It's Hot in August
We are returning for eight weeks, for the return to
Briare for our over-wintering. We have
decided next year we will head for Strasbourg, but for now one further if not
final stroll down the Burgundy and Nivernais canals. We aim to put in as many photos as possible,
but so far have little time to take photos when boating.
Sorry if the text is not short enough.
We had a delightful trip from Caen to Pont d’Ouche
near Beaune, which went absolutely trouble free through the beautiful
countryside of Normandy, with no town larger than Livarot (just to thumb our
noses at Camembert). The only large town / city we bypassed was Chartres which
as Kate Mosse’s nemesis to Carcassonne made us think a little of the Midi. Skirting Montargis and Auxerre we got to our
destination by 4.00pm. A beautiful day
and beautiful evening to get the boat ready to move. Pont d’Ouche must have been named after some
old bridge, but it is the new Autoroute du Soleil viaduct which now dominates
the skyline, but hardly intrudes unless you make a point of looking.
Autoroute Viaduct at Pont d’Ouche
We had a free day at PD to reprovision and enjoy the
bar’s gardens before a day at Vandenesse and then over the summit through the
tunnel to Pouilly. We meet up with our old friends Roger
and Lilyane on the Sept-a-Huit, who presented Linda with her “Chez Bryony” hat
at Léré last year and it was good to see them.
They have changed base to St Florentin and were strolling down there for
some small attention to their 32 year old engine.
Canals
are good for Bikes too!
The highlight of this trip is that we are
car-hopping all they down to Migennes.
This means that after a day’s cruising one of us (well usually Glyn)
will jump on his bike and cycle back to where we started to collect the
car. It has several advantages. Glyn needs the exercise. And we have the car in the afternoons if we
want to visit further afield.
The first section is just 10kms to Vandenesse. Glyn takes the car the day before and cycles
back. As it’s not too far he also takes
Topsy with him. 10kms should be nothing
for a three-year old border collie, and it’s all downhill. Topsy does the first half very well. After all it is walks she knows very well. But then running at 15mph (25 kms per hour) is
a bit much for even for a fit young thing.
They mix walk and cycle for the second half, as Topsy recovers her
breath. When she gets back she really is
ready for her sleep.
You never told me I had to run this fast for
so far/ Topsy on strike on the run back
from Vandenesse
A Simple but Beautiful Church at Crugey en
Auxois
The Mists and Flowers at Vandenesse
Over
the Summit
The journey through the tunnel was quite different
this time, with lights for all but the central 0.5 km (instead of the other way
round). Makes steering a lot
easier. Linda does the cycle ride back
with Glyn. Only 8 kms but mostly
uphill. A lovely route over the summit
marred only by the motorway interchange for a short while.
The Pouilly tunnel with lights on
And see the Stalactites
We are just lazing it now. It’s getting quite warm (27ºC while at
Pouilly). So we just travel in the
mornings and mooch around or read the afternoons. We spend an extra day ay Pouilly
jerry-canning diesel, which we are now quite expert at, and then Skype Lauren
in the afternoon. It was good to see
Alfie, and he was clearly recognising and trying to touch his Nana on the
screen at home.
The next three days we cheat. We have to take the major flight of locks (63
in all) from Pouilly down to Montbard.
One of the days will be very long with 32 locks, and unlike Devizes /
Caen Hill we are not in control, and with just two lock-keepers (rather than a
team of six or eight we sometimes used at Caen Hill). Also there is good bus service from Montbard
to Pouilly so we leave the car for three days and Glyn goes back by bus on the
Tuesday evening to get it. So except for
the middle day we just laze and read and walk the dogs. This is what boating should be all about.
The
Abbaye de Fontenay
We have a free day at Montbard. We decide to visit the Abbaye de
Fontenay. Well it is Assumption Day, and
always interesting to look at old ways of life.
We could cycle it but not with the dogs, and the Abbaye has some
wonderful woods around where they can walk freely. A really pleasant day out, with a picnic on
the grounds and the girls sitting with us.
