We agree to move on the
Sunday morning to Tonnerre. Not much of
a TV signal here and we would like to be able to get the results of the
Presidential election tonight as it happens.
We will go first. Brian and Pat (Tadham
Castle) will come later today and Andy and Chris (Edwina Rose) will follow
tomorrow.
It is a good run to
Tonnerre. Surprisingly it starts to rain heavily just as we get there. There is plenty of mooring, and absolutely
no-one else is moored. We lunch, take
the dogs for a relatively quick walk and hide away from the rain. The TC
arrives about 2.30pm. Quite separately
we and Brian & Pat explore the town, while the rain has died down, and keep
bumping into each other.
This is actually a very
interesting town, much more than we expected.
The medieval hospice turned into a 19th century hospital is a
marvel to see and visit. And the Fosse Dionne,
an ancient spring which was a shrine in Celtic times, is just something you
should not miss.
But first we walked the
half mile / kilometre into town. This
crosses three bridges as here the Armancon has divided into three different
streams. Today they are very full and
raging.
The Armancon at Tonnerre and its three
divided streams
All Bustle at 5pm (The
Yonne is closed)
Suddenly there are
boats all over the place. We said that
the season has now started, but this is much more than we expected. By 6pm
there are ten boats all moored up. They
include all different nationalities – Australian, Belgian, British, Swiss,
Spanish, German and even French. What’s
happened? Well in fact with all the
water coming down the Armancon the Yonne (into which it feeds) is in flood and
no boats are allowed down on to the river.
In effect it is closed. This
means that all the hire boats who might have gone to Auxerre – Le Boat at Migennes, Nichols at Brienon, and France Afloat at St Florentin – can only
send their holiday makers up the canal.
Well, at least it makes for a nice party atmosphere. And the lady at the Capitainerie is very
relaxed and helpful, making everyone comfortable and welcome.
One Branch of the Armancon in Full Flow
There is just one small
downside to all this activity. Some of
those coming in the next day make a meal of it, use bow thrusters only to steer
and moor up. Not pleasant to human or
canine ears. And when we ask, can’t you
use the engine, one surprising answer is “I don’t know how to!” We won’t mention any nationalities. No wonder they weren’t allowed down on the
river in flood.
The Fosse Dionne and
the Underground Lakes
On the Monday it is all
full of the election. The Yonne
(department) voted Sarkozy, but Tonnerre (where we are) and Migennes (where we
are headed) voted Hollande. But once
having reviewed all the voting it seems the south, south west, massif, Brittany
and the north outvoted the Loire, centre and east and south east with Burgundy
and Normandy split. That’s far too
simple and we had better leave French politics to the French, so we go back to
being tourists.
The “Fosse Dionne” is a
vauclusian spring, and a little like the springs at the “Roman” baths in bath. It is amazing in colour, and fed by
underground lakes. This was sacred to
the ancient Celts (Dionne = Divine) who worshipped water second only to the
sun. It is fed by underground lakes so
far traced 360 metres back horizontally and 61 metres down. Alas between the 1960s and 1990s they lost
three divers trying to trace the source, so alas no further diving is now
allowed. In the 18th century
this was also a famous lavoir (and no doubt a source of many old wives’ tales
and tricoteuses). But it is exceptional,
and amazing to view from so many angles.
The Fosse Dionne
The Dionne Lakes and Dives
Eating at the Ferme de
Fosse Dionne
After spending some
time at the pool itself we decide to eat at the guest house attached. The menu looks good – only local Burgundy
country cooking. We get some strange
looks as we walked in as we should have booked and pre-ordered, but then they
are quite willing to serve us. The host
is very keen for us to have snails for the first course. When we say we have
tasted them and they don’t do much for us, it is suggested that we have never
tasted them cooked in crème fraiche and local cheese. True,
but we are still not tempted. But the tomate tartin and feuilletes epinard which we do have as starters, and the duck and
fish to follow are excellent. It will be
worth coming here again, and ordering properly.
The Ferme with the Church High Above
The Ancient Hospice
Tonnerre’s most famous
attraction is its ancient hospice. This
was built and created in the 14th century at the behest of Margaret of
Burgundy, to feed and heal the poor. It
is a vast building, and interesting to see this built as a hospice not as a
church, though there are, naturally from this period, religious aspects to
it. Margaret’s tomb is here but was
destroyed during the Revolution but its replacement from the 1820s is
nevertheless impressive.
In the 19th
Century a meridian was etched across the floor of the main hall, which remains
quite an interesting feature. In the
late 19th century this became a working hospital again, and the
museum attached shows the various equipment and tools from just over a century
ago. Both impressive and scary. Well worth the visit.
