The Land Of Buffon
So we now finally leave the
summit hills of the Burgundy after our very quick descent, and move on as the
canal follows the Armancon river to its confluence with the Yonne. But today we follow the River Brenne until it
joins the Armancon at Montbard just 13kms and 9 locks away. At least the locks are more spaced out
now. The Tadham Castle is staying
a few days longer as Brian has done his back in, so we travel on our own.
Montbard is the town of the Comte
de Buffon, the Intendant of the King’s Gardens in the 18th century
and a famous natural historian, as well as innovative industrialist. One of the first things we pass as we set off
is Les-Granges-sous-Grignon where he was born.
It is a delightful little spot.
Les Granges-sous-Grignon
Courcelles-les-Montbard
We then pass the hillside village
of Courcelles after the fifth lock which really marks our entry into Montbard
country. We seem to have entered the
land of mini-chateaux, but it looks impressive hovering above the canal.
Courcelles Rising above
the Canal
Mooring Up
We travel quickly, with a change
of lock-keeper every two locks, and each is very quick and efficient. We have done 8 of the 9 locks before 12 noon,
though we won’t be able to make the final lock into the town before lunch
time. We moor up at the halte nautique
just after passing under the main Paris-Lyon-Marseilles TGV line. This is an
old industrial wharf, easy to moor and plenty of space (well it could 12 boats
and is empty) and we can rest here while we visit and look at the port beyond
the lock. In theory the halte nautique
has electricity but it doesn’t work.
We walk up to the port and give
the girls a run. It is slightly prettier
and has half a dozen Locaboats moored, as well as one large tug. This leaves two moorings, but one is shallow
and short (too short for us) and on the other the bank is breaking the wooden
shuttering, with water overflowing in places.
Reluctantly we agree we will have to stay at the old industrial port,
which is not too bad, but the trains right behind us are a bit of worry. The town itself looks quite attractive, but
moorings without any services at 15 Euros sound a bit steep.
On the other hand we visit the
Tourist Office which is very helpful, and gives us information on some rural
walks. Tomorrow is May 1st, a national
holiday in France and even the locks are closed, so we have to stay here at
least two nights.
Montbard with Its Famous
Tower Standing in the Park above the Town
We find a delightful little walk
of our own for the evening, and the fisherman all around us add some colour
delight to the old port. Unfortunately
as the evening draws on some steady and then heavy rain sets in, so that’s us –
and the fishermen – for the day.
We don’t have too early a night,
but the trains passing through regularly at all hours, and some early morning
industrial clatter (even on May Day!) upset the dogs which is the only serious
drawback/ And no-one collects the
mooring fee.
A Delightful May Day Bank Holiday
Walk
After walking the dogs and doing
some house cleaning we set off at about 11am on a 5 mile (8kms) walk along the
canal and then up through the village of Nogent-les-Montbard and then up higher
into forestry and along a lovely track back to Montbard. Our little overnight frustration melts away
in the warm sun and lovely countryside.
The chateau in Nogent is being done up, but looks quite beautiful in its
slightly dilapidated and rustic setting.
The Renovation of the Chateau at Nogent-le-Grand
For the first time for a while we
have a serious climb to make. It is not
too heavy and we need some practice as most of our walks have been along the
flats linked to the canal. Our next
turning point is supposed to be at the Fontaines d’Argent, but we are not sure
we find it, though a rushing stream seems to be more or less at the appointed
place. There is even a seat here which
after the climb regrettably we are pleased to take advantage of. It is delightful and also gives a beautiful
view over the valley.
No Shortage of Water Here
– The Fontaines d’Argent – But No Money or Silver Either
We retire for lunch. Isn’t it interesting how all the French
fishermen (and women) completely disappear when the anointed hour of noon
arrives? We say this is no time to be on
French roads, but it seems a good time to be out fishing, with no competition,
unless it’s just that the fish go home at lunch time too. Certainly of our fishermen had caught a real
good sized fish before we set off at 11am, but at 1.15pm – not a soul to be
seen.
