From the precious, pampered vineyards of the Côtes de Beaune, we walked generally north-west, through hilly forests and fields, to the village of Bligny-sur Ouche, then north to the Pont d’Ouche, where we met the Canal of Burgundy for the first time.
The next three days were spent mostly on the towpath, except for a diversion to Vitteaux, made necessary by a lack of accommodation on the canal itself. This part of Burgundy was the scene of the final showdown between the Romans and the Gauls, which added a certain piquancy to our progress. During this stage we had two splendid restaurant dinners and two less splendid picnics, but the camping grounds were uniformly beautiful and we found plenty of bars to keep us going during the day.
The weather was more settled than it had been in the south, although we did get rained on once.
Day 11: Beaune to Bligny-sur-Ouche
Day 12: Bligny-sur-Ouche to Pouilly-en-Auxois
Day 13: Pouilly-en-Auxois to Vitteaux
Day 14: Vitteaux to Venarey-les-Laumes