Mailly-la-Ville, Vermenton, Cravant, Bailly 5-10 July 2023 On Tuesday evening the 4th July our friends Chris and Diana arrived from the UK and the next morning we set off on the final section of the Canal du Nivernais, heading to Auxerre. Thanks to Chris and Diana who provided some of these photos. Our first trip on Wednesday morning was to Mailly-la-Ville. We passed 4 house boats that seemed to be running some kind of adventure tours. We stopped for lunch near Rocher du Saussoi, large rocks overlooking the canal. And from there to Mailly-la-Ville. Not to be confused with Mailly-le Chateau, which, as expected, had a chateau on the hill. In the evening we had a look around the town at Mailly-la-Ville. There was a nice sandy beach on the Yonne, and, just out of town a small historic castle which has been restored and is now a private. In the evening Howard caught his first chub of the trip. In the morning we headed off to Vermenton which is down a side branch of the canal. There were 2 hotel barges queuing for the lock going in the other direction as we left. We had called ahead to the Vermenton port the day before and had been told to moor alongside 2 hire barges, which turned out to be quite sturdy. We were only able to get a mooring for a single night so we thought we might move to Cravant the next day which is just back on the main canal. But we had been told that the mooring wasn't in use anymore, so we decided to cycle over to have a look at it. After trying to follow the Google map recommendation routes which were hilly or full of fast trucks, we ended up following the tow path along the canal. On the way home we tried a different way - but ended up back on the tow path. We had a lovely ride with the final stretch through a field, along a narrow path in a wood, and then over the Yonne on a bridge. It was quite warm so most of the afternoon was lazing in the shade on the back deck, but I did go into town in the evening to have a look around and book a table at the brasserie for dinner - Failed - only open for lunch. So Chris and Diana cooked us a lovely chicken meal on Moondance. The next day we set off to Cravant - less than 6 kms away - but 3 locks. The weather was overcast and there was some rain. The adventure sport house boats arrived and moored next to us. In the end there were 4 of them. The Frog, The Tortoise, The Fox and The Hare. In spite of the cool morning it was a hot afternoon again. I went and had a ride around the town which was well kept and interesting. It had a couple of old towers, a donjon (castle keep) and a nicely kept lavoir (old laundry). Our penultimate cruise was to Bailly. I was pleased to finally get a god view of the sun flowers. One of the locks we visited was quite decorated and well maintained. The final town before our mooring was Vincelles. Our mooring was just near the Cave de Bailly - a wine cellar, and was on the Yonne river. It was a hot afternoon so three of us went for a swim. Later the people on the boat next to us utilised our ladder and rings for a swim as well. The next morning our friend Bruce dropped by on his moring bike ride. He has already arrived in Auxerre for the rally. Later in the morning I went for a ride to the local towns Vincelles and Vincelottes. In the afternoon I cycled into Bailly where there is an art gallery in an old church. And then onto Champs-sur-Yonne - a larger town which was very pretty and well kept. The others had a relaxing afternoon in the warm weather. In the late afternoon we went up to the Cave of Bailly, a huge cellar that can house 6 millions bottles a year and is built in an old mine. There is even a car park underground. There was a nice light in the evening. On Monday we had our final cruise on the Nivernais into Auxerre. One of the first locks was on the far left of an impressive bridge over the river. There were needle weirs on the river, and there were markings of the levels of past floods on the bridge. It was a very pretty cruise. We made it into Auxerre just before lunch. This is where the Barge Association (DBA) Rally is to be held. So we are looking forward to that.
2 Comments
Steven Hugo
11/7/2023 10:22:02 pm
Doing well with the fish young Howard.
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Suzanne Jessup
13/7/2023 09:04:48 am
Hi Deb, this countryside is absolutely lovely! Happy days to you all.
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