At Amboise in France, along the Loire Valley, is the last home of Leonardo da Vinci it is called Chateau Clos Luce. On a showery day in June we decided to visit.

The home in which he spent his last days has been kept as it was. The rooms are comfortably furnished and it has a cosy feel to it. In the basement there are drawings and models of some of his famous inventions – many of the basic principles are in use today. We spent some time looking at his models and discussing how ingenious they are.

We moved on into the garden. It has open areas, flower beds, waterways, shrubs and trees.

He took a great interest in plant life and the garden reflects this. All over the garden there are full size models of bridges and inventions.

Many of these have working parts which the public can engage with – these proved very attractive to the visiting groups of children. Dotted around the garden are ‘talking posts’ which give details of the various models and information about Leonardo and his work.

In one building there was a full scale model of his flying machine – fascinating.

Amongst the trees huge fabric copies of his paintings hung – they gave a ghostly impression as you walked along the woodland paths.

We spent several hours at the house and gardens absorbing the atmosphere and information. It was a quite unique experience and one which will stay with me for a long time.