We had a great break in England, two beautiful
weekends with the fields and buttercups in full array. We saw Alfie celebrate two years of age. And we managed to bring the beautiful weather
from England back to France.
Buttercups at Daniel’s Well (Malmesbury)
We arrived at the boat late on Tuesday evening (4
June) after the Sat Nav decided to take us through the middle of Dijon in the
evening rush hour, but it had been a good journey down from Normandy. The boat was in good shape, a tiny little bit
of water in the bilge but nothing to write home about (so why are we doing
it!?).
We are moored opposite the Morning Star with its
well-arranged artistic ropes. It towers
over us, but pleasantly balances the pontoon on which are both moored.
Artistic Ropes from the Morning Star
Wednesday was spent re-provisioning. Chris and David Lee – old friends from
Wivenhoe – were joining us for a couple of weeks, and we had been warned that
there was no shopping between Auxonne and Langres – some 100 kms or 60 miles to
the North – so we really did need to do a full stock.
Thursday was finally tidying up, and then in the
afternoon Glyn drove up to Langres to meet Chris and David and where they were
to leave their car. An old friend,
Eliane, who had put us up in New Jersey / New York many years ago (and a close
friend of Glyn’s sister) had now returned to her roots in the family home at
Langres, and had offered to look after Chris and David’s car for a week.
It was great meeting up with so many old but lasting
friends after so long. The sun
shone. Eliane received us right royally
with a wonderful apple cake and afternoon tea a la francaise. We drove back on the back roads following the canal
route. Glyn is no lover of the high
roads like that which runs from the plateau of Langres down to Dijon.
Linda is a little peeved at how late they are, but
still serves an excellent supper. Shady
nuzzles against Chris and David. Topsy
consents to be stroked by Chris but decides to reserve judgement on David. But her growl is very gentle.
Auxonne
and the Saone
The Lees have brought even better weather with them,
and it lasts all the while they stay. Friday morning and we’re off to the
market, before we set off in the afternoon to go up the Saone to
Pontailler. We bump into Roy and Carol
who run the port at Auxonne and start to talk about Wivenhoe, the Colne and Brightlingsea.
Roy started on boats up the Colne from Brightlingsea to Wivenhoe, Rowhedge and
Colchester. He even owned (self-built)
a mirror dinghy at Wivenhoe but maybe a decade before we did. Roy and Carol lived on boats at Rowhedge and
B’sea before coming over to France. And
then we discovered Roy had worked on the annual oyster bed opening ceremony at
West Mersea. We have probably met before
over 30 years ago, but diplomatically Roy cannot remember putting any
inebriated councillors ashore on the quay at Wivenhoe after the oyster opening
ceremony.
The market at Auxonne is quite large and interesting
and we make a few more purchases before returning for our first day’s cruise.
David buys the latest (June – No 33) edition of Fluvial, the French
boating magazine. And there we are – on
page 27 – the boat, Linda and Topsy clearly visible, last year at Marigny on
the Canal de Bourgogne with the French authors remarking “Surprise, de l’autre
cote, un bateau. C’est le premier avalant depuis Montbard.” Indeed there were few boats last year. But fame at last. David and Chris donate the
magazine to us.
We leave just after 1pm for a gentle cruise of the
16kms / 10 miles up to Pontailler. It is
beautiful day, warm with a soft breeze.
The scenery is fantastic and there is no better way to enjoy a Spring
day, relaxed, nattering to old friends, and being totally relaxed.
Taking the lock at Poncey-les-Athee is easy, even though
we have to operate the lock ourselves and put Linda ashore at the Duc d’Albe
(mooring dock for big barges) before the lock to take our ropes once we are in.
David and Chris note how big this lock is compared to English canals. We pass Lamarche with its church’s twin
towers, which stand so attractively over the Saone. And the lovely sweep through woodland as we
approach Pontailler. What an excellent
start.