Margaret of Burgundy with the Model of Her Hospice
The Peace and Beauty of
Flogny
After the excitement of
Tonnerre, which we really enjoyed we move to moor in the real countryside with
nothing around at Flogny-la-Chappelle. Just as we are mooring one of the boats
from Tonnerre moors behind us, just for lunch in their case. This is a family from Mallorca. Having explained yesterday to them that we
don’t really speak any Spanish, they seem really cheered by our “Bon Dia”
today. The islands of course speak Catalan rather
than Castilian. Off they go, and we stay
in beautiful peace, though the kennels just down the road can respond in chorus
whenever Topsy rejoices in song. Just in
the middle of nowhere, this is delightful.
Honey and Chablis at
Germigny
The next day we head on
to St Florentin, just a few miles away, but you have to pass two locks at
Germigny, which always offer lock-keeper cultivated honey and selections of
Chablis. Oh! This is a terrible place!!
All Quiet at St
Florentin
We reach St Florentin
by lunch time, but this time we just laze in the port and walk the dogs. We’ll revisit the hilltop town another
time. There is a beautiful 1972 TR6 parked
next to one of the boats, off to an oldies’ rally at Laon. So we just relax and gossip and walk and
read.
Old
Friends at Duchy
Almost at the end of
our journey now. The next day we are
going down to Brienon (sur Armançon) where we will rest for a few days before
leaving the boat at Migennes. But before
we get there we pass the Duchy lock which seems to have three
lock-keepers, until we realise that two are Brian and Pat having a (long)
morning walk. After all the rain we’ve
been through they do seem to be enjoying this.
And the lock-keeper has two almost fully trained professional
assistants, so we get through at record speed.
Lock-keepers and photographers, as they later present us with three
marvellous photographs of our progress downstream.
Heading for the Lock at Duchy
Finally in the Lock
Fun and Games at
Brienon
And so we arrive at
Brienon. We try to moor against the
empty space at the main quay but it is too shallow. The port has been privatised and is being
renovated but not it seems on the things that matter. Any way we find some deeper water just a
little further along against a lovely grassy bank with some good bollards.
It is still only 1130am
and after lunch Glyn will cycle the 9 kms into Migennes to get the car. As we take the girls for a walk we meet Colin
and Jane on the Francisca, a very old small Dutch barge which they have kept
amazingly well. They come from
Brightlingsea in Essex, and Jane worked at the University so we find lots in
common from two decades ago. Colin is a
boat man through and through, so lots to learn here. Much more importantly (well not really) he has his car here and is going into
Migennes after lunch, and as it is already getting very hot why doesn’t he give
me a lift. Car fetched, all
idyllic. We invite Colin & Jane, and
Pat & Brian who are now back from their walk, for drinks at 1800. We loved
Brienon last year, and are pleased to be back.
But it never pays to
get complacent. At about 5.30pm just as
we are preparing for our guests a guy turns and says we can’t moor where we
are: we have to move back 15 metres. We
explain it’s too shallow. Well you can’t
moor here, it’s Nichols’ land, and he dashes off to get the Capitaine. They
collude on insisting we move, but the Capitaine agrees we can do it later in
the evening. Except he’s back at 5.55pm
saying, no, we have to now, and he and the Nichols’ man start hauling our boat
for us, knocking over the washing just as guests are arriving. All of
us are amazed by the stupidity and aggression they show. We don’t let it put us off our drinks, but
during the evening everyone has a silly experience which makes this place very
sad.
There’s lots more about
the experiences at Brienon (water taps removed so you can’t get water even
though you’ve paid for it, electricity time switches that go off in the middle
of the night, charging for facilities they don’t actually provide) - so much to
make you laugh and cry. Nearly all the
boaters going through feel the bureaucracy, costs, and general silliness has
turned what was a nice port into a horror story. Not a thought about customer
relations. And in the long term, people
just won’t stop here.
The Tadham Castle Ahoy
Any way, we had a nice
day on the Sunday retracing by car our journey down from Pont d’Ouche, and
great lunch Chez Bryony. On Monday we
moved on to the port at Migennes for the last few days. Not as outwardly pleasant as Brienon, but so
much more relaxed, comfortable and welcoming, and less costly, than
Brienon. Then we hand the boat over to
Simon, Roger and pals at the boatyard, and off home for three weeks.
Loved Tonnerre, Flogny,
St Flo, and Migennes – and let’s try and forget about Brienon
Postscript.
As we couldn’t stay on the boat the last night we
arranged a Logis at Mortagne-au-Perche in the Orne department of Normandy, 4
hours from the Yonne but only 2 hours from Caen. This was pot luck out of the Logis book, but
what luck. The evening meal was just
fantastic (sorry to make you all jealous).
And the walks and views around really fabulous.
The farmer sows his early morning seed at
Mortagne
While the cows rest peacefully
And Mortagne nestles on the hillside opposite
