We are Lateral to the Loire!

South to North, the first 93 kilometres

22 June – 1st July 2023

We had been travelling on the Canal du Centre for 2 weeks, retracing our steps (or should I say wake?) from 2016. And for the first 4 kms of the Lateral à la Loire we would be doing the same thing; after Décize it would be a new waterway with new vistas. Latèral should have the accent over the ‘e’ everywhere, but WordPress kept reverting to a normal ‘e’; apologies.

As our barge left the Canal du Centre at Digoin and moved seamlessly onto the Canal Lateral á la Loire we passed over the Loire on an aqueduct. It was one of the first major aqueducts to be built in France (1834-1838). It is 243m in length, sits atop 9 pillars and 11 arches and was designed by the French engineer Pierre-Alexandre-Adophe Jullien.

We had been waiting about an hour and a half to cross; there is a lock at the other end and we arrived just as a passenger boat of school children was coming up the lock, and across the aqueduct, which took us directly into éclusier lunch break!

Not a problem. We had a nice place to wait and we had our lunch on board. After lunch we cruised gently over the Loire, into the lock, and dropped down onto the Lateral à la Loire.

Luckily the hold up did not spoil a major plan.

This day’s travel was going to be short anyway, even by our standards!

Just 8 kilometres to Molinet, a fairly basic but pleasant modern quay alongside a camper van park.

Molinet was quiet, and even picturesque as evening gradually arrived – it was only two days after June 21st , the longest day. (The photo on the left has amused some people who see a smiley face in the ice and cucumber of my glass).

The next day was not much longer in terms of kilometres – just 10km! We had a new interest at the locks now because they are still mainly operated manually by an éclusier* (lock keeper) – almost always clothed in VNF blue and here at work opening the doors of the lock.

  • I find myself using the French words for some of the things we encounter every day; apologies if this seems pretentious. That is not the intention. It is more about helping to inform others who are considering time on the waters of France. 😊

Whenever we can we like to help the éclusiers with the lock doors. It very much depends on whether we can get off the barge in time to help, and back on again afterwards!

Captain Stu aims for us to moor up on the opposite side to the éclusier, get a rope round a bollard and jump off to close one of the doors.

On this particular day, at our last lock of the day, we discovered that our éclusier was retiring that day! The locks along here are being automated and many of the éclusiers will be made redundant, so a well timed retirement for her.

She lives on a barge moored near the lock and is looking forward to cruising now she has the time.

We were looking for a tiny mooring next to a village called Pierrefitte-sur-Loire. It was not easy to spot until just as we reached it, next to a path into the village; just right.

There was time to have a quick look at Pierrefitte while buying bread from the bar/cafe behind the old pump in the photo on the right. I was surprised to find quite a grand house in the centre, and an interesting church.

Pierrefitte is no longer on the Loire. The river’s meanderings have taken it a couple of kilometers or more from many of the villages bearing its name.

Another walk later included going up to the bridge and looking back to our quiet little mooring – our favourites, as you might have gathered! The other side of the bridge is quite a large basin that also offers mooring. It looked perfectly pleasant and suits many other boats.

Next morning dawned fine and cool; I thought it an ideal opportunity to start cleaning off some of the dust and grime we had picked up in the recent towns.

This is me feeling better and better on the broken ankle of 10 weeks previously and almost able to get back to full crew duties!

6 kilometres after Pierrefitte we did get close to the Loire; it meandered back towards the canal just as we went round an almost right angle curve, if such a think is geometrically possible.

You can just see the river below us.

Going round that curve took Calliope through some narrow sections that required good concentration from the Captain; as usual he passed through smoothly while crew watched on admiringly.

We came to a part of the canal near Dompierre which was definitely in the process of being modernised. The blue operating levers that we were used to seeing on the Canal du Centre, and other canals, were there waiting to be used and very sturdy metal ‘sliding poles’, to make it easier when rising in a lock, had been installed.

The écluisier told us that the whole of the canal was being gradually moved to batellier (boater) operated, dispensing with the services of the lock keeper except when things go wrong. He might be made redundant, or maybe would get one of the new jobs with a van, moving from one problem lock to another. We hoped he would be ok.