Pontailler
and Maxilly
The river quay at Pontailler is most impressive, but
as recommended by Roy and Carol we turn into the small port where there is a
free quay right in the centre of town.
The turn in through a narrow arch with the downstream pushing against us
is not too tricky, but needs metre-perfect positioning. It goes easily with a tiny assistance from
the bow thruster.
We moor up in the shade, have a wander around town,
and (in outrageous ‘60s style) David and Glyn go for drinks in the Marronnier
across the road, while Linda and Chris prepare an excellent supper. But the men must work too! They book a meal for us all at the Marronnier
for the next night! Men!!!
Saturday morning and it’s David’s birthday. How old?
12 / 7 of the year of his birth +1!.
Any mathematician can work that out.
So he has to have a treat. We
visit the Pontailler market. Not large
but interesting. David is treated (or
treats himself) to a French-style pork scratching. Everyman’s choice on his birthday!
David and Linda at Pontailler Market
(Anyone for Pork Scratchings?)
Perhaps we’ll have a better meal at the Marronnier
that evening, so Chris and David pose for a quick photo.
Chris and David outside the Marronnier
The
Canal de Heuilley
We also sort out a taxi back to the Marronnier that
evening as we will move the boat just a few kilometres up river and then onto
the Canal Champagne-Bourgogne. This is a
new name which until a few years ago was called the “Marne-a-Saone” as it joins
those two great rivers. But Roy and
Carol told us that in fact any self-respecting boatman will call it the “Canal
de Heuilley” as it starts at Heuilley and has its summit at
Heuilley-Cotton. So the canal de
Heuilley it is.
We set off after a relaxed lunch. The last lock of the river (at Heuilley) is
again self-operated and Linda again demonstrates the advantages of her mountain
leadership course decades ago which we discussed somewhere along the way. At the next lock (Chemin de Fer) we take
delivery of our tele-commande (zapper to you English speakers) with which we
will open most of the locks on our ascent to Langres.
We moor up at Maxilly with no trouble. It is a little deserted and run down, but
good for mooring. We are shortly joined
by a couple who have come down from Langres and are desperate for a shop. There
is absolutely nowhere to shop near the canal they say, and they are out of food
and milk. We assure them there is at
least a small shop in Pontailler, even on a Saturday afternoon.
Next we see the promise (never really to be
fulfilled) of the industrial heritage of the Heuilley. A laden barge (the Adria) is making its way
down to the Saone, carrying man-made fertiliser from Amsterdam to St
Jean-de-Losne. The boat is registered in
Saarbrucken and has a German crew. Very
European. David converses in French and
then we try a little of our broken German.
No, the fertiliser is definitely “kunstlich”, made up in Amsterdam from
American ingredients. He is carrying 250
tonnes. And yes, it pays. Well, it’s a living! And the man and wife
crew enjoy their life.
Anyone for Fertiliser – the “Adria”
at Maxilly
And then only a little later another big barge (was
it the Nadine?) comes up off the Saone. She is carrying rice to Valenciennes. A Belgian / Flemish crew out of Antwerp. He moors diagonally as there is now a
shortage of space at the quay. He
apologises (we say not necessary) but he will be off at 7am in the morning as
soon as the bakers have opened.
Our taxi arrives dead on 7.30pm as booked to take us
back to the Marronnier (and indeed dead on 10pm to bring us back to the boat). We all have lovely meals except sadly David
the birthday boy whose fish dish is somewhat dry and short on trimmings and
juice. Christine enjoys a frogs’ legs
vol-au-vent and pronounces it excellent.
And so to bed! David says he has
enjoyed his birthday, despite the dried fish!
Our Belgian friends do indeed depart at 7am (it’s a
12 hour day they say – and it’s a Sunday) but we stop for a leisurely breakfast
and push off at about 10am. Topsy by now
is completely relaxed with David as well as Chris, and would like to join them,
on their bed. A good laugh we all have,
but we must not make a habit of this.
