Langres to Auxonne (Or, Seems Strange to be Back In Bourgogne!)

Cheeser very satisfied with the weather and scenery

The next morning dawned bright and very, very cold and I layered up before we pushed off, early for us at 9.30am, with a longish day ahead, but an exciting one as we would reach the summit of the canal du entre champagne Bourgogne and begin our descent on to the River Saone.  We were looking forward to seeing the back of the uphill locks as they were becoming quite tiresome – going down is so much easier.  At the last lock there was a lock keeper who gave us instructions on going through the tunnel which was 1km away and just under 5km in length.  I knew I had understood him clearly as I repeated the instructions back to him, which were, even though we would see red lights, we were to go through the tunnel and go as fast as possible as there was another boat waiting to come through at the other end.  Despite clarifying I was still slightly unnerved by the ‘Go on the red light’ part of the instruction and I couldn’t help wondering if something had been lost in translation………

Our last uphill lock for a while - yay!

Okay, so we were told to go on the red light.  But there's no light and when we used our remove as the sign suggests, nothing happened.  So we just went.

Entering the well-lit tunnel

Turns out there are red lights all the way through!

 At the first of the downhill locks we pulled in to wait as we realised we’d caught up with the Belgians, who had left at 8am, but had taken much, much longer to get through the tunnel, as they are so much bigger than us and didn’t want to risk bumping off the sides.  The next lot of locks, though automated to gain entry to the chamber, were activated by pushing the blue pole rather than the remote.  Not knowing this we pulled in on the wrong side and the lock keeper had to come out of the control room and do the pole for us – oops!  We weren’t asked where we were going or what time we’d be leaving, we were nanny-free – woohoo!

As the day got hotter, our layers were peeled off and by mid-afternoon we were passing the Belgians in our shorts and t-shirts.  Our target for the night was the little village of Piepape, a rural mooring with no facilities.  You can imagine our disappointment when we pulled in to the tree-lined mooring, finding ourselves unable to enjoy the glorious sunshine and were instead stuck under shade!  However, every cloud and all that, we managed to scavenge a load of kindling and a couple of super-dry larger branches for the fire.

 

Going down!

Exploring Piepape by Ninebot.  The church had a really unusual tower.

Cute doorhandle

The shady mooring at Piepape with the Marie Celeste....

As we were about to push off and set the lock ahead the next morning, a look behind to check for traffic enlightened us of the presence a cruiser with American crew on board.  After checking boat and lock lengths we agreed to lock share to our next destination, Cussey.  It was a decision that we came to regret fairly soon as we found ourselves stuck behind an incredibly smokey and noisy engine…… 

 

First lock-share for a long time - shame it didn't last :(

A couple of locks in and the Americans announced they’d be stopping after Lock 15 for a break – thank the lord for small mercies, but our joy was short-lived as by lock 14 they’d changed their minds and decided just to keep going.  We were feeling quite sick by now and not enjoying the accompanying racket as we pootled through some beautiful countryside in the warm sunshine.  So at the next lock I went over and told them to go on ahead as we were scavenging for wood and wanted to take it easy as the weather was so nice.  “Is the smoke too much for you??”, Robin, the lady on board said, with a twinkle in her eye.  “Er, yes, actually, it is pretty awful,”.  They had only picked their ‘new to them’ boat up in July, and were having problems with the twin engines, which were gushing smoke and very, very noisy.  They had decided just to limp on as quickly as they could to their winter mooring where they would have her repaired over the winter while they returned back to the US, so we hung back and let them continue on and then followed them down the next few locks at our own pace.  In the last lock, we took on water via a hose from the lock house, which proved to be a good move as on reaching Cussey discovered that the port facilities were not working and despite a call to VNF by Robin, were not going to be working in the foreseeable future.  Robin and her dad needed water, so the VNF guy came to the port and advised them to go back to the lock, up, fill with water, turn and come back down again – he would go with them and help.  An, from the Belgian boat did a marvellous job of translating for everyone.  Conditions (weather and a low side to moor against) allowed for us to continue the ongoing project of maintaining Quaintrelle’s paintwork.  The stripped shutters were still bare and were finally drying out in the warm weather, so we left them to continue drying and did a quick prep and tape of the gunnels to do a quick coat of paint on them.  Mike meanwhile touched up some of the bald spots on the blacking and began preparation of the gas locker lid, which is very faded and has a few rusty spots.  To reward ourselves for our good work, although the pathway wasn’t great, we did a bit of Ninebotting which allowed us to practice traversing different surfaces, going over bumps and turning – we’re really getting quite good now!

