Fortunately, the rain and thunder held off for a while as we headed back down the canal having a last glimpse of the Cote d’ Or and Santenay while our friends peddled off well ahead down the canal path.

By the time we reached Chagny, the skies had opened, our intrepid cyclists got the worst of it, sheltering while waiting for us to arrive, nothing that a change of clothes wouldn’t fix but a bit of a dampener on our exploring as we continually dodged the showers all day.

 

 

Chagny is probably best known for its 3-star Michelin restaurant, Maison Lameloise, facing onto the town square, we have been told that one has to book a table 6 months in advance, we didn’t, instead we looked at the menu outside and moved on, dodging puddles and finding shop awnings under which to shelter.

 

 

Chagny was founded in Roman times as were so many places in Burgundy and while there are no apparent signs of that period there were character buildings to see, this and other photos have been taken by our unofficial predominant photographer while the rest of us chime in with a contribution from time to time.

 

 

By evening all was calm again, with the evening reflections on Chagnys harbour a reminder of the calm after the storm.

 

 

It had dawned a beautiful day on Thursday, our revised plan was to head back down the canal to Fragnes for the night with only one lock the following day to be in Chalon for the Friday market.

We agreed that it was a perfect opportunity for our guests to ride down the canal path as we could bring Wairua II down through the locks ourselves and they could go exploring, we suggested they ride to Chateau Rully not too far from the path, an amazing medieval castle built in the 12th C. and still in the hands of the original family.  

 

 

Fragnes is a pretty little village with a communal orchard and garden by the canal, a park planted in mature specimen trees and a peaceful churchyard round a photogenic little church. It also has an amazing restaurant right on the canal and only 20 metres from where we were berthed, we had an exquisite meal as the sun set on what had been a great day, with the weather at long last as we choose to remember France.