It was by then lunchtime, and the same éclusier kindly recommended a mooring for the ‘heure de déjeuner’. It had three distinct characteristics. It was opposite quite a major factory, churning out cement we think; it was pleasantly in the shade on a hot day; and it was alongside a big old abbey. I caught sight of an entrance to the latter as we left.

That afternoon we reached Beaulon, quite a large and popular basin with both boaters and camper vans – but surprisingly peaceful nonetheless. We enjoyed the evening shade on what had been quite a warm day – maybe 31C.

We moored the boat to take advantage of the free shore power electricity. Our solar panels make us almost independent of ‘the grid, but we prefer to have shore power connected if we decide to use the AC in the cabin to cool down the room before bedtime.

It’s was such a lovely evening on the back deck there at Beaulon; totally relaxing.

The light played around on the boats and the surroundings; shadows in some places, warm sunset light in others. And all in such tranquility, apart from the birds singing their bedtime songs.

Next morning before we left I could not resist one more walk round the basin, up to the bridge, and a final look back at Calliope moored up with ‘friends’. We could completely understand why people speak highly of this place.

Then we were off down the canal, looking for our next adventure and next mooring. The countryside was a palette of agricultural colours, heading for harvest.

Different canals have different ‘furniture’. The PK (kilometre) markers along this canal are white painted stone, a bit like English milestones. Usually they just show the PK number on the side facoing the water, but this one showed on one side the distance we still had to go to Briare (152 kms) and on the other side the distance we had come from Digoin (42 kms).

Now and then along the canal we saw similar kilometre markers, marking our progress.

At one of the locks that day these flowers were such a glorious golden orange cacophony of colours that I jumped off the boat to take a photo – they so brightened up the area which was otherwise a little sad.

I guess some éclusier in the past planted them and they have continued unabated, and untroubled by the changes in écluse operation

At the next locks as we dropped down my view became just of this one cloud in the blue blue sky – a contrast to the golden flowers from before.

That was our last lock of the day, not far from Les Vanneaux, by Gannay-sur-Loire, where we hoped to be overnight.

And yes, the Gods were smiling on us again; we came into the little port of Les Vanneaux to find no other boats, except those in the adjacent boatyard (which apparently is a very good place to have work done on your boat).

We were ready for our usual apres-midi routine; moor up, lunch, siesta.

After that we were up for a little explore, walking into the village of Gannay-sur-Loire, over the lock bridge and a kilometre along the road. Sadly the bars, and few shops are all closed now. We sat down in the shade by the church and its famous Arbre de Sully. For some reason I did not photograph either of these, but instead took a photo of the red and black beetles, and the startlingly blue flowers (scabias?) along the roadside.

L’arbre de Sully is worth a mention. It is a remnant of a tree that was planted under King Henry IV to serve as a distance marker between Limoges and Autun. It’s not my photo, obviously.

That makes it over 400 years old.

The ankle was healing well, but still found ‘long’ walks (2 km!!!) a bit of a strain so I was glad to cool it down in the canal when we got back.

This was all preparatory to meeting up in the good Les Vanneaux canalside bar/restaurant with a new WOB acquaintance, Deb.

Women on Barges (WOBs) is an extremely helpful and friendly Facebook page, and the members tend to be pleased to meet up and say hello when their boats are in the same port.

Meeting Deb and husband Bob, with Stewart too ofourse, rounded off a good day on the waterway, and there was no doubt that our paths (wakes??) would cross again.

Soon after setting off the next day we saw new evidence of the hot summery weather. Farmers were needing to water their crops with giant sprayers, and there were the first tiny glimpses of yellow in the some of the fields – sun flowers beginning to open their happy golden faces towards the sky.

Lock 13

The locks also had a difference to them. The method of emptying them, normally through raised vantelles, or ‘paddles’ on the gates gave way to big grills at each side, leding into sluices that the éclusoier could open or close.

