So with spirits high and buoyancy in our step and our ship we turned starboard out of one canal, and then port into another – the Canal Lateral à la Marne. We were on schedule to reach our Winter mooring in Sillery six days later, including two, or even three, nights in Chalons-en-Champagne. Little didContinue reading “An unexpected sojourn in Chalons-en-Champagne”
Category Archives: French rivers
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”
“Je veux montant s’il vous plait”
Avignon to Lyon – 5 days ascending the Rhône August 15th to 20th Feeling confident about diminishing wind and current speeds, and not too much in the way of Meteo alarms we set off from Avignon. There is always a little bit of apprehension about the Rhône for us. There are not that manyContinue reading ““Je veux montant s’il vous plait””
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”
And then we had visitors!
During the summer Calliope enjoyed becoming a hotel boat! From mid June to mid August we had friends and family aboard for 30 days out of 60 days, and felt quite dazed as a consequence! It was lovely; our plan when buying the boat was that it would be a pleasant place for people toContinue reading “And then we had visitors!”
Short Stretches – Montech, Montauban and our first 10kms of le Tarn.
It was so great to have some of the family with us for the 9 locks, 1 overnight stop, and 10 kilometres of l’embranchement (canal) de Montech. It also gave us the chance to drop down onto the Tarn and experience some river boating – in all weathers as you will discover. On the returnContinue reading “Short Stretches – Montech, Montauban and our first 10kms of le Tarn.”
Looking back – Canal de Garonne from West to East
Funny the things you see when you are heading on the opposite direction! For example we found beetles amassing at Le-Mas-d’Agenais on the old walls of the village. And I found time to walk across Le-Mas-d’Agenais bridge in the day time and take a mid-Garonne selfie. The bridge isContinue reading “Looking back – Canal de Garonne from West to East”
Our grande finale on Canal de Garonne
Text in italics is from Captain Stu – I take no responsibility! After a great weekend in Agen we left on a grey day, heading for the viaduct. At the bridge we saw two spots of red – one each side. On the right was the expected red lock light; on the left was the red of aContinue reading “Our grande finale on Canal de Garonne”
Two Rivers Cruise – La Saone et Le Rhone
From Chalon-sur-Saone, through Lyon, to Saint-Gilles Thursday 18 August 2016 Leaving Fragnes (we like Fragnes) after a full moon night and just after breakfast we had a final short trip on Canal du Centre from countryside towards La Sâone. First we had to pass the the industrial end of Chalon-sur- Sâone, with the usual warehouses,Continue reading “Two Rivers Cruise – La Saone et Le Rhone”
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