We laze and read after lunch, but
just above us on the hillside housing estate a Labour Day celebration is taking
place, with gentle folk music adding to the pleasure of the afternoon.
Montbard and the Buffon Park
After a lazy afternoon
we decide to take the Tourist Office’s other suggestion, walk through the town and
visit the Buffon Park which surrounds the church on the top of a hill. This turns out to be much more delightful
than we had expected, and the broad path spirals up through beautifully kept
greenery, and then comes down to other side of the town, with the fast running
River Brenne and a lovely fountain in the middle of the small square. We really have enjoyed our bank holiday here,
despite the initial frustrations.
For
Every Pleasure There is a Penalty
If 1st May seemed to
herald the final beginning of Spring, 2nd May was to bring us back
to reality. At about 5am we could hear
beginning to settle. By 7am when we take
the dogs out it is sufficiently steady that we put their coats on them to keep
them dry. Collies don’t like coats (they
are for silly poodles) but this morning even they are happy to wear them.
By 9am as we move off
it is definitely raining very hard. At
the first lock we pass the Carolyn which has the priority of
the lock as they are travelling upstream (“amont” in French). They came into Montbard yesterday and did
walk over to see us, but we were out on one of our walks. A nice exchange though in the driving rain as
we go in different directions.
Our objectives today
are the Grand Forge at Buffon for lunchtime (5 locks and 7 kms) and then
Cry-sur-Armancon for the end of the day (another 5 locks and 8 kms)/
The
Grand Forge at Buffon
The weather gets
worse. By 11am just before we reach the
Grand Forge everyone is totally soaked, and the rain is falling hard. The only saving grace is that there is little
wind so no driving rain. But it’s still
very wet/
We moor up at Buffon
with ease and the Grand Forge is just 100 metres away. Built in the 1760s, we guess that
Georges-Louis Leclerc (who became the Comte de Buffon and also a member of the
Academie Francaise) is something akin to French industrial history that Abraham
Darby was to Britain, having designed, built and run a very modern iron making
furnace. They have restored the forge
and its works over the last 30 years and it is quite well done. This is well worth seeing even in the driving
rain. Alas Mr Leclerc’s elevation to the
peerage did not do too much good as it only made an appointment for his sole
heir and successor with Mme Guillotine.
The Mill Wheel of the Grand Forge at Buffon
The forge drew water
from the Armancon (the Burgundy canal was not built until later until
1775-1834) for its main source of power.
It combined the operations of furnace, refinery and foundry, hence a
major innovation for the mid 18th century.
The Foundry Furnace at Buffon
This establishment
covering a couple of hectares (more than 5 acres) and including workers’
dwellings was quite a celebrity development in its time. And the main forge has a viewing gallery
which itself is of some interest.
The Viewing Gallery to the Main Forge at
Buffon
Crossing
the Borders
We escape the rain for
a brief lunch and then set off for Cry.
We thought the rain was easing off but every time we think that it comes
back harder, and with a vengeance. We
are now in the Armancon valley proper and shortly cross the departmental boundary
from Cote d’Or to the Yonne. The trees
here are lush, and must be wonderful in autumn.
They are quite impressive even in the driving rain, though sadly we are
too pre-occupied to take photographs.
We can moor up at Cry
by 3pm. And though the rain eases a fraction as we do so, from 4pm onwards it
comes in hard again. This is a really
good “green mooring”. No electricity but
good banks and bollards, and a water supply (do we really need it in this
rain?). And the girls can run about
naturally on the banks in the open countryside and grass. They do so for 20-30 minutes then prefer the
warmth and comfort of the fire. Our
priorities after mooring up were alas cup of coffee / tea, hot showers, change
of clothes and lighting the wood burner.
What would we do without it? No
television or internet signals here so we are beautifully on our own. Book and DVD time this evening!
