Dole
Seascapes Travel Log
Michael Grew
Wed 1 Jun 2011 19:12
Dole
/ Bescancon 31.05.2011 47:05:51N 05:29:82 E.
We had
decided yesterday that we would go by train today to the city of Bescancon but
when we sitting in the cockpit, Roger (who was a Welsh guy that had a small
ex-hire barge moored opposite us) came over for a natter and gave us the glad
tidings that the forecast for the next two days would be cold and wet. Undeterred
we were up early, but true to the forecast it was wall to wall grey clouds, spotting
with rain and quite chilly. Maureen announced her wish was to go anyway as it
would “probably brighten up later.” I on
the other hand thought that the wet weather was in for the long haul. Maureen
decided that I was a wimp and went for a walk up into the town. When she came
back an hour later the rain had stopped and it did look a little brighter.
After some mutterings about yachtsmen frightened of getting wet. I relented and
off we went to the station to catch the train. When we got to the booking hall
we had 10 minutes before the train was due. Standing at the two booking
counters were two elderly Frenchmen chatting to the booking clerks neither of
which were going to move to let other people buy tickets. When we had two
minutes left Maureen tried to use an automatic ticket machine and that resulted
in the machine deciding not accept the credit card nor was it going to give the
card back. After frantically bashing every button repeatedly and with every
increasing vigour it have up the fight and returned the card. We still had no
tickets and the two old boys were still discussing the latest football scores
with the clerks. So we risked it dashed across to the platform where our train
was arriving and spoke to a girl platform staff who said we could buy tickets
on the train (phew!) Yes we could, but we had to pay another ten Euros for the
privilege. When we got off at Bescancon the clouds had got heavier but it was
not raining. We walked the mile or so down into the town and had a look round for half an hour before
it started raining hard (with a vengeance) and continued to rain on and off for
the rest of the day. We both got soaked ( and readers I was very good, never
once, did I utter those words. “I told you so” ). Bescancon is obviously a
university town that has leanings towards music, since there were hundreds of
students everywhere and lots of shops selling musical instruments. We did visit
the cathedral which had once been very lavishly decorated but now showed signs
of neglect. All the stonework was almost black and there were no illuminations,
so it was very dark and oppressive inside, quite the opposite of Dole Cathedral
which is light and airy. After a light lunch in a café, we continued to splosh
our way round the town getting wetter and wetter until we gave up and walked
back to the station and caught the train to Dole. On the way Maureen said, “I
bet it’s sun shining in Dole”. Wrong again! It was raining. Back on the boat we
stripped off our wet clothing and enjoyed a mug of hot chocolate. (I was heard
to utter those immortal words, “Bloody weather”) Spent the evening trying to
keep warm and playing cards.
Dole.
01.06.2011. 47:05:51N 05:29:82 E
Awoke to
the sound of rain pattering against the cabin roof, so stayed in bed a bit
longer than usual and read a couple of chapters of a book. The rain eased off
after breakfast so I did some odd jobs around the boat then Roger shouted
across the canal for us to go over for a natter and be shown over his boat.
Very nice it is too! 35’.00” long, 5 berth and a superb helming position and
all mod cons. He bought it from the hire company called “Le Boat”. He is an
ex-teacher of problem kids. We certainly found it difficult to get a word in
edgeways. I think he is lonely; his wife has returned home for some important
meeting and will not be returning until Saturday. One thing he did mention was
the Roman “Lavoir” in the town. It is a subterranean, rectangular pond which is
constantly being fed by a lead-off from the nearby mill race. In this shallow
pond the townswomen used to do the family washing in the 18th
century. In roman times I suspect it was used for personal washing. The town
(sorry city) has a lot of history. It boasts a university that was founded in
the 15th century. In the afternoon we rode our bikes over to the
large industrial estate where Lidl’s and Casino supermarkets have huge
premises. There is also a Bricollage (a DIY store) there where I was able to
pick up a couple of items I had’t been able to find hitherto. The rain had
managed to keep off but there was quite a cold wind. The temperature here has
gone from 31 degrees to 10 degrees in two days. Back at the boat I managed to swop
some books with a couple on an English cruiser moored at the other end of the
jetty. We both had a good tidy up since we have visitors staying on the boat
for a couple of days and the boat was looking like a bit of a pigsty.