Châtel-Censoir, Vézelay FR 2-4 July 2023 From Clamecy we headed to Châtel-Censoir, and from there we did a bike ride to Vézelay. Porte Neuve - Vézelay We left Clamecy on the Sunday and we had a good view of the Rochers de Basseville (imposing rocks overlooking the canal). After one of the locks we had to cross the Yonne river as it came in at right angles to the canal, and crossed our path heading towards a weir. It was quite calm though, not much flow so we had a simple crossing. A couple of the sections of the canal were so full they were overflowing and we had a good view of a castle or large farm across a field. When we arrived at the mooring at Châtel-Censoir it was quite full and we were surprised to find 3 barges and 2 kiwi cruisers there. We recognised Bob and Nicola on Vagabond whom we had met a couple of times last year. They invited us to join the others for a BBQ tea under the trees, BYO everything. It was a very nice evening topped off with Nicky bringing out an apricot cake that she had made from Apricots supplied by on the the other French boats. The next morning we set off for Vézelay on our bikes. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site and also listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. We decided to choose the route that Google said had least traffic. Unfortunatley it had a fairly steep hill 3.5kms long straight out of town. I zipped up it in "turbo" mode and found at the top that it had really depleted my battery which I therefore had to nurse for the rest of the day. But it was a nice ride. Howard had a problem with his gears going up the final slope into the village and ended on walking the last couple of hundred metres. We entered the town through the Porte Neuve and headed to the tourist information who gave us a map of the main sites up the main street. We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant for a well earned break. After lunch we went and had a look around the basilica, which was restored under the guidance of Viollet-le-Duc. It is also the start of one of the main pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela and was the starting point of some of the crusades. They also had some relics from Mary Magdelain in the crypt so had been a point of pilgrimage in their own right. By the time we left the basilica the weater was looking quite ominous. The forecast had predicted 0.1 ml of rain, but it wasn't looking so great. So we did a quick look around at the top of the Eternal Hill, and then the bottom of the hill, before heading home. This time we started off taking the google maps recommened route home, but the rain started and became quite heavy. Google maps recommended us taking small unpaved tracks, so we ignored it and followed the road signs back home. It was mostly downhill so I coasted most of the time and I arrived home with about 5kms to go on my electric bike battery. Phew. On our final day in Châtel-Censoir we had a few jobs to do before our next guests arrived. But we did find time to have a look around the town. There is a church and some large houses on top of the imposing hill which still has parts of the old wall. Down on the flat there were also a couple of other nice buildings.
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AuthorWe are sharing stories about and travels on our barge Moondance. Archives
August 2023
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