We have had trouble publishing the blog for a long while therefore we have been keeping a handwritten diary until we could continue publishing. We think we have solved it now..the last posting covered from Reims to the area of Grenant this is situated approx 21km from Champlitte our intended destination for this lovely Saturday.
Champlitte
So far we have walked 268 km since leaving Reims to go back through history to medieval period as Chanplitte has done just that. Appears to us that the habitants here haven’t even notice the passage of time.
What a good walk the areas that we covered were very beautiful and green. Obviously the area is into wheat, forage and dairy, the farms are bigger and well maintained, the only things you see around as you walk are big farm houses in the distance and a couple of old castles over far away hills. We stopped to rest and have our sandwiches by the side of the road on a grassy strip looking at the soft hills-gorgeous!! We put down our sacks and used them to keep our backs straight as we were siting on the grass. After half an hour rest we started our way once more and reached Champlitte late in the afternoon. After entering the main street of this village. You know that you are absolutely in the middle of medieval life. The iinhabitants here are a bit unusual. The town is dead on Saturday and Sunday. Again a fortified camp town founded in the 10th century it has a castle in the centre of the town. Outside the fortified area you can see that the area has moved with the times after all. However what ever is behind the big walls is still in the feudal time. In the surrounding fields you can see vineyards and orchards and apparently the people have a love for Orchids (flowers) and their cultivation. Champlitte has some satellite little villages dated in later years which have been kept almost intact from the 12 and 13 centuries many of them are renovated inside but their external shells keep the old appearance.
Photo: Champlitte from the distance
25/5 Direction Dampier sur Salon 22km
Once more we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and the temperature was quite agreeable. After an uneventual Sunday we left Champlitte at around 10:00 am. We have clean clothes, bookings for Dampier our next stop and we feel rested. The walk today is approximately 22km and we expect a not too difficult road. After we walked 1.0 km South East we entered Champlitte the Ville a very small cute place that still has the stamp of its medieval origin. The people here are very proud of having a church that guards an octagonal baptismal perhaps Templar, unfortunately you have to make an appointment to see it any day of the week but Monday, hence we missed out. In the next 10km or so we found small little villages that represent architecture of the 13th century, each of the villages prides themselves in having beautiful gardens around houses with ancient stone exteriors that represent their origen but they are transformed into very comfortable homes. The gardens are kept inmaculate and the variety of colours give the area a look of happiness and care.
A few kilometres after walking along a lovely tree lined track beside the river we entered the town of Framont to find a lovely surprise. When crossing the river from the Roman bridge the walking pilgrims see,two churches with very different towers. For the ones interested in the old design and architecture this is a gift as for the first time in the via we saw the “French Compte” style. Compte style towers with cloches which are adorned with enamelled coloured tiles. It was such a lovely surprise for us. The second church was a gothic with quite intricate design which stands on the top of the hill.
Photo: on the road green fields give us peace
The track took us through seven villages and the most memorable and beautiful was Devener which exhibited a chapel with amazing stained glass windows. In this village the gardens reached a point of excellence. The inhabitants cultivate climbing roses of many colours which grow covering their walls, also the huge variety of fleur de liz in the gardens is a source of joy and solace for the tired pilgrim. In Delaine we found the statue of Saint Peter which dates to the 17th century and all the people here are very proud of their relic. Well also in this route we found what were the public fountains to wash clothes. They keep them in very good condition usually adding flowers and sometimes glass windows around them.
We had our lunch of nuts cheese and fruit by the cementery it was a lovely bit of rest before reaching our destination.
Photo:Via Francigena between Champlitte and Dampierre -sur-salon
Finally we arrived to Dampierre -sur- Salon around 4 pm after crossing through lots of fields covered by wheat on the right and canola on the left.
We stayed at La Tour Des Moines, Odette et Bernard Monney albergue. They have 9 places for Pilgrims nice showers and cooking facilities, offers breakfast but does not do an evening meal. Lovely welcoming host (Mr Monney). Wonderful setting, quite good atmosphere.
Mr Monney was born in this house – his family were farmers and so was he until he retired . Originally in this site were old stables which were transformed into a house that specialised in helping Pilgrims. Mr Monney’s albergue runs like a clock, clean well equiped and breakfast is good. We noticed that he does everything without other help even though he is not a spring chicken.