By 7pm the rain finally
eases off and we can walk the dogs, and also go into the village. It is quite small, and the cafe is closed. However there is life as youngsters run
around and park their bicycles. But the
dominating view is of the Armancon river raging around the village and under
the causeway which spans the road between river and canal.
Family life at Cry-sur-Armançon
The Armançon rages past the village
“The
Season” Starts Now
It’s a nice
morning. This week the weather seems to
see-saw – beautiful on Tuesday, horrid yesterday, and nice again today. We start the day by taking the dogs for a
good walk up into the forested hills behind the mooring. Then off we go.
The wooded hills above our mooring
The first lock is only
500 metres away but we have to wait as an hotel boat (the Horizon II whose mooring
we could use at Venarey) is coming up the canal no doubt backs to its base. And
as we leave the lock a hire boat is waiting to go upstream in our place. After the second lock we reach Ravieres. Here there are three boats all manoeuvring
and active, and one, crewed by a Belgian couple, falls in behind us and locks
with us the next four locks to Ancy.
They are always at the back of their boat so we don’t get a chance to
chat. Meanwhile a further hire boat
passes us in the other direction.
Yesterday we didn’t see a boat.
Is it the weather, is this an area where holiday boats now frequent, or
has “the season” finally started, we ask ourselves? Well, it is May. It is good to see a few more people on the
canal.
The effects of
yesterday are though all around us. The
Armancon, just to the side of the canal, has broken its banks in oh so many
places, and at one lock the keeper has lost all his garden under water.
This was the Lock-keeper’s Garden
We ask the lock-keeper
where we can moor as we won’t be able to make last lock to Ancy before
midday. Don’t worry, she says, I’ll see
you through, and we get to Ancy all moored by 12.30.
Ancy-le-Franc
Ancy is good mooring,
with all facilities, and free. The town
is 10 minutes walk away, but quite pleasant.
We just have a stroll around, get some bread and patisseries, and look
at (but do not visit) the well-advertised and newly-refurbished chateau. Chateaux are becoming a little bit like
cathedrals: unless there is something exceptional we have begun to see too many.
Later on the Tres
Joly moors up behind us. Max and
Sue are an Australian couple from Subiaco in Perth (wow! Not New South Waleans
or Victorians). They have spent seven summers on the canals in France, but
sadly are now on their way to St-Jean-de-Losne to sell the boat as they need to
spend more time at home. The day remains
beautiful and we can have some lovely evening walks along the canal, if only
Shady would come with us.
The refurbished Chateau at Ancy-le-Franc
19
+18 ≤ 38.5
Ancy is very nice but
we decide to move on. Just ahead of us
along the canal the Edwina Rose is moored.
They have spent a couple of days, but had to sty off the main moorings
earlier as these were taken by hotel boats.
We chat as we take the girls for their early morning walk. They too have booked the next lock for
9am. Well, there should room enough for
us both, but adding our two lengths together there will be about a foot (30 cm)
in front, a foot between and a foot behind, and that is all. We agree to think about it at the first lock,
and see what the lock-keeper says. We
ought to conserve water, but then again, hardly today! But it’s easier for the lock-keeper doing us
together.
At the first lock the
lady keeper from yesterday waves us both in. It goes OK but it is tight. Similarly at the second lock, but the keeper
asks if we want to travel separately. We
both say it’s no problem. But as we
travel the next pound we feel that while we have no problems we are making it
difficult for the Edwina Rose, which has no bollard to attach to at the front and
dare come back into us. We call the
Ancy lock-keeper who has seen us through the last few locks (and who kindly
gave us her mobile number last night) and say we think it might be better if we
let the Edwina Rose go ahead.
We’ll moor up for half an hour and do some chores. She agrees this might be best, and will call
her colleague to say we won’t reach him until 11am. She has been so understanding and helpful
(and also happy and chatty).
But at the next lock
the keeper is first awaiting another upstream boat (we really do seem to be
seeing lots more boats now) and this slow us down. At the fourth lock we say to the keeper that
we don’t think we can make the fifth (after which there are some moorings) by
midday. And he agrees. Not possible.
