Nolay.

There are so many towns and villages in France that are homes to beautiful architecture, ranging through the centuries, but that are dilapidated and being left to die, purely because of a lack of income into the area. 

Nolay is very much one of these places. 

We pulled in to the village aire for the night, which is located in the centre of the town directly behind the Marie, and settled in, waiting for the brewing storm to pass over so that we could set off early in the morning. 

The aire was pretty empty, with just a few vans scattered around the large area. There was however one lovely Belgian man who had unfortunately broken down on his way to his summer job of vine picking in the Burgundy Valley. 

With a mix of broken French, and a smattering of English between us, we shared a couple of beers (he replaced my cold Leffes with Chimay - telling me that I should not be drinking that beer and that Chimay was a decent Belgian beer) and then I went for a wander up into the town. 

I was shocked by what I found. 

In the centre lay a 14th century market space, with an eight-tonne lime stone roof, besides a 13th century church. The surrounding town buildings varied from timber built medieval through to elaborate 18th century homes, most of which were falling to pieces, with broken windows and boarded up door-ways. 

All of the restaurants, though, were closed, and the hotels shut down. The whole village was just quiet, bar a few teenagers smoking under the market place. 

It was a real shame to see such a beautiful place in disarray, but if you ever need anywhere to stop just off the N6, it’s a beautiful place to spend a free night.