Destination: Pouilly-en-Auxois
I woke to the smell of pine and the sound of birdsong. I quickly hurried to open up the TentBox and make the most of the brief time I had on the site. Being camped literally in the forest was so lovely.
Now that I had the benefit of daylight I decided to take a look around. The campsite was situated in a great place, at the intersection of lots of really good hiking trails through the forest. There was a lovely stream burbling it’s way alongside one of the tracks, and it really made me wish I had time to follow it back up the trail. Yet another place for me to revisit!
As I had quite a drive coming up, I reluctantly made my way to the lodge to settle my bill. I was glad that I still remembered some of my very rusty German as the person at reception didn’t speak English at all. That was the very first time on my trip that I’d met someone I’d had to speak to totally in their own language. It was kind of nice that I could.
Then I got back in the car and headed along the forest road leading away from the site. Bis zum nächsten Mal!
Stop 1: Schloß Bueggen
My first stop was due to be at a little castle on the Rhine called Schloß Bueggen. The character that looks like a B there is a German language letter pronounced ‘ss’ so you’d pronounce that as Schloss Bueggen.
There was handy free parking just off the main road so I parked up and walked down the drive to the castle.
I had checked out the castle online and it appeared that access was free so I thought I was ok to just walk in. The gate was open, but once I went inside, there were all sorts of signs about it being private access only. So rather than get into any trouble, I decided to leave and do a circular walk along the river and back to the car.
Although it was a little disappointing not to see much of the caste, I was happy to just be walking along the river in the sunshine. This part of the Rhine is interesting, as the bank I was on was in Germany, but the opposite bank is in Switzerland. It was very picturesque and aside from the hum of the busy road behind it was absolutely still and a lovely place to get a really good stretch of my legs.
If you are planning to stop here, it might be worth checking the access situation before you go. As nice as the walk is, it would be nicer to get a good look of the castle if you can.
Stop 2: Le Pont de Pierre
I was glad of the stop, as I was driving main roads today, which is not particularly interesting. My next key moment was crossing the border into France as I went over the Rhine just outside of Mulhouse. Although I had absolutely loved my trip, I had realised that all that driving was taking it’s toll, and I was not disappointed to be heading home. I might have let out a teensy shriek of excitement as I crossed the bridge out of Germany and into France.
Spurred on by the signs now referring to places like Paris, I perked up a bit, and didn’t stop for another break until I reached the Pont de Pierre crossing the Saône at Gray.
I hadn’t planned the stop, but as I drove past had noticed a small cafe bar on the bank called Bar de l’écluse and decided to jump in for some coffee. Unfortunately when I got there it wasn’t open, but I’ve read reviews online and it looks quite good and is usually open all day.
Nevertheless, it was a lovely place to sit and chill for a while, listening to the river splash over the wier.
Overnight: Pouilly-en-Auxois
It wasn’t too much further to the site at Pouilly-en-Auxois and I arrived in time to catch the tail end of the afternoon sun. The site ‘Camping Vert Auxois‘ was another Pitchup find and certainly lived up to it’s name. The pitches were great, level and relatively private, and the unisex facilities good.
When I arrived I was quickly booked in by the really lovely receptionist. This was another site where my dodgy language skills were put to the test. If you don’t speak French, this would definitely be a candidate for Google Translate. But the lady was very helpful, and told me there was a festival happening in the town. So I quickly put up the TentBox and hurried off.
The walk into town took me alongside the Canal de Bourgogne, and at the end of the entrance to the site, the canal disappears into a tunnel, which is pretty cool. At 3km long, it’s a pretty impressive feat of engineering!
The little town centre was only about 5 minutes walk from the site. When I got there, I realised the festival the lady at the campsite had mentioned was a food festival, rather than the musical variety. As it had been a very warm day, I was feeling more thirsty than hungry, so I decided to find a cafe and have a cold beer.
Just off the main square, I came across L’Hôtel du Commerce which had a restaurant one side and a pizzeria and bar on the other. The smells coming from the busy pizza oven were heavenly, and I was surprised to see they had an open kitchen. I watched the chef skilfully spinning the dough while I waited my turn at the bar. Then I ordered a beer and sat outside, listening to the chatter of the locals and feeling quite at home.
In fact I was so at home, I had several more beers and it was quite dark by the time I made my way back to camp. Happily the lane was well lit, although if I’d not been 3 pints brave I might have gone back a little sooner!
I had a great sleep despite it being quite rainy, another outing for the raincovers and another completely dry night for me in the TentBox.