Then as we are chatting he says, OK, it’s me at the next lock, and I’ll
get you through. Did we say something
nice, or did he work out better to get us through rather than have us champing
at the bit at 1pm. Probably a bit of
both. He liked the dogs. He has five terriers, and we talk about wild
boar hunting.
Five
More Locks and Then?
It’s still good weather
today, and now in the afternoon it is getting quite warm indeed. At the second lock there is a team which
looks mother and son, though son is doing most of the work. They have a 12 year old setter, and we talk
about her dog and ours, as they eye each other form boat and lock side, but all
behave properly. Beautiful day today, we
say, not like Wednesday. We haven’t been
able to get TV or any decent Internet single since Montbard. Haven’t you seen the Meteo, she says. We query!
It’s very heavy (“lourd”) today she says, and before the evening’s out
there will be “orages”. Wind and rain,
we say? Oh yes, and thunder and
lightning, and hail! What, on this
lovely day?
Donner
and Blitzen
We get to Tanlay, our
destination for the next two days, nicely by 3.30pm. As we moor up it starts to blacken. Before we can do anything it starts to
rain. Then the lightning. Then the thunder. Then the hail. It lasts for three hours, but amazingly we
travelled in perfect weather. Who was that
lady – a goddess or a witch? Or just
someone who has seen the Meteo? By
7.30pm we can (we hope) finally take the girls out for a walk. They have been cowering for three hours under
anywhere they can hide, and are now very happy to go out.
Beatrix
Potter Land
When we finally go out
we find opposite an actual narrowboat (a real narrow boat not pretend like
ours) with Tony and Doreen Davis from Weybridge on their way to
Strasbourg. We say we hope to follow
them next year. They are on a mooring
with power but are off first thing in the morning so we agree to switch over
and take their slot so we can plug in.
Their boat is called the Jeremus Piscator. Is that a Beatrix Potter character we ask,
and they laugh Yes. God what a strange
crew we all are: Latin, Beatrix Potter and Narrowboats in the Burgundian
countryside.
Little and Large – the Jeremus Piscator (before the gap far right )
in front of the hotel boat C’est la Vie
Tanlay is a small
place, quite beautiful, but sadly seeming to lose its facilities. The shopping was quite limited, no bank now,
and essentially you have to go Tonnerre for everything.
Before we went out in
the morning we check with the hotel boat next to us whether he is going to move
today. The mooring rings are not well
placed are ware reliant on a strained mizzen rope to stop us moving
backwards. If his sheer size moves out
it night not hold. They don’t understand
our French. That’s because they include
a Chelsea supporter from Woolwich (how can anyone form Woolwich not support the
Arsenal) and a Polish lad who comes from near Płoty (twinned with Niebüll) who
is not sure he is more amazed that we know where Płoty is or that we know how
to pronounce it.
All quiet and
peaceful. We decide that we’ll visit the
chateau in the afternoon, and eat galettes and crêpes in the cafe 10 metres
from the boat which says it does “specialités Bretons”. And then the Tadham Castle and Edwina
Rose come to join the party!
Back
to the Colignys
The chateau is quite
interesting, but not we think especially special, with rather a mish mash of
items from different centuries. However
this was the home of the Coligny family (of our beloved Chatillon-Coligny) and
Admiral Coligny himself lived here before Catherine de Medici had him fixed
just before the Massacre of St Bartholomew, but you should never fall out with
a woman who manages to be wife, mother, or mother-in-law to five kings!!
The only good photo we
get here is a very rare one of us together, courtesy of Brian and Pat.
Together in the Courtyard of the Coligny
Chateau at Tanlay (Photo 18).
The galettes and crepes
in the evening were very good (we recommend this simple cafe) but don’t order
your puddings with your main meal. They
come hotter if you order separately. But
before we go there Andy and Chris from the Edwina Rose come over and have a
glass of wine and a long chat about their experiences on the Rhone and the
Midi. We learn so much and still have so much more to learn.
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