 

The port at Cussey got very busy and we ended up having someone alongside

The village of Cussey in the distance

Not much water in the Vingeanne which accompanies this part of the canal.

The first of the boats had moved off before we were up the next morning, leaving us and the Belgians, but once we had our bacon butties we readied ourselves and pushed off for a short cruise to our selected stopping point at Lock 29.  We were really enjoying cruising in the hot sun through some beautiful rural countryside and were pleased to see our mooring spot was in the sunshine.  However, there was already a boat on the tiny quay, so we tried to pull into the side and moor up with pins, which we managed to a degree, but as we sat and had our lunch the boat started listing to the left as the levels in the pound went up and down and we caught a ledge under the water.  We left it til the drawers opened and then went and slackened the ropes and pushed off the side, but everytime the water moved, which seemed a lot despite no traffic using the locks, we found ourselves stuck and listing again.  After a couple of hours we decided we wouldn’t sleep very well as we’d be worrying about hanging on the ledge, so just after 4pm we pushed off and headed to the next marked mooring four locks on.  We managed to find the ring to tie on, 4 metres back from the canal side and trimmed the overgrown edge of the described “nice, grassy bank”.  We were one again in shade, but as it was now approaching 6pm the sun wouldn’t be around for much longer anyway.  We found another couple of excellent logs which Mike zapped with the chain saw before tucking into our boeuf bourgignon, which had been put on the menu in anticipation of more cold weather!

Enjoying the glorious weather and scenery

This lock house had been made into a restaurant and had a family party going on as we passed - it felt like being gongoozled at Stoke Bruerne!

Autumn reflections

Having done a longer day on Sunday 24^th it wasn’t a long cruise the next day to Reneve where once again we found ourselves on our own on the concrete quay – it’s just as well we get on……….  There wasn’t much to do so Mike got stuck into the gas locker paintwork and I cleared the bow thrusters, which had been playing up and were choked with weed.  Not long after he got the first coat of varnish on the shutters, the rain started and stayed on for the next 20 hours!

Viaduct ahead, no longer in use, but very impressive

Our mooring just before the rain started.

As heavy rain continued all the next morning, we stayed put and watched a couple of boats pass until it started to let up late morning and we pushed off.  We had a choice, we could stop at Maxilly, the last stop on the canal, or continue on to the Saone.  It was still overcast but the rain had stopped so on reaching Maxilly-sur-Saone, we decided to continue on and pressed the remote to set our second last lock on the canal.  The next and final lock was on what they refer to as a ‘chain’, so once you are in and using the first lock, the next one knows you are on your way and sets for you.  All went well and as we entered the second and last lock I hopped off to investigate the big sign and grey metal structure next to the control poles.  We had expected this lock to be manned as it was where we should return our remote control, but it wasn’t but the grey metal structure turned out to be a deposit for returning them, or a distributer if you were coming on to the canal.  I popped the remote in the slot and it disappeared, and I turned to push the pole and get us down the lock.  Nothing happened, so I pushed the pole again.  Still nothing, so I walked over to check the lights, saw they were still on green so assumed the sensor hadn’t sensed us entering the lock, so walked past the sensor a couple of times to try and trigger it.  I pushed the pole again but still nothing, so I pushed the contact button on the grey metal structure and it dialled for assistance.  It rang out.  Then the tone changed as it forwarded the call which then also rang out.  Mike then reversed the boat out and came back in to try and trigger the sensor but still nothing, so I pressed the contact button again and as it was ringing, tried the pole again.  This time it worked and the gates began to close – wooohoooooo!!!  The Belgians had now caught up with us and were in the lock above so I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d now have problems and we’d stolen their slot, as it were, on the second lock.  We exited the lock and I kept looking back, seeing that the lock was not resetting itself for the Belgians to follow down and I could see them sitting above the lock.  At the junction, we turned right and twisted the pole for the lock and it was only then we realised the lights were out, meaning it’s not in use, and someone was walking towards us from the lock hut.  It turned out the lock was closed as they were trying to get a body out from the river below the lock!  It must have happened while we were in the last two locks and probably why we had problems and why they didn’t answer the phone!  We could be waiting one or two hours, so we reversed back to the dolphin moorings and had some lunch while we waited.