And the houses that were occupied by the éclusiers of the past had a new shape to them – the round windows began to become a feature. Actually along this stretch we did meet a couple of éclusiers who still lived in lockside houses – a wonderful tradition and sad to see it has almost gone. (More of this later)

The end of that day was to be Décize. I had phoned ahead and booked us three nights in the port that is just off the Canal Lateral à la Loire, and leads on, via the Loire, to the Canal de Nivernais.

We arrived at the big lock that drops boats down onto that stretch of the Loire river; we could see the gantry and the blue rope that has to be pulled to open the lock gates. It was the far side of the lock entrance and not very convenient for any boat arriving from our direction, especially an almost 20m barge like Calliope.

We managed the manoeuvre – just seconds after a holiday boat below the lock pulled the rope on their side; this obviously took precedence over us.

So we bobbed about for 20 minutes while they traversed the lock, and then our turn to go down into the port.

From the top of the lock we could get an initial idea of our mooring options.

The port was, for us, a bit of a disappointment. Despite explaining the size of Calliope when making the booking I was not warned that all the berths were on 10m long finger pontoons. It is fair to say that other boats of our length had moored astern between the fingers, but it is not our preferred way to moor – and we had another option about 500m away, the other side of the second lock.

So that is what we did, moving on through the second lock – and it was wonderful. We were now just below the old town of Décize on a quiet river mooring; perfect.

And, within sight of the mooring was a Weldom brico (DIY) store selling replacement Butagaz bottles. For the past couple of weeks the captains log book has had a laser display screen (post-it note) poking out saying ‘Gas!’, and the afore mentioned skipper pretty quickly returned from down below with a smile on his face and a sack truck ….

Towards the end of the afternoon we strolled into the town, passing old buildings from various centuries. It is worth looking around Décize and learning a bit of its history as a city on the Loire.

As luck would have it (ha ha) there was a convenient bar in the centre, and we were soon sat beneath a parasol with a cool beer, watching the Décize world go by, before returning to Calliope by way of a riverside crèperie for supper.

On the way hack from town from the bridge I got another angle on the old towers and walls of Décize .

Our mooring was about 150m to the left of this photo.

Contentment, watching the sun go down across the Loire.

The next day we walked up into town, down the other side, and across the old bridge across the river. Décize is caught in a loop of the Loire, so water and bridges all around.

I hope this map will help to show the confluence of vielle (old) and current Loire, plus the other waterways around the town (not sure if it is a city or a town!)

Our mooring is circled in blue.

That side of town I found a very good ‘Cave’, selling plenty of French wine, including local, a huge variety of spirits, French and Belgian beer and other alcohol infused goods. I only needed to taste one wine and knew that was the one for me, so took some back to the boat.

(Just another view of where we were moored up; so peaceful compared to a busy port.)

On our second evening I walked along the bank to where the old and new Loire meet. The evening light with the sun setting caught these flowers and swans just right.

After two nights on that Décize quay we needed to move to another Décize quay, back onto the canal and closer to the town’s supermarket. So we set off under the bridge, retracing our steps towards the two big locks .

The blue rope hanging from its gantry was much easier to grab this time and the lock doors opened for us. We are always pleased to see either floating bollards or, in this case, ‘slidey poles’, both of which make tying up at the bottom of a deep lock much easier.

It means I have more time and freedom to take photos of the unusual ‘windows’ at the top of these doors, and of the rush of water coming in to fill the lock.

We crossed the port once more towards the second lock out onto the canal, at the far end (left side of photo). All was very calm and tranquil within the port.

Inside each of this type of lock is the second blue rope, or cord, or lever.

This is the one we have to pull down or push up, depending on the mechanism, so that the lock operation starts.

There are good French instructions here, and sometimes English and German as well.

Only just outside the lock and back on the Canal Lateral à la Loire was the quay we had in mind – and apart from one other boat it was empty; result!

Those who are eagle eyed will have spotted the gantry and blue rope behind us, waiting to be pulled by the next boat wanting to descend the lock into the port.

Mooring here accomplished just what we wanted; a 5 minute walk to an Ingtermarché supermarket and a topping up of the store cupboard and fridge. We stayed on overnight before motoring towards Fleury-sur-Loire, a place we had been recommended by Deb, my new WOB friend from a few days ago. It is her favourite mooring.

