GITES
WITH POOLS
Attraction in the Vendee.
The Grand Parc, Puy Du Fou by
Tate
Les Epesses. Vendee
Les Epesses. Vendee
Men
in tights, wenches, Vikings and Romans, pyrotechnics, sword fighting, jousting
and chariot racing, all this shot through with extraordinary horsemanship in a
110 acre park with gardens, restaurants, water features and a Hotel. You might
reasonably think this must be Disneyland, but you’d be wrong. Tucked away in the
North East corner of the Vendée is the Grand Parc du Puy du Fou. The Parc is
something completely unique, a safe place for adults and children alike, without
roller coasters and rides trying to be the highest or the scariest, this is a
place of enchantment and spectacle.
We’ve had the house here in the Vendée for 17 years and throughout
that time virtually everyone who has visited has spent a day at the Grand Parc
du Puy du Fou. It may come as a shock but some people are crazy enough to have
visited me more than once and a large number of these fools/visitors go back to
the Puy du Fou time and time again. I have never been able to visit the Parc
before, although I did manage to go to the Cinescenie, the evening spectacular,
once, and I was like everyone else enthralled.
This
year with the aid of Thunderbirds 2&8 and with my trusty companion Trevor by
my side, I finally made it to the Grand Parc du Puy du Fou, and spent a day
being captivated by this place the like of which I’ve never seen anywhere else
I’ve been in the world. We took advantage of the reduced prices for April and
May and rather than the current 26 euros each we paid 16 euros, I actually only
paid 12 euros as there is a reduction for those who are handicapped. We arrived
early, about 9.30, and collected our tickets which Trevor had booked and paid
for over the telephone and studied the map and timetable. As you would expect
Trevor is a Parc veteran, normally visiting at least once a year, and he soon
had our itinerary worked out with military precision, which is very important if
you want to see everything in one day.
Following our plan we went straight to The Musketeers of Cardinal
Richelieu. The one thing certain about everything in the Parc is that it is big;
each of the arenas that stage the major shows hold thousands of people. This
show is staged in the only indoor arena in the Parc, it has a stage that is
purported to be over 70 metres wide and the show does not restrict itself to the
stage alone. Be prepared for spectacle including sword fighting, flamenco and
horses dancing on water, I won’t attempt to further describe the show for you,
perhaps if I were a better wordsmith it would be possible to capture what this
visual extravaganza in words but alas I’m no Wordsworth. As soon as this show
was over we headed for the Vikings. Held in a massive outdoor stadium, this is,
as described by my friend Julia, pure theatre. A wedding, was taking place, the
bride and groom were given presents including a pack of wolves, lord knows what
they would do with them. The joyous scene was then interrupted by the arrival of
the Vikings, herds of oxen, long boat and all. They then did what all good
Vikings do they threw the sacred remains of Saint Philibert, which the villagers
were supposed to be protecting, into the lake and rape and pillage ensued.
Actually I was watching intently and didn’t see even the tiniest bit of rape,
who knows perhaps they were gay Vikings and I was looking in the wrong
direction. There was fire, explosions and fighting which culminated in a further
long boat rising from beneath the waters of the lake and with that you think the
villagers are done for. Then Saint Philibert himself rose from the
lake, walked on water (I thought that only his boss was allowed to do that) and
converted the Vikings to Christianity and they all threw down their weapons and
peace broke out like hives. The special effects were amazing, the fighting
excellent and the animals as ever were impeccable.
We
then took a break and got ourselves over to the Medieval Pizza Parlour, it was
actually the Restaurant in the Medieval Village. It was a bit odd to see girls
in medieval dresses taking orders for and serving Pizzas but sometimes
authenticity must give way to pragmatism. Getting there early was a great move
as the restaurant filled up quicker than a rain butt in the UK. Trevor and I
both had the Ribs with Vendéen Ham and Mojettes, a bit like baked beans without
the tomato sauce and a regional speciality. The restaurant is filled with tables
for 6, we shared ours with 2 French couples and had a great time, the company
was good and the food was excellent when you consider how many people they were
likely to have to serve. At 10.50 euros a head I considered it reasonably good
value for money especially when you bear in mind that they do have a captive
audience.
