(Photo © Kiwidutch)
Vaas.. in photos… The town is
(Photo © Kiwidutch)
- (Photo © Kiwidutch)
beautiful, the war memorial has a magnificent display of well kept flowers around it, the streets are tidy and there is a charm that quickly invades your soul.
Even the older buildings in urgent need of repair have oodles of character. Closer inspection this morning of the massive building on the water that comes complete with water wheel inside it , reveals that Yes, it does need a small fortune (ok, that was too polite, this building needs a large fortune!) of repairs and renovation, but Oh what a renovation it would be once completed!
The sheer magnificence and scale of the building would easily lend itself to a multitude of commercial possibilities, accommodation, retail premises, artisan uses etc…. all would be enhanced by the rejuvenation of these historic timbers and my heart aches that I have not the money to just step in and grant this dying buildings wish, and bring it back to life. Sadly I don’t realistically hold any hope that the one and only lottery ticket we buy each month as our little flutter and dreams of lottery miracles, will ever produce the goods, so it won’t be me saving you today, sorry dear building. But I wish for this charming ruin that it will find someone who can before it is too late.
(Photo © Kiwidutch)
Last evening I took some photos of some houses on the river that appear to be standing on tiny islands, from the road by the bridge I can see what appears to be a small
(Photo © Kiwidutch)
(Photo © Kiwidutch)
(Photo © Kiwidutch)
- (Photo © Kiwidutch)
footbridge through the trees, but no apparent road acess. The idea delights me and there are more ancient boathouses around, both close and in the distance. I also roam a small side street close to the church, it turns out to be a dead end, but near in it’s finial meters lies one of the most beautiful, and puzzling buildings I have ever seen. Imagine the letter “V”, upside down so that the two points are facing you, this appears to be the shape of this building…. squeezed tightly into a very small and odd shaped space…the decoration is drop dead georgous but it’s impossible to photograph in one piece because the alley I am in is so narrow. I press myself into the wall and the poor zoom still can not do this building justice.
Further ambles produce more photographic possibilities … if you love French Architecture you will adore Vaas.
The local authorities have several informational plaques around Vaas, here is some of the information that they contain:
The life and history of Vaas are intimately connected to that of the Loir, a navigable river in days gone by. The freestone quarried in the moriers was transported by barges. This method of transport was supplanted by the arrival of the railway in 1858. There were at least 12 mills in Vaas, for cereals, tan (oak bark) and hemp. Les Grands Moulins were owned by the Abbey until the Revolution. It was closed down in 1968. You can find out the history of these mills at the Rotrou Mill (Moulin de Rotrou)
(Photo © Kiwidutch)(Photo © Kiwidutch)(Photo © Kiwidutch)
(Photo © Kiwidutch)