The 12 kms journey was very rural and had some of my most enjoyed landscapes – anything to do with farming. In this case I saw cows on a skyline, and fields of wheat stretching across to the river Loire in the distance.

We went through several locks; this one was a bit memorable and different for several reasons. Firstly the approach was across a narrow ‘pont canal,’ or bridge, taking the canal over something, normally a small river. In this case it was over l’Acolin river.

Within the lock it was good to see one of the old pulley style wheels that were used to help ‘rope barges into and out of locks. It was also one of those wonderful (to me) moments when you find you are working with an éclusier who lives at the lock in the lock keeper’s cottage. You can normally tell by the state of the garden!

And finally, it was simply just a lovely place with a beautiful view from the top of the lock.

When we arrived at Fleury we could see that it was also the favourite place of several other boaters and initially it looked as if we could not fit in. However one boat moved up for us, leaving the side angle of the quay. Our stern stuck out a bit, but the canal widened here so Calliope would not cause an obstruction.

Our arrival coincided with lunch time; Deb had already booked a table for 4 at the funky adjacent restaurant, in the shade of some pine trees, and overlooking Calliope.

A full siesta collapse was required after a very pleasant very French lunch. But later with energy restored we went to have a look at the tiny Fleury village. These days it is surrounded by fields of grain. Apparently its older raison d’être had been kaolin, which was mined nearby. The village also has a much earlier history, linked to Gallo-roman times.

In addition to the old church there was a building that seemed, by the presence of a bell, to be an old school. And also , right beside us at the mooring, a very simple lavoir, or place for people to wash their clothes and household linen in the canal.

I was still working my ankle back to normal use, so went for a walk along the canal bank before bed.

It was a beautiful evening ; there is nothing quite like the evening summer sun on the water and greenery. It just makes you happy.

In the cool freshness of the next morning I walked the few hundred metres back into the village and its one shop, a boulangerie.

Naturally `I bought bread for lunch, but also a crispy chausson de pommes as a treat for my breakfast!

The last stop on our first half of this canal was Chevenon. Again it was not a long day’s cruise.

There was a slight change in landscape with large areas left untended, or maybe for grazing.

We seemed to be on a bit of a plateau with horizons a long way away across the huge Loire valley.

This time the slight difference in the lock was that the railings were panted blue and green – VNF colours, and we had a rushing overspill from the lock that whooshed out at us as we left. Sometimes these can push Calliope sideways, but the barge and her Captain had no trouble with this one.

The Chevenon mooring was described in the Dutch Barge Association (DBA) Waterways Guide as having 3 rings almost completely covered in grass, so we were on our best lookout duties as we came to the area. As soon as one ring was spied I got myself ashore (not quite a jump yet) and began rooting about in the grass for more. In all we found 7, noticeably painted white!!

This was definitely another poeaeful rural mooring, far from roads and traffic noise. Yet the village of Chevron was close enough to walk round, and we had seen on the map that there was a chateau.

There definitely was a chateau! Maybe the bar and boulangerie of the village had closed in the past few months, but the medieval chateau still stood proud.

It was built between 1382 and 1406, probably for Guillaume I de Chevenon. After various families owned it through the centuries in 1940, a Mr. and Mrs. Bardin became the owners; lucky them.

There was a row of statues at the end of an overgrown lawn, a clear view beneath the chateau where gates used to close, and arrow firing slits all over the place. I have looked for history of the chateau, but found nothing much so far apart from the above brief comments.

Opposite the entrance to the chateau grounds was quite a grand lavoir, where no doubt the servants of the Lords and Ladies of the castle had their fine linen washed.

Alongside the lavoir was an unbelievably picturesque countryside view; I had to share it with you. I particularly love the gate.

And this is where we will leave Calliope, moored up in the peace of a wild mooring, and after the first 93kms of the canals’ 200kms. The final 107kms will take her and us all the way to the famous Briare aqueduct – the next edition of the blog.

Revisiting Canal du Centre 7 years on

Ocean side

15th to 22nd June 2023

For the third day in a row, we had a little challenge at our first lock of the day. This time we sallied forth from our mooring at Montchanin at the top of the Canal de Centre, looking forward to our first lock ‘aval’ (down). Generally speaking going down is quite a lot easier.

