Via the Étang at Châteauneuf and the Meyne river. Bright and clear, warm and still. This might be one of the last such days if Météo is to be believed. At the étang we were astonished to see absolutely no water in the lake. Never seen it so dry and obviously vegetation had been cut.
The reeds however were glorious as always. The only birds were the invisible warblers and some magpies. We just had a walk round then moved on.
This time our destination was the Meyne - a small river that runs through Orange and alongside the Rhône and then goes off under Châteauneuf. It’s a nature reserve and we often see herons perched in the overhanging branches. This time we thought it would be interesting to walk along a part of it near Châteauneuf rather than the bit by the Rhône. A road was identified going down from the town through vines ending up at a group of old farm buildings by the river. One advertised Vente d’Oeuf (just the one?), the other was a gîte rural cum Chambre d'hôtes and possibly a brocante. The path turned out to be the old tow path and the chambre d’hôtes was the former staging post for bargees.
The river bank is now pretty overgrown with trees and we could only glimpse the water to begin with. But it did open up to reveal limestone cliffs and part of the cobbled tow path with the limpid water below.
At the far end there’s a lime kiln and this revealed the reason for the tow path. Calcified lime was a major commodity and source of wealth in past centuries. It was transported from here to the Rhône and beyond. In fact Châteauneuf only became ‘du Pape’ in 1893. Before that it was Châteauneuf- Calcernier (from the word for lime). However there is no way across to the Rhône for a long way once you get to Hers. It’s on the other bank! So we retraced our steps and drove there.
To be rewarded by a barge. I think owned by Odin Marine of Rotterdam, heavily laden with cargo anonymous.
No visible name, just number.
Very warm it was now and we decided a drink was in order. Alas the Café de France in Caderousse was fermé and we couldn’t think of anywhere close by so headed through Orange to Ste Cécile to try the trendy newish Coffee House/ Epicérie Fine. This is always heaving on market day but today was quiet.
We sat outside under the plane trees and had the most delicious real proper thick hot chocolates. Bit pricey at 4 euros but well...it was lunch!
Then off to U Express to give Skoda a go in the car wash!