After lunch we went to watch the birds, no not women, and no sign
of Alfred Hitchcock, but it was a truly remarkable display of falconry which
included the extraordinary snake bird, owls and hawks of all shapes and sizes
and massive vultures. A tip for those who aren’t of a nervous disposition is to
sit yourself close to the top of the stadium as the falconers stand in the crowd
and the birds swoop to them skimming the heads of the crowd. The finale is one
of the most incredible sights that I’ve ever seen with what seemed like hundreds
of birds in the air at once swooping and catching the strips of food thrown to
them by the falconers. What was even more incredible was I didn’t see one person
with bird droppings on them. After the show we went behind the arena where the
falconers were attempting to entice the birds back into their cages with varying
degrees of success, it was another chance to see these remarkable raptors up
close. The whole experience was a rare and remarkable treat.
Next
stop was The Romans, set in a replica amphitheatre 115 metres long and 75 metres
wide and recreating the atmosphere of Gaul during the Diocletian period. There
was a parade, gladiatorial combat and chariot racing. There were Christians
being fed to the lions, tigers and even a hyena. Fortunately for the Christians
none of the animals were hungry; nonetheless they were all pretty formidable
looking beasts. The crowd played its part in the spectacle, and there was much
cheering for the goodies and booing for the Romans. We may have been fortunate
in that respect as we had several coach loads of French schoolchildren in when
we were there, but somehow I think the crowd reaction is always likely to be the
same unless of course they get coach loads of Italians in.
After the Romans we went to the Battle of the Donjon, I must admit
that by this time I was suffering a bit of pageant fatigue and things that would
normally have been very exciting such as the jousting and the fantastic trick
horse riding went a little over my head. The horses dancing which was based on
dressage and sends me to sleep at the best of times, threatened to do so again.
The moving fire throwing siege engines, the rotating keep and the hand to hand
combat even failed to spark my interest, I’m sure had we seen it all earlier in
the day I would have enjoyed it much more. It is also possible that I may have
been suffering from a slight feeling of self consciousness. When the alarm was
raised that the English were coming there was one solitary cheer from the crowd,
thousands of heads turned towards me in disbelief, I looked around to Trevor for
support but he was observing the non-existent clouds and whistling in an attempt
to totally disown me. Maybe this was a pageant too far and maybe it does endorse the
official view that you should take 2 days to cover the parc properly but all in
all it was a great day out.
Having finished all of the pageants we then took a leisurely look
around the gardens which are beautiful before making our way to the bar in the
main square where we thought that as a treat we’d have a farewell beer. There
weren’t many people inside and we sat at one of the outside tables and waited to
be served, but having waited for what seemed an eternity without it appeared any
prospect of service, we decided to call it a day and went home.
There is no doubt that handicapped people and their carers are very well catered for, having their own entrances to all of the arenas with easy access and front row seating. I had few problems with T8, apart perhaps from the drainage channels in the Medieval Village and one part of the gardens which were only accessible via steps. Anyone pushing a wheelchair will need to be fit as parts of the site are extremely hilly.
It had been a fabulous, in fact, an unforgettable day and one that I can highly recommend to everyone
Tate 2009
There is no doubt that handicapped people and their carers are very well catered for, having their own entrances to all of the arenas with easy access and front row seating. I had few problems with T8, apart perhaps from the drainage channels in the Medieval Village and one part of the gardens which were only accessible via steps. Anyone pushing a wheelchair will need to be fit as parts of the site are extremely hilly.
It had been a fabulous, in fact, an unforgettable day and one that I can highly recommend to everyone
Tate 2009
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