We continued through the Cher Valley to Saint-Martin-le-Beau, another small village in Indre-et-Loire which we visited on 10 September. Arriving with the motorhome was slightly more complicated than we had expected because almost everything here feels small and narrow: the central car park has only a handful of spaces, while some of the streets leading through the village are narrow for a vehicle of our size, particularly when leaving the parking area. Nevertheless, once we had managed to get there, the location itself was perfectly convenient. The parking was completely free of charge, we saw no signs prohibiting motorhomes, and it was right in the centre of Saint-Martin-le-Beau while remaining remarkably quiet. Just a few yards away, at the end of the street, there was also a very inviting local bakery, one of those small details that immediately makes a French village stop more pleasant.
Saint-Martin-le-Beau is considerably more interesting than its modest size might suggest. The village stands between Tours and Amboise, close to the River Cher, in a landscape strongly shaped by vineyards. Wine has been an important part of local life for centuries, particularly Chenin Blanc, and vines, old vineyard shelters and rural buildings still form an important part of the surrounding landscape. At the heart of the village stands the Église Saint-Martin, whose origins are connected with a mixture of history and local legend. According to the traditional account, in 903 the inhabitants of Tours pursued Viking raiders through the countryside after an attack on the city, carrying the relics of Saint Martin with them. The pursuit supposedly ended here with the defeat of the invaders, and a church was subsequently built on the site in thanksgiving. The settlement became known as Sanctus Martinus de Bello, or Saint-Martin of the battle, with de Bello gradually evolving over the centuries into the present name, Saint-Martin-le-Beau. The surviving church includes Romanesque elements as well as later medieval additions, while elsewhere in the village the Manoir Thomas Bohier is another reminder of the long history of this part of Touraine.
Our stop here was ultimately a simple one, but that was precisely what made Saint-Martin-le-Beau worthwhile. It was not a major tourist destination and there was no large motorhome area designed to accommodate passing travellers; instead, we found a small, quiet French village where we could leave the motorhome for free right in the centre and see a little more of the countryside between the famous destinations of the Loire and Cher valleys. Manoeuvring through the narrow streets was certainly not the easiest part of the day and we would be cautious about recommending the central parking to much larger motorhomes, but once there we enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and the feeling of having stopped somewhere that most visitors travelling directly between the great châteaux would simply pass by.