We were advised that the next stop had a workers hostel run by the municipality and no other accommodation so we were a bit nervous about the possibility of not finding any. Mr Monney was kind enough to arrange a sleep over place through his contacts and by breakfast time on the 26th he had secure a place at the house of Mrs Garnier 23 km away from Dampierre. Neat!!
Unfortunately in the last part of the day the weather deteriorated so we did not tour the town of Dampierre until next morning in our way out.
Photo: Dampiere-sur-Salon Town Hall built over old public wash place
26/5 On the way to Frasne le Château 25 km
We left the albergue by 08:00am and visited Dampierre-sur- Salon. It was cold and still menacing perhaps we were to have rain again.
Dampierre – sur- Salon was a very prosperous little town with several industries which are the source of income for their citizens also they have a lot of agriculture and dairy industry. We used some time to check the surroundings and found that the houses show a bit of wealth. By the way, the tourist office was exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable about the Via Francigena (compared to other previous T.O’s )
The walk to destination was a lovely one; we crossed a very fertile countryside and little villages across the river. We also passed several dairy farms. At Mercey sur Salon we came across a “hotel for cats and dogs” with a “hospital for the animals” attached, not very flashy but it was someone’s enterprising effort we thought. Most of the road was easy and the temperature was in the low 20s, very pleasant
Mostly we walked by the Salon river, the trees were so beautiful and we even sighted some swans in the distance.
Photo: on the way to Dampierre by the River
By 2 pm we had a sudden change and it became freezing. We stopped at Saint Quillon in a beautiful park in front of the famous church to have something to eat before continuing the way to our sleeping place. By then we had run out of energy and still had 5 km to go. We started again and soon after we caught a lift for the last few kilometres
We arrived into Frasne-le-Chateau when drops of rain started to fall softly even when the sun was shining through black clouds. It was beautiful to see.
Our hostess Madame Granier was waiting for us at the porch overlooking her magnificent garden with all kind of pretty flowers including red, orange and very pale purple poppies the size of a bread and butter plate. Madame Garnier did welcome us as long lost friends and offered a hot cup of tea before showing us the rooms. She was so French. She had some elegance about her and was a very interesting person with a brilliant and exciting life.
She offered us dinner that night and indicated that it would be ready by 19:00 hrs, so we were very punctual. She served a delicious legume soup, hot bread and a very French chicken dish with salad. Sweets were part of the feast but we could not fit another morsel.
During dinner she told many anecdotes and pointed out the first prize certificate that she got by winning the competition of best garden in the town for 2015. Madame Granier had been awarded the prize just two weeks before and she was so proud of it. For what we saw around her street on the way in she had tough competition. We understood that she was a dressmaker and also did embroidery and ceramic pottery etc. she was a very special person.
27/5 destination Causey-sur-l’ Ognion (22 km )- meeting Francis Geere
By 8:00 am we left the place after a lovely breakfast. We checked out the town and visited the Frasne Chateau. It was a magnificent building well conserved and was surrounded by beautiful trees and 1000 crows that were just a bit spooky.
Photo: Entrance to Château in Frasne-le-Château
The way was lovely nice tracks, beautiful countryside, wild flowers and butterflies the weather was nice and I guess that pilgrims can’t wish for better. To get to our destination we crossed several little villages all with origins in the 17th century. From all of these villages the biggest was Oiselay-et-Grachaux that was located 10km away from the starting point of today’s walk, a good place to rest. We read in our guide book that this was the only place with a coffee shop on the way to the final destination. When we reached the point where the coffee shop was we found that it had closed down a long while ago. So we continued the way and arrived at the next junction and checked directions and we turned left. Around 400 metres from there we stopped by the side of the road sat in a rock and opened the parcel with the lunch that Madame Grenier had given us in the morning . The lunch was delicious..
Soon after a cyclist from Belgium on his way to Besancon stopped by and had a good chat with us mentioning that he had heard a few nights before that there were two old Aussies on the road to Rome and was happy to meet us. Of course he soon realised that one of the two was not an Australian born Aussie. He left as he knew that the road was going to be a bit difficult and needed to get to Besancon before sunset. We followed him soon after and stopped to take pictures of some beautiful cows. We continued along the road making good time averaging over 4.5 km/hour happy as one can be when suddenly the Belgium chap is coming back as a flash moving his arms for us to stop before he was even near. What happened was that the three of us had taken the wrong turn at the junction and the road where we were was going to take us North away from our destination. So he said that he was going to the junction and if there was anything to report he would return to let us know. Of course if all was ok we should get Rue Besancon and go straight ahead. We laughed so much and saw the good side of it and we’re grateful for meeting this chap. Also we new that if we had not taken the wrong road we would not have seen the nicest cows in France.
