Spotlight on the Seine

“How about tracing the secret spots of the Seine and its tributaries?” I ask Seán. “Burgundy, Champagne, Île de France, Normandy. History, art, adventure…?” Seán is quizzical. “Nothing to do with Champagne, then?” he replies.

The river rises in Burgundian woodland and, once I suggest this starting point, SeĂĄn (dreaming of Charolais steaks) immediately books our ferry.

Lakes stretch before us at Champagne’s Clérey campsite. It is surprisingly peaceful and the beach is deserted.

Fish dart, a heron flaps and swans feed on waterweed. Chalk-white footpaths cross bleached fields, wild carrots’ white bracts wave, lipstick-pink sweet peas scramble and oregano scents the air.

Poplar trees, weighed down with mistletoe, stand sentinel. The first sunflowers of our holiday lift their cheerful yellow faces to us.

The D971 traces the Seine by russet-roofed, honeysuckle-edged buildings and we picnic beside the stone-arched bridge at Fouchères. We follow signs to Château de Vaux, the driveway slicing through beech woods to a parking field where other motorhomers soak up the sun.

The downstairs of the château is fascinating; it’s just as well as upstairs is still a building site. We potter around the , the wine cellar with its Champagne riddler, the butcher’s room, bakery, apothecary, fruit