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| Chateauneuf en Auxois |
The summit of the canal de Bourgogne is up in the clouds
today which means it is wet. We’re waiting here until we can pass through the
3.3km Pouilly Tunnel tomorrow. We could have gone this afternoon but we not
only have to co-ordinate our passage with the trip boat but also make some
modifications to L’Avenir so she will fit through the decidedly cramped
conditions of this tunnel. The arch of the tunnel comes close to the boat roof so good luck to the skipper who’s going to have to steer a dead
straight course and will he be able to stand up? I am watching a barge owner on
the other side of the mooring basin completely dismantling his wooden
wheelhouse so he will fit through. A bit more of a palaver than us - we have to
take down our nav frame, canopy and wind and side screens.
The previous 50km cruising from Dijon
up the Valley de l’Ouche has been beautiful. We’ve been lucky in that the weather
has been good, as has the company -but we expected that! Thank you Libby and
Brian for, once again, your excellent crewing skills ranging from rope
wrangling whilst knee deep in nettles to steering, finding errant lock keepers,
cooking and general entertainment (certificates in the post). You’re welcome again
any time.
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| At the top of the hill - Chateauneuf |
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| Onboard barbecue |
The canal is heavily locked with one or 2 keepers travelling
on motor scooters working the boats through each sector before handing them on
to their colleagues. This is generally very efficient but hotel boats are a
priority so you may occasionally be delayed or alternatively pushed on further than
you wanted. We found ourselves waiting below a faulty lock on our first night
out of Dijon, for example, and were
told we would be held up. How long? Shrug. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next day.
Maybe you might have to go back. The cottage
at this particular lock is now a restaurant and being a suspicious type I
immediately suspected this was some sort of ruse to capture customers. It wasn’t
(well probably not) although we did have a very good evening meal there. Next
afternoon when a hotel boat appeared, 4 lock keepers wrestled the jammed lock
gate open to let it through and decided they could repeat the process for us.
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| Near Vandenesse, Bourgogne |
The valley follows the course of the River Ouche. Completely rural and heavily wooded it is renowned as one of the most beautiful stretches of canal in France.There are quite a few very attractive villages whose limestone cottages are usually surrounded by climbing roses or pots of geraniums. Most are without any shops nowadays unfortunately. We stopped at Pont de Pany – hotel
closed that particular day, boulangerie closed forever; Pont d’Ouche – hotel
closed due to flooding; Chez Bryony, a small shop and café open every day
(thank goodness); Crugey – restaurant open for excellent lunch. 13.50 euros for
4 courses with glass of wine and pretty Vandenesse - 2 restaurants (again with excellent13.50
lunch menu), Salon de The and a boulangerie van that whizzes through in the
morning but will stop if you run onto the road and gesticulate wildly enough to
catch his eye. We’ve made good use of the fixed price lunch menus – starter,
main course, cheese plate, dessert, coffee and wine but it does mean you have
to lie down for the afternoon.
The restaurants are always busy with local
workers; one had the driver of an enormous log truck (laden) enjoying a pichet
of red with his meal. How they manage to get through an afternoon’s work beats
me. Perhaps you have to be brought up on it.
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| Port, Vandenesse, Bourgogne. Chateauneuf in distance |
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| Vandenesse |
We spent a couple of days at Pont d’Ouche and because there
were no 4 course lunches on offer we managed to cycle to those villages along
the canal we’d been hustled through. The tow path is a velo (cycle) route and
we saw lots of people on cycle holidays, panniers heavily laden with gear.
Should you be thinking of this I hope you have a good bike. On my little one it
was hard going as the track is loose limestone chips and quite rutted. A couple
of hours at a time was more than enough.Or maybe I just need to toughen up.
Off the canal and you’re climbing very steep hills. I made
the mistake of suggesting we go the short distance from Pont d’Ouche to
Colombier. The 2km turned out to be straight upwards. Pretty village of restored
limestone cottages with a spectacular view I’m told. I spent half an hour
spreadeagled on the village green (well the French equivalent - the grassy bit round the cross. It has just occurred to me that the residents might have found this sight slightly offensive; sorry - I could barely breathe never mind think straight) waiting for my vision to return from black to
colour and my heart to resume its proper place and pace within my chest.
The suggestion was then made that we go back via a different route. ‘It’ll be downhill as
well.’ It was, eventually. First we had to push our bikes up to where there was
a notice saying ‘Summit. 480m’.
Then after what some (but not me) might call a thrilling downhill run we ended
up in another picturesque village at the bottom of the valley. Trouble was it
was the wrong valley and we were faced with another uphill slog. By this time
it was raining and I’d had enough but what can you do? The afternoon was just
about saved by the next and final village though. Chaudenay le Chateau.
Unfortunately, as we’d set out on only a short ride, I didn’t have my camera with
me to take a picture of the beautiful old castle.
Of all the chateaux so far, Chateauneuf en Auxois has been
the most spectacular. Again atop a steep hill with amazing views it is, along
with its village, said to resemble a miniature Carcassonne
without the tourists. Well worth the climb.
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| At Chateauneuf |
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| Turrets of Chateauneuf |
Finally, I must (yes Malcolm!!) make mention of the tourist
steam narrow gauge railway from Pont d’Ouche to Bligny sur Ouche restored and
operated by volunteers from all over the world. We stayed an extra day in Pont
d’Ouche in order to take a trip along this line and the little train was nearly
full which was great to see.
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| Chemin de Fer de la Valee de l'Ouche |
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