, but this was inside the church in Suce-sur-Erdre. There was a later stone memorial erected outside too, with a WWI soldier standing guard.

Beautifully painted, including those who were never found.

Again a reminder of other Wars fought and added to later.

Buildings 

What I did notice about Nantes and its surrounding villages and towns, was that the buildings were all pretty much white, or light beige, with grey slate tiled roofs. I was expecting a bit more colour, but this generally came from the shutter and doors, with the odd exception her and there. A few reference photos for use when painting up my terrain.

An old empty house opposite the 9th August 1944 sign. Fairly typical of many we did see, as it seems the French prefer more modern and light houses or apartments, as opposed to these characterful but dark inside ones. 

Rahter like our visits to Austria, you seem any roadside shrines and crosses as you travel around. A nice and simple on here compared to some we say, many with elaborate ironwork protecting the statue inside.

Very different from the norm we saw with its exposed brickwork.

The presbytry to the local church and catholic school, showing the 'beige' used alongside the 'white'.

A bit of a sucker for signs like this!

Now I would have liked to have taken plenty more photos, but the heat and schedule prevented me from doing so, plus I wanted to take it all in rather than constantly snapping photos. Afterall, we will be visiting many more times, so there will be more opportunities in the future.

What Next?

Now the holiday season is nearly over and SWMBO returns to work in a week's time, I have plenty of ideas and some deadlines too. 

• The Colours Wargames Show is on 6th September, so I'm looking forward to that and need to place an order with Pendraken for collection on the day. 
• Then there is a visit to Chris Gregg's to fight the Battle of Echmuhl 1809 in mid-September. I can only make one day but it is always fun! 
• Painting wise I need to finish some WWII kit for my Canadians in Normandy campaign, as well as some stuff for a possible Early War game.
• The Cotswold Wargames Day is on again in mid-October, so Dave and I are pondering on what to play. As WWII is an option and something we have not done before at a show, ideas we have need honing down and a scenario firming up etc.
• Terrain is being painted, made and planned, for use with all of the above. Something I love doing and easy to fit in as and when. But of course I do need to remember to paint figures!

So there we have it. Not quite a Keith Ross class holiday tour of Nantes, but hopefully there might have been something of interest in there for you and if so, comments always grealty appreciated.

Until next time!

TTFN.