It is really surprising how quickly time gets away from you sometimes, especially when on the road. It seems like only yesterday that we were enjoying the delights that are on offer in the Jura mountains, actually the fact of the matter is, it was only yesterday! However, in these last 24 hours we have moved from the Jura department into the Saone et Loire, so we have much to tell.
The truth is that the last 48 hours has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, especially along the undulating mountain roads of the Jura. Our last post had us parked behind the Church in the hamlet of Charchilla. Early Sunday evening we packed away and moved just a few “clicks” down the road to Clairvaux-Les-Lacs. The journey went well until we reached the town, the road leading to the aire is ridiculously steep and for some really bizarre reason they still felt the need to have speed humps, which played havoc with my attempt to maintain momentum meaning that by the time we had reached the summit the contents of every cupboard had been totally rearranged. Once the cupboards were reorganised and we had eaten and tidied away it was really too late for exploring.
Once again the morning regaled us in bright sunshine, the valley below was filled with a sea of mist that ebbed and flowed on the morning breeze. By the time we left Maurice and headed down towards the town all signs of the mist had cleared. We walked out to the edge of the lake and sat for a while relaxing in the morning sunshine. Below the surface of the lake is a collection of Bronze age “Stilt” or “Pile” houses, whose remains have been preserved within the organic materials provided by the waterlogged sites. We then walked back into the town centre for a coffee before a visit to the Church and the strenuous climb back up the hill to Maurice.
Whilst the motorhome parking in Clairvaux is located high above the town, a service point can be found behind the supermarket on the outskirts, so that was our destination when we left Monday morning. Whilst the service point was functional it was very muddy underfoot, so we tried our best to keep on dry land, which meant some of the tasks were performed quite unconventionally. We were being closely watched by a French couple, so our antics must have seemed quite confusing. It materialised that they had hired a campervan for a week and this was their first visit to a service point so were keen to find out how the the process worked. We spent some time with them talking through different aspects, showing them around our motorhome, whilst also being shown their campervan. They were really enjoying the experience and loved the area, they had travelled up from Avignon to visit family. I think that next time they may be hiring a motorhome! They were most impressed with our open living space, strangely the length of both vans are the same size?
We bid them farewell and drove North towards our next stopping point, Chateau Chalon. One good thing about having access to the internet when looking at maps is you get instant updates on traffic problems, and it would appear that our route to Chalon was closed. Armed with that knowledge we reprogrammed the sat nav and continued merrily on our way, until just North of Pont du Navoy when the sat nav asked me to turn left onto the D5, NO, Not the D5!! Memories of that notorious journey across the high barren mountain of Corsica came flooding back. Fortunately, it was nothing like that at all, in fact the road was reasonably flat with very little indication of any height fluctuations. We passed the official road ahead closed sign “Route Barre”, confirming the data we had received earlier, but access to the village was still possible. We arrived on the outskirts of the village and parked up on a small strip of land reserved for motorhomes. Through the previous research I had read about the village I already knew that it sat on the edge of a gorge overlooking acres of vineyards. Reading about something and visually seeing it are two totally different things, you turn the corner knowing what you are likely to see, but the reality of the view is just spectacular and the village just keeps on giving, every little lane shows you a glimpse of the valley directly below. Chateau Chalon produces a unique wine from the many vineyards below, known as vin Jaune (yellow wine) and it is bottled in a Clavelin, which is a 62cl bottle. The reason for this being that the wine must mature in casks for 6 years and 3 months, after which time 1 litre of liquid will have reduced to 62cl. Unfortunately, all the caves were closed so I could not either taste or purchase a sample. A really quaint village with a great view and interesting wine industry but within minutes we had seen it all so decided to make inroads into our journey home and as such selected an aire in the city of Chalon-sur-Saone.
With the problem of a road closure we had to retrace our steps along the D5 following the deviation signs which led us into Lons-Le-Saunier, adding nearly 30 km to our journey. The drive to Chalon-sur-Saone was the longest drive we have done for a few days and we were both relieved when we finally pulled into the aire. Not that it was much of an aire, we have been really spoilt over the past few days enjoying the luxury of lakes and mountains and the peace and quiet of the mountains. Now we had a Mcdonalds and Bowling alley for our view and the constant traffic noise from a City centre ring road. The bonus from that was being able to grab a hot chocolate and “McFlurry” after tea, although I think we might have over indulged with the ice cream.
This morning we walked into the City of Chalon-sur-Saone, a really picturesque old square that welcomes you and fills the area in front of the Cathedral. The Cathedral itself is in very poor condition, internally its walls are almost black and the ceilings are crumbling. This is a massive Church and any renovation project is going to be expensive and long term. We have seen a few Churches now that are in need of work, I guess that the financial crisis and the colossal sum to rebuild Notre Dame in Paris will have an effect across the Country. We walked through a lovely pedestrianised shopping area eventually reaching the banks of the River Saone where we sat and enjoyed coffee and cake. Strolling further along the river we came across a statue of somebody called Nicephore Niepce, who? you may well ask. Well after some delving I discovered that he was the first person to make a permanent photographic image, although I believe it had an exposure time of some 9 hours. What would he make of digital photography now! There is a museum to both his work and how photography has developed, but it doesn’t open on a Tuesday. Chalon-sur-Saone is a really lovely City, a very relaxed feeling with plenty of cafes and restaurants. The aire is not ideal but it gave us the opportunity to see the sights. We have since moved on to the City of Autun which I shall hopefully report on tomorrow.
Maurice on Manoeuvres 