It's not just wine in Burgundy

You don't need to be a Francophile to love Burgundy. Think rural England with sunshine and you are halfway to knowing Burgundy.

Calais to Troyes is just 250 miles and will take about four hours on roads England can only dream about. You'll have to pay a toll to travel on the A26 peage, but for a relaxed and relatively traffic free journey it's money well spent.

You won't be too thrilled with the scenery until you reach Troyes as there isn't really much to distinguish it from any run of the mill scenery anywhere else. Best to close your eyes and wait until Troyes before forming an opinion.

Once you reach Troyes come off the toll road and head south through Tonnerre (after a few nights in Burgundy you'll understand why Tonnerre is French for storm) and down to Noyers. If cobbled streets and arched mediaeval buildings are your thing then you are in for a treat. Seek out Place de l'hotel de ville for a particular artist's and photographer's delight.

Head west through Nitry and keep going before turning north to Vermenton. Once there, find a boulangerie and grab a fresh baked croissant or a pain au chocolat before they are all gone - and they will all go. If you need a place to stay for the night Le Petit Moulinot on the northern outskirts, some 800 metres from Vermenton, is a mill house at which you can get a very reasonable bed and breakfast. 

For lovers of wildlife the otters put on daily displays in the mill pond directly outside the farmhouse. Paddle to the far end in one of the provided canoes and you should see them. Dusk is the best time, but they don't appear to be shy at any time of day. And when did you last see a nuthatch in England?   

When you've had your fill of the wildlife steer north again. Turn left at either Accolay to hug the south side or Cravat for the north side and follow the line of the River Yonne. You'll pass plenty of quaint villages and hardly any cars and when you've lapped up enough peaceful villages peel away and head east along the D951 to Vézelay. The must see Basilique Ste-Madeleine (Basilica Church of St. Mary Magdalene) perched at the top of a steepish hill guarded the relics of St. Mary Magdalen and as such was a major medieval pilgrimage destination. As with most places in france the parking is free.

A quick note to thrill seekers: unfortunately, I can't remember exactly where but we once travelled for three or four miles through deep forest on a single track road with ditches at either side and nowhere to pull over to let another car pass. The tension as we waited for a tractor to steam towards us was almost unbearable. Luckily, this was Burgundy and we didn't see another vehicle until we were well and truly back on two carriageways. Reversing for three miles isn't my idea of heaven.

Drop further south to the Morvan forest, the national park situated at the heart of Burgundy - almost a quarter of a million hectares of rivers, rapids, waterfalls, bogs and, not surprisingly, trees. Even the most fastidious ornithologist will find enough birds flittering from branch to branch to keep occupied and there are more than enough fish bobbing about in the lakes and rivers to keep most angler spinning tales. 

In short, you don't need to take Bill Oddie with you to enjoy Morvan forest. Walking  slowly, hiking tenaciously and cycling healthily are major pastimes and there are plenty of hills and valleys to tire you out. Rural hamlets abound and for somewhere to sit and paint undisturbed by man or vehicle you won't find much better than Burgundy.