Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne 25th August to 11th September 2018 This is a seriously exciting and enjoyable canal. It is 224 km along with 43 locks on the way up and 71 locks on the way down plus a 5 km tunnel through the summit – the Balesmes tunnel. It passes through glorious agriculturalContinue reading “Over the top to Champagne”
Category Archives: French canals
5 days and 4 nights on la Saône
August 21st to 25th We liked the Saône. It is generally a pretty river and in the southern part there are plenty of places to moor – not so many after Tournus for a biggish barge like Calliope. It would have been easy to spend far longer on the river, exploring towns and villages, butContinue reading “5 days and 4 nights on la Saône”
Leaving the South behind
August 1st to 11th Canal du Rhðne à Sète, Petit Rhðne, and the start of Le Rhðne 1st – 4th still at la Peyrade We started August where we finished July – la Peyrade – and settled in with a live-aboard community, cycling back and forth to the Intermarché supermarket and the Brico. Stewart fitted grill ventsContinue reading “Leaving the South behind”
Trebes tranquility to Castel musique
15th June – 22nd June 2018 Our trip from Marseillette to PK116 outside Trébes was gentle and meandering, passing by Millegrand and Millepetit on the way. Just outside Millepetit is a steepish bend. In the past the big barges had to be ‘roped’ round these bends and the evidence – a stone pillar engravedContinue reading “Trebes tranquility to Castel musique”
Back on the Midi with Stu
8th – 14th June 2018 Last episode I left us at Le Somail, with the huge ancient bookshop, brebis (sheep milk) ice cream, and mooring under the fig trees, shady enough to eat outside on the warm summer days. We also ate at one of the local restaurantsContinue reading “Back on the Midi with Stu”
Up the Jonction
I didn’t do my research properly for the blog going down to Port de la Nouvelle. I regret that I used the names Canal de la Robine and Embranchement de Nouvelle interchangeably and incorrectly! So let’s put that right. Narbonne is key. A mixture of Romans digging a channel to connect Narbonne to theContinue reading “Up the Jonction”
Canal de Robine – the start of the return
Saturday in Port-la Nouvelle was like Friday but better, and interesting! We even had steak haché and frites cooked for us by the crew! Our mooring seemed to have gate-crashed a pompier (fire and rescue service) training weekend and we enjoyed watching about 25 young people climbing in and out of wet suits, runningContinue reading “Canal de Robine – the start of the return”
Canal de la Robine – to the end!
aka Embranchment de la Nouvelle May 11 – 18 2018 A week of city-scape, landscape, sea scape and port, as we moved the 35 kilometres from the junction with the Midi, through Sallèles-d’Aude and Narbonne, to Port de la Nouvelle, picking up two visitors and lots of mosquito bites along the way. Looking back, itContinue reading “Canal de la Robine – to the end!”
Semaine Trois
Will we, won’t we, windy, windy, windy. Deciding when to leave Marseillette is a wind blown decision – waiting for the gusts and gales to diminish so that our progress on down the canal is more enjoyable. Eventually on Friday, mid morning, the leaves are rustling less and the Red Ensign drops below 90 degrees,Continue reading “Semaine Trois”
21 kms, Carcassonne to Marseillette
April 27 – May 4 After three nights in the middle of town we were straining at the tow ropes to be out in the country again. After a rapid excursion into town for bread and tomatoes we left Carcassonne, on a grey but warm day, heading for a rural mooring outside Trèbes. At theContinue reading “21 kms, Carcassonne to Marseillette”
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