We are all well rested after the night in the quiet house in Trepail Madame Jacqueminet is a generous host we start our simple pilgrim dinner with a bottle of Champagne from the vineyards surrounding us. Her son and granddaughter were there when we arrived and the small black rabbit that Tony thought might be for dinner disappeared when they left.
We descend through the vineyards and through the village of Ambonay. There are quite a few agriculture vehicles and workers in the vineyards. T village is full of Champagne houses and very quiet at 8.30am but has some interesting displays of wine making devices. Again there is a sudden change to arable fields as we leave the realm of Bacchus. A few rather straight boring km see us joining the canal and a very long day relieved at lunch by a group of fellow UK citizens creating a video for a new venture renting canal boats, big ones!
Eventually we enter Challons en Champagne with its 11thC early gothic church of Notre Dame du Vaux after the three valleys the city is on. It is quite different to Rheims and we get our pilgrim stamp from a man in the entrance office who looks suspiciously at us. Just before we get there the thunderstorm that has threatened turns serious and we are pinned in a bar for shelter for two rounds they have to change the barrel but we do not think it was our doing.
Another 3km out of town are relatively painless and rain threatens but does not happen.
Time to cook dinner. We have earnt it. 30km.