Alsace Wine Tour 2023 – St-Hippolyte to Lac de Lalleyriat
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St Hippolite to Lalleyriat
Next morning at St Hippolyte the weather is again clear sunny day, but possibly a slightly lower temperature. As we breakfast by the river a few fluffy clouds bubble up, perhaps a sign of the weather later.
We leave St Hippolyte by 10.00am as we anticipate a long drive today. We take D39 which follows the bends (boucles) of the River Dessoubre for some miles to Le Pont Neuf. Here we turn onto D464, a good road to Pierrefontaine and then D32 to Pierrefontaine and Valdahon. Onto N57 over the mountains climbing up to 850m all the way to Pontarlier and D471 towards Champagnole. Just before the town we turn off into a long shady layby, Bief du Malu where we have lunch.
There are not many stopping places over the mountains so this makes a good stop for along lunch break. Back on the road again with Gill driving, at Champagnole we take N5 a short distance St Laurent and then on D437 we start to climb up and up through the Haut Jura Regional Park. This is a steep climb for many kilometres to 1049 metres and a similar descent on the other side to the amazing town of St Claude. The town is built across a deep gorge over the River Tacon which must be 100 metres below us in the valley bottom with the town built on each side of the bridge. Here we take a wrong turn in the small and crooked streets of the town (mostly one way) back and forth over the gorge! We end up going around the town and over the bridge again!
Eventually we find our road, D124 and on our way again over another mountain range down and down to the wonderfully named Bellydoux. The roads are adequate but quite narrow and very bendy round switchbacks and rocky ledges… as Alan now driving, quite exciting for the passenger. Finally we drop down to the town of Lilleyriat and up again towards the summit at Col de Bérentin (at 1144 metres) to our overnight stop next to Lac du Lalleyriat at 832 metres altitude. This is a tranquil spot, between the mountains and next to a small lake with coots and cootlings(!), river snakes, newts and toads. Red kites fly by regularly with their massive wings outstretched showing striking markings and the distinctive deep V in their tails.
There are five spaces allocated for motorhomes, so we park up with two others who also overnight here. It is a wonderful antidote to a long day of driving 126 miles (200km). No facilities, although there is an earth [air?] toilet but no water. We drink a bottle of cold Viognier from the supermarket at St Hippolyte, with hummus and thinly sliced baguette, it all tastes wonderful in the clear mountain air, made all the more atmospheric by deep rolls of thunder reverberating around the mountains!
The dark clouds rollover and we have a brief but heavy thunderstorm and then, as is usual in the mountains, all the clouds roll away and we enjoy a lovely evening with chicken and mushrooms in a bun with large, thinly sliced tomatoes. Not surprisingly we sleep long and deep in the total peace and quiet of the night.
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