 

Autumn colours are on their way but are not being shown at their best on the overcast day :(

After 224km, it's time to hand back the remote

Second-last lock on the canal entre champagne bourgogne

Finally exiting the last lock and leaving the Belgians stuck above it!

An hour later, just as another boat was pulling alongside us to wait, the lights suddenly came on and the lock was setting itself for us, allowing us to continue.  At the lock there was no one around, now the drama was over, they’d all gone, and it was as if nothing had happened!

Bye bye canal - hello Saone!!

Waiting for them to find the body........

We pulled into the port at Pontallier-sur-Saone, but moored on the free pontoon just ahead of the port, which had no facilities but we didn’t need them at the moment.  It was a very autumnal mooring with a row of chestnut trees next to the quay and I was worried we’d be kept awake all night by conkers dropping on the roof, but they didn’t quite reach us and the sound of them plopping into the water wasn’t as disturbing.  We walked through the town, stopping at the butcher, baker and mini-mart for some supplies and then spent quite a bit of time playing on the Ninebot as we had a brilliant tarmac track leading into a car park, which was great for practising turns.  With a good internet signal, we were able to catch up on some tv in the evening, including the penultimate episode of Dr Foster!!!

A thick mist greeted us the next morning which looked as though it was trying to lift, but just not quite making it, so we set off when it was suitably clear for a 20 minute cruise to La Marche-sur-Soane.  La Marche isn’t as nice a town as Pontallier and doesn’t have nearly the amount of shops and no restaurant, so after a quick walk round, we had our coffee on board and then moved off again to head for Auxonne.  Having gone for days on the canal seeing no boats or just one or two, it was now like being on the M25; back in the land of hire boats there were quite a few late-holiday makers and many more private boats zipping around.  As we’d headed for our walk into La Marche, the Belgians had gone past, so as we reached the lock to take us to Auxonne, we were surprised to see them only just going into the lock with another boat.  We hung back, but soon there was a burst of flashing light from them indicating we could fit in too, so I replied by flashing our tunnel light and headed as quickly as I could into the lock.  It turned out that there had been a problem with the lock when they arrived which had resulted in a queue once it was working again, so we were glad we had stopped off after all.

Leaving our misty mooring at Pontallier

Locking down with Hector the bassett hound

As we came into Auxonne we passed the port and heard someone shouting at us as we cruised by.  We slowed up to listen and it was the Capitain shouting that he had a parcel for us!!!  What service, he’d recognised the boat name as we passed as we are booked in for a week while we head south on a wee jolly, so they’d said we could have something delivered there.  We said we’d be in later to collect it and continued onto the town pontoon moorings which are free, and have facilities there, but they are not switched on!  A wander around the town presented a rather shabby, uninspiring town and we bought some tatties in a little corner shop that was like something out of the 50s and headed back to the boat where we continued with our painting and varnishing before taking a wander out on the Ninebot.  This was one of the best tracks, with tarmac all along the front back to the port, with plenty of turns and right down to the port reception, so we managed to get a bit of distance under our belts as well.  I wasn’t managing to set off as well as I had been and ended up with a scratch down one leg where my nail caught it as I grabbed the Ninebot, and a bruise on the other from pressing to hard against the Ninebot.  Later in the evening, when the capitainerie opened at 5pm, Mike went along on the Ninebot to collect his parcel – his first unaccompanied errand on it – yeeeeeehaaaaaah!!!

On Thursday we treated ourselves to an outing to Intermarche Super and Bricomarche and then did more diy and Ninebotting in the afternoon.  In the evening, again with good internet, we freaked ourselves out watching the first four episodes of Black Lake on the tv.

 

This little chap stopped by for a drink next to the mooring.  He made me think of our friends' Neil and Karen's dog, Buddy, who prefers to drink from the canal ;)

The bridge at Auxonne, with the river like a mirror this morning.

An, Steve and Hector head onwards to St Jean des Losne

Today, Friday, I got my legs waxed at the local beautician’s, who said, “I speak a little English”, and then proceeded to speak better English than some English people!  She was lovely and said she’d speak English but I had to speak French back to her, which was great.  We’ve now moved into the marina where Quaintrelle will spend the week while we head down to Carcassonne for a week’s holiday with some of the ski crowd – not to ski, obviously, but for some wine-tasting and there’s some mention of hiring bikes! So the remainder of the day will be packing, painting and I’m sure we’ll squeeze in a bit of Ninebotting too!