Motorhome tour through the Jura, Burgundy and the Creuse
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The long-term weather forecast for our French holiday was iffy. Bright spells but rainy fronts sweeping across from the southwest. So we decided to head east and move west through the fronts when they arrived. It worked rather well.
The Jura
Our first stop was Baume-les-Messieurs in the Jura. Picture, if you can, a flat grassy stretch alongside a shallow stream, shaded by trees and with rocky cliffs rising either side, cliffs which changed colour through the course of the day. The one-star campsite at Baume is in an idyllic setting. The stream has carved out a narrow valley and on each side tree-covered slopes rise steeply with sheer rocks above.
A short stroll along the valley takes you to the attractive little town of Baume, which grew up round its abbey. This ancient institution traces its history back to a shrine of the fifth century. You can take a guided tour but the impressive Romanesque church is open and you may wander freely round the old abbey buildings, many of which are now private dwellings.
Inevitably we motored to Lons-le-Saunier, the nearest big town. It is a busy, bustling sort of place with an incomprehensible one-way traffic system. Or at least, so it seemed to me. Lons is a spa town and the salty water is still used for the town’s swimming pools. Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, the composer of La Marseillaise, was born here.
We drove for a day through rain and emerged at Nolay, the other side of Beaune in Burgundy. It was a dull evening but better weather was forecast for the next few days. So it proved. The temperature rose into the thirties.
On another day we drove to World’s End – Bout du Monde – a rocky, forested chasm with a high waterfall. A short walk from there took us to the grottes where a little stream gushes out of the rock face and runs down over pebbles, reflecting the sun’s rays. After that we stopped at the weekly market in Épinac for fruit, vegetables, cheese and bread.
The Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune is too magnificent to miss. It was built in the mid fifteenth century, a series of interlinked buildings around a central courtyard. The visit is not guided and so we wandered around the rooms, many of which have waxwork figures engaged in the daily work of the hospice.
The Creuse
The next day dawned dull and with a hint of rain. The weather had changed. So we left Nolay and set off in a roughly southwest direction. We had the Creuse département in mind because we knew there were definitely a few trees there that had been planted on the orders of the Duke of Sully. But, as usual, we found that this part of France had much more than that to offer.
However, the weirdest tourist attraction is about six kilometres south of Ahun. The village of Masgot is a pleasant little place where the main attraction is the legacy of François Michaud (1810-1890), a stonemason who lived all his long life in this village. He was an odd sort of chap with an individual sense of humour.
In his spare time he carved the local granite into dozens of animals, mythical beasts, birds and people. Outside his second home, for reasons best known to himself, he set on his wall the unmistakable figure of Napoleon and immediately behind him, an unidentified naked woman. The latter caused something of a scandal at the time and he was asked to cover her up somehow. Eventually he gave in and cemented a granite hat on to her head. I told you he was an odd sort of chap...
This edited excerpt was taken from the October 2013 issue of MMM magazine, which also features motorhome travel articles on:
- Adventures galore on a tour of Holland
- Discovering the magic of Marrakech
- Festival time in Durham
- Avoiding the crowds in Cumbria
- Water and wildlife on the south coat
- Blackpool: great for bikes, rock and family fun
For just £2.49 you can enjoy a digital copy of the October issue of MMM now, just click here
MMM is also on sale in: WH Smiths, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, ASDA and all good newsagents priced £3.95.
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