Around Tanlay

Tanlay Port from the bridge

The stretch of canal between Ancy le Franc and Talay goes through sparcely populated countryside.  The canal water is clean and we have seen many fish over 40cm long. Plenty of water rats and frogs that croak very loud.  Plenty of duck and their ducklings, and such a variety of birdsong.  It is the time of year when everything is bursting with life.

This may look like a photo of a dog but I am swimming in the background. Public beach at St Vinnemer, just before you get to Tanlay

Even if the towns in Burgundy are empty with 'A Vendre' or A Louer signs everywhere, the villages are just magnificent.  Huge old barns and farmyards, houses with a turret here or a Renaissance flourish there, they really are on a grand scale and show how affluent this region was in former times when the Dukes of Burgundy were more powerful than the king of France.  Whilst every town seems half empty - or more than half, the villages are for the most part populated and decorated with flowers. Roses, and Irises at their absolute peak.

Wash house with slice gates at Commissey next village East of Tanlay

Almost every town and village has these wash houses, many renovated and some turned into village halls, such as at Fleurey-sur-Ouche.

Same wash house from the outside

The Abbaye de Quincey is a 10 minute bike ride from Tanlay.  You go round the back walls of the Chateau past an open golf course and down a leafy lane.

Abbaye de Quincey

It's rarely open to the public but you can see everything from the road.

On the way back a deer and her fawn ambled across the lane in front of me

Deer on left hand side of lane

Just past the turning to the Abbaye there is a small fortified barn on the right

Fortified barn near Tanlay on the road to Abbaye de Quincey

Ancy le Franc

Renaissance Chateau with Thursday market in foreground

The chateau at Ancy is perfectly preserved and built in the Italian Renaissance style.. Currently being restored there is a lot to see inside, and perfect symmetry outside .

Ancy le Franc Port

Ancy le Franc has the most amazing Renaissance Chateau that I will write about later, but for now here are some photos of our lovely mooring and our bike ride this morning.

Chassignelles, two locks before Ancy le Franc.  Restaurant here.

Ancy le Franc.  Busy here with Hotel Barge 

Lock keepers cottage selling conserves and offering drinks

A little path just by the railway bridge near Ancy (going towards Tanlay).  Beyond here is a picnic spot and river that looks deep enough to swim in.

Hidden treasures of Raviers, Nuits and Cry, plus some macabre finds.

Chateau at Nuits

We have got into a pattern of cruising for the morning or until about mid afternoon and then stopping at our chosen place for 2 nights.  On the first day from mid afternoon we settle in and take in our immediate surroundings.  The following day we have a longer bike ride in morning or afternoon to see the surrounding area.

Raviers Rocomat Stone Works

Raviers, the centre of the local quarrying industry, is a bit of a ghost town but is interesting to walk round. There are the Renaissance touches within the fabric of the buildings and an old chateau surrounded and incorporated within a number of nearby town houses.  Julian remarked that most of it will have disappeared in 50 years as the roof and beautiful turrets showed wooden timbers and gaps with no tiles.

Railway building at Nuits on opposite side of River L'Armancon

Across the River Armencon is Nuits, with a large complex of railway buildings it hints at former railway pioneering glories including an abandoned route linking Paris with the Mediterranean via Lyon.  Now devoted to potato growing, a very serious business.  The sign says 'Jardin sous surveillance video'.

An hotel barge C'est la Vie was moored here when we arrived, waiting for it's 8 American guests to turn up.

They have their own chef on board and so do not rely on local hosteleries which are few and far between.

We found a little Bistrot and had a 4 course meal - (it is not often one finds a village bistro so we felt duty bound to have the full works) the following day we planned a circuit that took in the local villages and chateaux.

The Churchyard at Asniers-en-Montagne

We cycled through fields of wheat, barley, pea and hay crops climbing gently up to the village of Asniers-en- Montagne.  (This is the macarbre bit). We headed to the church in the centre, wound round the back through a grassy alley and ended up at a dead end at the back of the church with the only exit being through the graveyard. When I opened the rusty gate I came upon some disturbed ground near some tumbled graves.  I said joking 'this is just the sort of place that you would find a load of human bones!'

Snail with human bones

The next thing I saw was a huge snail (the sort you get when you order esgargot?) and a bone.  Then I saw an invertebrae.  In a graveyard, they could only be human.

Small mausolium in same churchyard

Our itinerary then took us to Cry, and on the way the ruined Chateau Rochefort.

Chateau Rochefort a huge and impressive crumbling ruin

The medieval gatehouse with Renaissance ruins behind

We arrived at Cry, and another village hostelry open, this time a cafe and tabac!  Being unable to pass by any kind of establishment that is open in a French village - such a rarity, we stopped off for a 'chocolat chaud' which came in funny ceramic mugs made to look like crumpled plastic cups.

11th century crypt at Cry

By now we were running a bit late for the tour at Nuits Chateau that we had noticed earlier that morning.  So we raced back on the bikes along the towpath and made it by 4.15pm on the dot.

The room where Buffon worked at Chateau Nuits.

Montbard and Buffon

View from the top of the Tour in Buffon's Gardens Montbard

We learned quite a bit about George-Louis Leclerk, Comte de Buffon whilst in Montbard.

An 18th Century naturalist he is best known for his 36 volume Historie Naturelles documenting animal and bird life from all corners of the known world.  He was born in Montbard and as soon as he was able, he set about demolishing the Castle of the Dukes of Burgundy and creating a garden and animal park in the grounds which became famous throughout France at the time.



I'm afraid that is didn't take any photos of this garden as it had odd bright yellow wood chip mulch around all the plants which was quite off putting.

The only remaining structure from the Duke of Burgundy's time is the Tour where his soldiers lived, and this is where our tour started. Free and in English.




Amazingly were in Montbaun on market day. The car park of the Casino supermarket was the venue.

I'm on the lookout for a French farmer who has a little surpus veg to sell along with some eggs and a neighbours goats cheese. He or she will have balancing scales and a rusty cash box.

There were all the usual cheap clothes, shoes, handbags, furniture, North African goods made goodness knows where etc etc.  Quite a large vegetable section including a large stall with a huge range of 'bio' veg and we found wild strawberries, some delicious sugar snap peas and some spring onions which still had all the green bit on them.