Holiday in France 11 - Lanslebourg and Esseillon
We drove for over an hour through rather murky conditions until we reached the town of Lanslebourg in the Mont-Cenis ski area, still in the Vanoise. The town had some old, pleasantly rundown housing and posters for a film on the children's book 'Belle et Sébastien', which was also a TV series Alan enjoyed as a child.
We continued further south still following the Arc river. The road name had changed from the D902 to the D1006.
By late lunchtime we came across the bastion of a fort at the side of the road and stopped for a look. They had a convenient car park where we ate (we normally had a baguette, Camembert and maybe a little Parma ham for lunch) and then set out for an exploration.
The river Arc here cuts through a deep gorge.There was a fort on the roadside and another, bigger one across the gorge, the Victor-Emmanuel fort, very impressively sitting on a rocky crag. These are part of a series of 5 forts, the Esseillon barrier, built in the 19th century to protect the Piedmont kingdom from France, although, following a treaty they were never used. It is possible to tour them but we did not have time, and it is also possible to follow the via ferrata routes up the gorge.
Moving on through the valley we finally joined the D902 again and drove to the top of the Col du Télégraphe and parked there while Alan cycled to the bottom and then back to the top. The Télégraphe is not particularly high at 1,585m. I struggled to find anything to photograph at the top. The view was obscured by trees and the fort, which lies on military land, was closed to to the public, you could not even see the exterior. So I just read, it had been a long day. We finally drove the short distance to Valloire where we had a good night.
We continued further south still following the Arc river. The road name had changed from the D902 to the D1006.
By late lunchtime we came across the bastion of a fort at the side of the road and stopped for a look. They had a convenient car park where we ate (we normally had a baguette, Camembert and maybe a little Parma ham for lunch) and then set out for an exploration.
The river Arc here cuts through a deep gorge.There was a fort on the roadside and another, bigger one across the gorge, the Victor-Emmanuel fort, very impressively sitting on a rocky crag. These are part of a series of 5 forts, the Esseillon barrier, built in the 19th century to protect the Piedmont kingdom from France, although, following a treaty they were never used. It is possible to tour them but we did not have time, and it is also possible to follow the via ferrata routes up the gorge.
Moving on through the valley we finally joined the D902 again and drove to the top of the Col du Télégraphe and parked there while Alan cycled to the bottom and then back to the top. The Télégraphe is not particularly high at 1,585m. I struggled to find anything to photograph at the top. The view was obscured by trees and the fort, which lies on military land, was closed to to the public, you could not even see the exterior. So I just read, it had been a long day. We finally drove the short distance to Valloire where we had a good night.
Now't better than a bit of rustication
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