We changed directions as per advice and continued the walk. Of course we had added an extra 3km to the day. We crossed Montboillon whose claim to fame is that it is the longest village in the north of France.
Our meeting with Mr Geere was fixed for 16:30 and was obvious that we were not to meet the time so we decided that if it were necessary we would call him later. We needed to cover another 10 km in 2 hours. The road was flat and we accelerated the steps and at the end of the day we made just on time. Francis was late .
Francis Geere
Well we haven’t introduced Francis Geere. No he is not related to the Hollywood’s Richard Geere. He is an English gentleman who has lived in France for many years and dedicates his time to helping Pilgrims. He understands the Via Francigena in this area very well and better than many who claim to have the answers to the problems. Francis is a purist and respects the way that Archbishop Sigeric did. However he adds common sense, practicality and beauty to the way. Francis is always looking for improvements to the Via to make it easier for us Pilgrims
Francis lives in Nuns-sus-Saint Anne a beautiful village near Besancon. He offers a great service to the Pilgrims by giving them albergue for two or three nights and showing them the different routes to follow from this area to the lake Geneva in Switzerland. Also if the Pilgrim request he directs and shows you the best way to do the via in the Besancon area. He did show us other areas of interest such as the Chapel des Buis, Ornans, Pontaliere and some areas of Switzerland. At every step he was advising us on how to cover this area in a more productive way. He has amazing knowledge, and also has contributed to parts of the book Foot Loose puting some other angles on the table, thus giving a choice to the Pilgrim. We enjoyed the time with him immensely and thanks to his advice the last kilometres in France and the beginning of Switzerland were much easier to follow. He was introduced to us by another Australian Pilgrim Venetia Bowen who did this route two years ago.
29/6 Besançon
Photo: Besançon from the distance
After receiving Francis invaluable advice for the last two days we were ready to do our own exploring . On the 29th after a delicious and nutritious breakfast he dropped us in Besançon and we agreed on a time and place to be collected late in the afternoon. This gave us plenty of time to visit the most prominent places of this magnificent City.
Besançon has 125,000 inhabitants situated in a horseshoe shaped bend in the river Doiubs. It was built here to use the river for protection in times of war. It is an impressive place. As soon as you start to walk its streets you feel transported to the past.
Photo: Besançon city
The city is divided into the Citadel on top of hill and the city below by the river. The Citadel was built between 1668 and 1688 by Vauban who also built several forts in France in his time. It occupies a big site. Walking along its parapets offers impressive views of the other part of Besancon which is situated below. The Citadel has the Chapel of Saint Etiene and three museums. Also in the high part you can walk the via and after 5 km visit the Chapelle des Buis very simple and unobtrusive.
The City below the Citadel exhibits the Cathedral of Saint Jean beautifully built and dates to the 12th century. It is magnificent and very particular as it has not a facade as such. The entrance is in the back of the building via an 18th century side portal. We could not get more information on this. Also the cathedral has the oldest cloches comptois in existence dating from the 1700s, in addition there is the Rose of Saint Jane which is a circular altar made of white marble and is dated back to the 11th century. The Cathedral also houses the Horloge Astronomique Assembled in the 19th century with 30000 moving parts which run 57 faces providing information on calendars, movement of the planets and eclipses.
Also in the city we found the Musee des Temps in the Palace of Granville that exhibits watches and clocks. For us the most amazing part of the city was the Porte Noir a Triumph Arch dated to the year 175 BC during the regime of Marcus Aurelious.
Photo: Port Noir roman arch dated 175 BC
Besançon made a huge impression on us, for hours we were absolutely immersed in beauty and history. We could feel that we were walking on the same roads that so many of the makers of history used to walk. Obviously this city dates to the year 175 bc or earlier . How many cultures were fused to deliver our current world? When walking through the citadel you can’t avoid thinking about how much blood and death was needed to shape theFrance of today.
Here we have completed the route from Reims to Besançon which covers approximately 357 Km
Comments
routes beautiful- some of them rough and difficult
the great majority of the French people were helpful, courteous, friendly and kind.
waymarking sometimes very poor
distances between accommodation a real problem for seniors
guide books inaccurate data
complete ignorance about the via is a common thing
tourist offices in general unhelpful with some notable exceptions.
