A change of scenery today - we spent most of the day in the wetlands of the Dombes. From Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne we headed towards Villars-les-Dombes on country roads which are also a designated cycle route for the district. Before long we came to the first of many man-made ponds, for which the area is famous.
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| This was the first pond we saw today. We were to see many more. |
On the way we had to halt by the side of the road as a farmer mustered his cattle along it with a tractor. We noticed that the cows were now not uniquely the white Charolais, although there were still some of those.
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| The cows have changed colour - no longer the straight white of the Charolais |
A storyboard explained that the ponds were all man-made, several centuries ago, and that they were still worked for agriculture and pisciculture.
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| This storyboard explains that these are the only ponds in France which are worked. They are typically drained and left dry every third year, and stocked with fish for the other two. |
When we arrived in Villars-les-Dombes it was lunchtime, so we sat on a bench in the town square and had lunch.
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| The town square at Villars-les-Dombes - typical lunch spot for passing backpackers |
From Villars-les-Dombes we were on a busy road for about an hour. We then went south on quieter roads through the happy-sounding village of Joyeux, to join a long distance walking path. This took us the last 8 or 9 kilometres through fields and forests into the medieval walled village of Pérouges.
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| We weren't the only tourists in Pérouges |
Here we were back in Tourism Central - signs in English, warnings to look after your valuables, and sightseers all over the place.
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| Pérouges is a medieval walled town which is listed among the most beautiful villages in France. |
We checked in to our chambre d'hôte in the middle of the walled village and set out to find an appropriate place for dinner. We found one next door.
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| This restaurant was next-door to our chambre d'hôte. After a 35 kilometre walk, we thought it an ideal location, so ducked in there for dinner. |
Day: 34
Distance: 35.85km
Walking time: 7hrs 13mins
Elevation gain: 366 metres
Cumulative distance: 879.74 km
Hi Kath and Russell,
ReplyDeleteWe have been reading your blog with great interest, especially as we plan to follow in your footsteps between Decize and Cluny.
We leave for France in three weeks.
All the best for the second half of your walk.
Keith and Jenny
Great to hear from you! Hopefully you will have better weather than we did when we passed through. Note if you stop in Gannay-Sur-Loire, we didn't find a restaurant, the bakery is only open some mornings, the grocery closed 3 months ago but the butcher is still operating and sells packets of pasta and tins of vegies as well as meat. Have a great trip!
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