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It’s
not the travel that tires you, it’s
getting to and from airports, the
early check in, the standing in queues,
the waiting at the baggage carousel, dragging cases up escalators and making
connections at a distant airport gates.
That’s
where the train scores, you go from city centre to city centre and your bags are
instantly available, tucked away behind your seat.
Now,
with the Channel Tunnel we have a rail link to the fast French network.
I took The Eurostar train from London’s Waterloo Station. The service is very
popular and I joined a crowd of 800
people who boarded the train. Now since that equates to a couple of jumbo loads,
the tip is to either, board early, or
late and avoid the crush. The first thing that strikes you about Eurostar is the
size of the train, it’s big,
spacious and comfortable.
We
glided through Kent and looked out at the countryside where they filmed
The
TV series, The Darling Buds of May. Fields
of bright yellow oil seed rape gave
way to green meadows and orchards heavy with apple blossom. Oust houses and
villages flashed by. The train was plush, well sprung and quiet and we moved
towards the tunnel at the speed of a traditional express, but on the other side
it is was like a thoroughbred horse being given free reign and we begin to
notice the difference as Eurostar took to the new track and unleashed power that
could take it up to speeds of 186 mph. The channel tunnel itself we scarcely
noticed and it was hard to believe
that we were abroad. We had left our island nation behind us and were now part
of the continent. At Lille we changed to the
TGV, literally called in
French ‘The Train of Great Speed ‘ It lived up to it’s name, we had an
onboard picnic and after just a few
sips of Burgundy we were in ‘Burgundy’ and the station of Cosne
sur Loire.
Cycling
in Burgundy
The
French love their bikes and with good reason, there’s beautiful countryside
and peaceful lanes to explore. If that’s not enough for you,
then add good food and drink to the list.
We had decided to check out a holiday where you cycle and your luggage is
transported to a ‘Logis de France’ Auberge.
 Theses are
small hotels, and because they are family run the quality is good. We stayed for
the first night at Le
Relais Fleuri at Pouilly sur Loire before being introduced to bikes with
sixteen bewildering gears.
We had had an excellent dinner at their restaurant ‘Le
Coq Hardi’ but by the time I’d pedalled a mere kilometre up the hill to
Le Bouchet I began to think the name ‘Le
Bum Tender’ might have been more appropriate. Fortunately once we got that
incline behind us the countryside opened up to long gentle rolling landscape.
A
statue of the Madonna in the corner of a field called ‘Notre Dame de Vins’
marked the beginning of the vineyards. We cycled on and elderly vines that were
thick, knurled and stubby gave way to young slender plants, all were beginning
to sprout fresh leaves.
 There
were fascinating Chateaux to visit
and at La Tracy, we
found one with a Scottish connection. It had been given to the Stuarts, by the French King ‘for
loyalty’ and this refers to the service given by a bodyguard of Scottish
Archers.
We
cycled on and called in at Moulin
de Deauregard. It was a water mill but now
houses over a hundred wooden casks full of excellent burgundy wine.
 Our
host, deftly dispensed samples of
using a great long glass pipette. We looked carefully at it’s sparkle as we
emulated the experts. We swirled it
in the glass and sniffed it knowingly,
before sipping it in a reverend hush. After about five glasses the walls
echoed with noise and we sounded like a bunch of starlings as we argued the
merits of the various ‘years.’ Somehow none of us quite mastered the
technique of spitting out our samples. It was a merry bunch that tucked up their
bikes for the night.
The
next day we took to the country roads, dogs barked,
and in the fields men in bright blue overalls waved as we passed by.
We
visited ‘Chateau de Grange’ which dates from the 14th century and a swan
gracefully glided across the moat. He was looking good on top but no doubt
was pedalling like mad underneath. I
tried to emulate him as we pushed on down tracks that led us past ancient barns
and farm houses. White cows turned their heads and regarded us thoughtfully.
Life
became easy and the hills were ironed out as gradually we got used to the gears.
Fact
File
French Government Tourist Office www.franceguide.com
RE
RailEurope (formerly French Rail) www.raileurope.co.uk
Tel: 08705 848 848
Eurostar
www.eurostar.com
European
Rail Ltd www.europeanrail.com
http://www.focusguides.com/newsfrance.htm
Cyclotourisme
at Nievre-Tourism in Burgundy: 00 33 86 36 39 80
France Information on 0891
244123 (Premium rate number)
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