A relatively short journey today. 8 kms and 4 locks. The lift bridge at Cheuge provides an
interesting distraction, but we are focussed on managing it, and only get a
shot from behind.
The Lift Bridge at Cheuge
Oisilly
and Cusey
The moorings at Oisilly don’t seem to be in
evidence, but we passed a delightful stop just before the lock, so we reverse
backwards and just moor up against the bank.
It is very relaxing here (“au savage”) and the dogs can run free and
loose. We all separately explore the
area, David walking up to the next lock, and Chris examining the various flora
and fauna.
Chris the Botanist explores Plants at
Oisilly
We decide to have supper on the bank. It is both beautifully warm and shady. Glyn
does a little cycling on the grass verge. We have not done much today, but
that’s how it should be. After all it
was Sunday.
Preparing Supper on the Pelouse at
Oisilly
The next day is our long day. In order to spend time at the summit of the
canal we want now to make time, and there are no moorings until Cusey, some 30
kms and 15 locks. So that is our
destination. The canal winds a little,
but also has some straight sections.
This is raw countryside.
The Canal is Straight
David takes the helm for much of the journey. We are using our zapper (tele-commande) to
open most of the locks, but we have to put someone ashore to take our ropes,
and now Glyn takes his share of doing some lock work.
David at the Helm as we Cruise to
Cusey
Cusey is a nice spot, with free water and
electricity “grace a la commune”. A portakabin
type cafe dispenses drinks, ice cream and pizzas. We meet up with boaters Pamela and David from
Mirfield in Yorkshire aboard the Lea Crest. They give us some good tips about mooring, and
the next mooring we see them at (Piépape) is indeed very good though we are
passing straight on this time.
Dommarien,
Villegusien, Heuilley-Cotton, and the Tunnel at Balesmes
After the long day to Cusey we plan a shorter day
just to Villegusien – just 14 kms and 12 locks.
An easy morning and we decide to moor at Dommarien for lunch. This is lovely spot but in our earlier recce
we thought the mooring might be difficult.
An underestimation, though perhaps we should have put hands ashore at
the jetty and reversed back. Any way
Linda and David decide to jump the metre to metre-and-a-half from boat to
bank. The bow is nearer in and Linda
just makes it, with foot sliding canal wise behind her, but just gripping the
bank. At the stern David is further out. His foot just catches the bank but the rear
foot slides further away on the muddy sloping concrete. He slowly descends into a swimming position,
though getting back onto the boat is even more complicated.
We manage to make our mooring. Chris on board – now in charge of the boat –
is blithely unaware until a soaking David emerges requesting a change of
clothes. All part of the fun of boating
(you can say that afterwards at least).
Chris in Charge as we Moor at
Dommarien
But this a lovely place, and we enjoy a leisurely
lunch ensuring that David is dried and fed, before a late departure to complete
the day’s journey.
Lunch at Dommarien, Beautiful except for the Mooring
The way up to Villegusien is quite short but still
seven locks. We use boat hooks to push
the mooring ropes up to the crew member on quayside. However tomorrow the rise or drop in the lock
will become 17 foot instead of 10 (5+ metres rather than 3), so for the last two
locks we practise our new technique – an 8 metre rope with a cleat on it, to
which crew below fasten the mooring rope to be hauled up. It seems to work OK.
The Pounds at Villegusien
A lazy evening and a good supper. Tomorrow we have the seven deep locks to the
summit. This is beautiful countryside though sadly we are too engaged to take
photographs. At the penultimate lock a
VNF man arrives to check our progress.
He is intrigued by our innovation to haul the mooring ropes up, and kindly
takes a turn at lowering the rope down to Chris at the bow.
We make the summit at Heuilley-Cotton (we have
naughtily taken to calling it “Oily cotton”- the Er-E-Ay of the French is quite
hard on the English tongue) and check in with the lock-keeper. We will take the tunnel (all 3 miles or 4.8
kilometres) at 9am tomorrow.##
The moorings at Oily Cotton are not as good as
suggested but we manage to find a suitable bank. There are lots of works going, and it looks
like they are making super-duper moorings for the future. As we moor up a stern and matronly lady from
the cottages opposite starts to shout to us.