The Central Courtyard at Fontenay
A Simple Altar at the Cistercian Abbey Church
The Fountain and Hospital Section at Fontenay
The 12th Century Water Wheel at
Fontenay for Europe’s First Hydraulic Hammer
Into
the Heatwave
If we had enjoyed the weather so far, it was about to
get even better – or just too good. From
Montbard to Tonnerre we just cruised into a heat wave. The first day was not too bad. We moved just a little distance down to
Buffon, and as we had previously seen the forge took the advantage of having
the car with us to drive to the medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois. It was beginning to get hot – up to 32ºC (90ºF)
– just up to the limit of comfortable, at least for us, but also beautiful in
the shade of the town. If you are in
this part of the world Semur is worth a visit.
Of course you should do it by bicycle. You should, that is, not us!
Semur-en-Auxois – in Sun and Shade
A Steep Hill in Semur – but a beautiful cottage
Oops – Not So Good
The Towers and Walls at Semur
The Spires above the Towers
It was getting hot that day so we didn’t want to
cook. We had passed a local restaurant
several times now, and thought we would like to try it. It looked good as did the menu. The food was indeed quite good (6 out of 10)
but the service and the communication between the staff. Well! (as someone
would say)!
Le Marronier from the Canal – Only a Bit like Fawlty Towers
The next four days really were the heatwave. We progressed slowly – Ravieres, Ancy,
Lezinnes, Tonnerre – each day Glyn cycling back to get the car, and making sure
he did as soon after midday as possible to avoid the heat.
We hit 42ºC (108ºF) on the back deck, and even with
two fans going (the one we had and one newly bought) we could only keep it to
31ºC (88ºF) in the cabin. We cruised in
the morning, and hid from the sun in the afternoons, only to be seriously
annoyed by French TV giving endless warnings to “personnes agés” about the
“canicule”, keeping cool and drinking a lot.
We are obviously (obviously!) not in that category, but water and squash
consumption, as well as several cold showers a day, did somewhat increase. Thank God for the shower.
As we approached Tonnerre “la Tonnerre” did indeed
threaten, but no real storm came. One
morning the first lock-keeper warned us – it would be the storm today. But the third lock-keeper was busy extensively watering
his lawn and garden. No, you’ll see, he
said, it will be 35ºC this afternoon. He
was wrong – by at least two degrees more!
Into
the Calm
Slowly it began to cool, but no storm, and not much
rain. We treated ourselves at Tonnerre
to the Fosse Dionne and even allowed ourselves to be persuaded to eat
snails. These were done differently from
any we’d had before, and were very tasty. This is an excellent restaurant (sorry! "table d'hote") and really good value.
As we went on there was lots of mist in the morning. We sought moorings with shade as the highest
priority. But the mornings were very
pretty. And so we made our way gently
down to Migennes, via Flogny, St Flo and (as Marty Feldman would say) not stopping at Brienon. Pity though, such a lovely town and great
baker.
Calm and light mist in the morning
At Migennes we have a couple of days in port. The local floral art is wonderful. And these birds are much quieter than those
in Cardiff or those on the canal.
Floral art at Migennes
We check in with “‘Eavens Above” (Evans Marine that
is) for some small works to make us better shipshape for bigger rivers and
locks, and inevitably some more work on the bow thruster (the only real
downside of this boat). Some of the work
is fiddly, and Simon is a man short, so it all takes longer than we had
hoped. But good progress is made, and
the bow thruster is additional work to that booked. Five days turn into eight, but we find things
to do and have a couple of excursions. Auxerre and the entry to the Nivernais
are always enjoyable.
Never
Relax on the Waterways
We pick up that there are water problems on the
Nivernais – the pound (Bief) at Coulanges is seeping water and not very easily
passable. Is it down to 80cm (passable for us) or 45cm as one boater says? On the Friday VNF issues an “Avis a
Batellerie” (advice to boaters) saying the depth is down to 80cm. We ponder and so spend Sunday visiting this
beautiful section. Should have taken
more photos! It is 80cm, just, and as it
stands we can – with very great care - get through. But will it be like that
next Friday. Are we stranded? Do we go North? Another adventure awaits us.
Taking the Shade where the water doesn't flow
Shady really enjoys the Shade – But can we
get down this canal she worries!
