Merry-sur-Yonne to Lucy-sur-Yonne

Morning we spent cruising up to Lucy-sur-Yonne, The canal sections as well as being quite narrow are very shallow at the edged making meeting other boats slightly tricky, one hirer complained we didn’t pull over far enough but you cant boat within a couple of meters of the bank. Our skipper blew his horn as we approached this bridge but the cruiser kept coming until he saw us.

As we made our way along the canal we passed this large layby now being used as a marina complete with hire boats.

We also passed this property way in the distance, it looks almost like a small village or large Chateau  surrounded by fields. There were other Chateaus much closer.

We finally reached Lucy-sur-Yonne and moored for the night just prior to the road bridge, this carried very little traffic as the towpath side seemed to just consist of a park .

After lunch we went to visit Château de Bazoches in the minibus, the journey was quite bendy but not overly narrow, a lorry coming down thought it best to straighten the bends and forced us off the road with two wheels in the ditch and the side of the van against the bank. We all clambered out of the drivers door as the passenger door was completely blocked, Luckily  Alix was a 6’4” fittish American and between us pushing back and forth with Mathew driving we managed to get it out and continue our journey unscathed. At the Château we met up with another group from European Waterways to watch the birds of prey demonstration.

The Harris Hawk got the huff and went and sat in a tree but the Kestrel sat on everyone's knee and seemed to love performing, or getting treats. The Barn Owl is a spinster and has killed every mate she has been introduced to.

The Chateau was turned into a dwelling from a fortification by local lad made good, Vauban, The moot laid to gardens but the old drawbridge still exists. The original

fortification was was build around a pentagonal courtyard, but when it was made into a dwelling it was greatly extended. A TV series about Vauban was made here. the rooms contain their original furniture including two small cannons that were toys, these actually work.  

The present occupant and the latest adult member of the family is very interested in there family tree and coats of arms, to this end he has had miniature coats of arms made of all he can trace which spells out the family tree. Here Mathew is talking us through it

There are also models of some of Vauban greatest fortifications on display, well know for the angular walls to give greater fire coverage.

From the area we were in we could see  on another hill the location of tomorrows excursion and due to the afternoon heat it was felt better do do that in the morning rather than the afternoon. We returned to the barge without incident and after diner Diana and I walked over the bridge to the church, they have mounted lights in the windows behind the stained glass so at night it glows.

The sky said we were in for a storm and a visit out on deck before bed we could see lightening  all around. The storm didn’t hit us until we were a bed and asleep, they told us about it next morning.

Mailly-la-Ville to La Saussois / Merry-sur-Yonne

 
This was the view from our boat this morning, no one could explain the tepee or the Indian canoe on the far bank, and island between the canal and the river.

Today was another morning excursion this time firstly to a vineyard or lots of vineyards, we drove up into the forest  overlooking the Valley to see all the Vines

and then went down into the town, walking through the narrow ally ways to the Old Monastery where the original wine was made by the monks many years ago.

The wine is still pressed in the same way it always has been with the same press, and stored in oak barrels in the same cellars the Monks used. One thing that has

changed is that they now use screw tops on all their wines as they find them much more     They have designed there the wine in good condition

reliable than corks. own screw tops to keep

They have what is effect a library of all their old wins, stored away so that they can compare back to years past and how they have aged.

It was then time for the wine tasting, and I must say this is the best tasting event I have ever attended. We had 5 different white wines, all from the same area and they all tasted different to each other, depending from which side of the valley the grapes were grown and how high up for the different soils, these were all the same variety of grape. Even I could detect the difference.

After the wine tasting we had a three course meal at the Monastery with even more wine. I was expecting a snack type lunch, like I have had at some other wineries, but no, this was the proper job. The do cater for weddings and special events and this is not in their normal wine tasting sessions but specifically for European Waterways.

 

After lunch we returned to the boat to continue our journey upstream. On our way back to the minibus we passed this church doorway, you will note its covered with horse shoes, but unlike in the UK where we mount them to keep the luck in, they mount them so the luck drains out into the area. The plan was to go to La Saussois but we carried on to Merry-sur-Yonne to moor for the night.

 

    I think this was the spot where we were supposed to moor for the night, where the canal section runs into the river with a very long training wall for deep navigation, by deep I mean almost a meter and a half, we could see the bottom most of the time, The rivers we bypassed where less than 300mm all the way across from bank to bank.

 

 

The first lock we came to that had a statue of a naked lady holding a dove I can’t find any information about her, the lock house is again decorated to include a fixed metal rod.  

As well as two boat full’s of young people enjoying the water on a very hot afternoon we also passed a heard of cows making the best of it..

There was a rather fine chateau standing on the hill top, bit of a contrast to the modern bridge with a tractor going over it