Chateau Gaillard, Les Andelys
The last couple of days of our trip to Northern France we spent inland, not far from Rouen. I had bought a guide book on Normandy for our trip and it contained a mouth watering picture of the Seine, shrouded in autumn mist, with a mystical castle rising up from a rocky outpost. Despite that it was now April and there was still snow on the ground we thought we would pay Les Andelys a visit. The castle is called Chateau Gaillard and was built by Richard the Lionheart in 1196, but fell to the French under Philip ll in 1204 after a lengthy siege. During the 100 year war between the French and the English it passed back and forth, finally resting with the French. By 1573 it was uninhabited and ruinous and its destruction was ordered by King Henri lV in 1599. After we arrived at the castle a coach load of tourists came in and climbed the draw bridge up to the main door. I was only pleased with one general picture of the castle that I had taken. Here it is in two versions. ...