We desperately hope she is not objecting to our mooring here. But No.
It just that she has seen our dogs and wants re-assurance that they
won’t bite hers! Is the Pope a
Catholic? We give assurance and don’t
tell her that Topsy is a Prod. In fact
Topsy is the epitome of good behaviour, which in fairness she has been for most
of this trip.
Did we do something wrong? All that afternoon and evening, and from
early next morning, she and her companion
play a Radio-5 type French programme at full blast from the cottage
opposite the mooring so that we can hardly hear ourselves. At one point we retaliate with some Enya, but
while soothing to us it makes no impact.
We explore the village which is pretty in parts but not exceptional, and
settle down for the tunnel next morning.
The Church at Heuilley-Cotton
The scenery around the tunnel is impressive. The tunnel itself is also a marvel. Well maintained with lighting
throughout. French colleagues moored
opposite us overnight (moorings had run out by then) were off at 8.30am, so to
avoid delays to others we went with them.
We followed them at 200 metres at their speed and did the whole tunnel
in 48 minutes (6 kms per hour). For the
first two thirds of the tunnel there were absolutely no drips from the roof or
sides, and only a few in the final third.
This was one of the easiest tunnels to navigate we have yet found.
Entering the Tunnel at Balesmes
Emerging at Langres
The
Beauty and Grandeur of Langres
And so we had arrived at our first major
destination. We had exchanged texts and
calls the evening before with Eliane, who now had visitors from the States and
sadly could not now join us for a meal on Friday evening. But we arranged to meet Saturday morning, and
she, Mia and Vern came down for a look over the boat before they set off for
Dijon. She had been so helpful and
friendly to us (yet again). David
collected the car and that afternoon he with Chris and Linda set off back to
Auxonne to collect our car.
Glyn was going to have a doze, but set off tidying
and cleaning. With everything off the
boat, and now chatting to the neighbours as is his wont, suddenly the skies
darken. We had had nothing but beautiful
weather this trip, but now storm really threatened. Indeed no sooner had he got everything on
board, brought in the washing, and fastened down the covers, than it lashed in
with heavy rain and driving winds.
David, Chris and Linda were meanwhile driving back
from Auxonne, and on the high road from Dijon were confronted with the rains
but worse the driving wind. They arrived
back just after 5pm, wondering what had hit them.
By then though the storm was softening, and by 7pm
it was hardly possible to believe it had happened. After supper we had one of the most beautiful
sunsets – red sky as ever you would want – you might ever see.
Sunset at Langres
Sunset Behind Trees
Friday was a shopping day. We went to the market in the morning, and
supermarket shopping after that. We just
took it gently.
Saturday we visited Eliane, found the Post Office,
and found a shop a wonderful shop with oils, cheese and wine, as well as a
visit to the cathedral. In the
afternoon we took the “petit train” tour of Langres. Very touristique, but we would recommend it
to anyone. The sights from the ramparts
are just amazing. The town itself is
glorious, perched high above the upper Marne valley, and well worth fitting in
to any visit to France. This year they
are marking the tercentenary of Diderot, one of its famous sons. And after the train David just couldn’t but
think this might be a nice way to earn a living.
Diderot surveys his encyclopaedic
roots at Langres
From the Ramparts at Langres
The Lac de la Liez – also from the
Ramparts
Oh To Be A Train Driver (044)
After the tour David and Chris insisted on taking us
out for an evening meal, and we visited an excellent restaurant recommended by
Eliane at the Lac du Charme. This
rounded off a wonderful stay at Langres, and a beautiful week on the Canal de
Heuilley (Er-E-Ay).
Supper at Le P’tit Charme
Next Episode Coming Soon: Heatwave and Tempest at Chaumont