Into the lock and a gentle glide to the bottom as expected, but then, as Stu did his normal expert flick of the rope to take it off the bollard, it got stuck!

So crew went up the ladder to help (the ladder being my end of the lock) and was able to quickly undo it.

The gates opened and we were off.

It’s these little tiny challenges that keep us on our toes! Never get smug and never get bored. 

As always there was plenty to see along the way.

Early on this little old bridge over part of the Bourbince river caught my eye. This was apparently a false arm (Faux Bras) of the Bourbince but I could not find where the main river flowed nearby.

It was obvioul;sy a busy time on the local farmers with tractors alongside us and over us all the way along the canal that day. We enjoy seeing the seasonal aspects of life in the countryside, whilst knowing that it is hard work and long days in mid summer.

It all results in mile after mile of beautiful countryside.

I’m a bit of a nerd about locks – the houses that the lock keepers used to live in, the mechanics of the lock operation, odd signs that appear nearby. Here we have some lovely shadows that appeared on the doors of two locks as we started downhill; a lock house with roof caved in that once was someone’s proud home (I like to imagine a young lock keeper bringing his new bride back to his tied lock house where they could live together, grow fruit and veg, raise a family etc); a sign that could only be in France, pointing you to Escargots (snails!).

I also manageds to snap the occasional bit of wildlife – a grasshopper that flew in an open hatch, a purple lockside flower, and, maybe, an osprey.

As we got closer to Montceau-les-Mines, our mooring for a few days, we began to see examples of the industrial archeaology left behind after centuries of mining and ceramics.

To be honest we are not sure what this is, though it’s probably an ornate lime kiln, and it’s near Blanzy

Blanzy has planted banks of lilies along the canal close to the pleasant mooring that we stopped at in 2016, but this year we continued on a kilometre or two.

We are very good at arriving at our last lock of the day at 1205, when the locks close from 1200 until 1300.

In this case it was the lock at Montceau and we tied up to some nice blue railings, had lunch and waited to cover the last few hundred yards of our journey.

We had booked into the port at Montceau-les-Mines – very good value for our almost 20m barge at €40 for three nights including water and electricity. The port is in the centre of this attractive busy little town and the pontoons are new, all laid out behind a secure gate.

We woke up on Saturday to find a big food market in full swing all along the edge of the port!

What a treat; I soon managed to fill two big bags with necessary fruit and veg, plus several treats; boeuf-en-gelée, not easily found and a memory from our family camping holiday when I was 16; butcher made pork rillettes; Brebis (sheep’s milk cheese), a delicious salad made from shredded Charolais beef, potato, tomato and cornichons; potato galettes, and some of the best gooiest soft cheese!

Well at least I didn’t come back with several live chickens. 

Friday and Saturday early evenings saw us at a local bar in the shade enjoying a cooling beer – the temperatures were around 28-30C each day, with nice breezes from time to time.

The beer and wine and heat combined might have had something to do with a sudden decision to turn the Captain into a hairdresser and cut off my longish hair.

It was a bit of a thing because I had been growing it for 9 years ever since I stopped work. In my mind I was now a Granny, and Grannies have long white hair. Also I was on a boat and sailors have long pigtails.

But now I am over those thoughts. Coolness and practicality win.

Sunday was a dedicated boat cleaning day. I had not had the wherewithal to get up on Stewart’s beautifully repainted white cabin roof since breaking my ankle, but felt ready for the challenge. It was worth it.

And later that night the skies gave the roof a final rinse with a thunderous downpour – a truly spectacular storm.

MONDAY

Leaving Montceau meant going under the three post levées (lift bridges) of the town. We called ahead and right on cue the first, bridge rose, followed by the second and third as we made our way along the canal. The time lapse video shows what it is like – three blue bridges, all lifting in different ways; good modern engineering.

The town was famous, as its name suggests, for the coal industry. This canal was packed with barges moving coal and other cargo to other parts of France not much more than a century ago.

But we were quickly out into the country and although a small road ran alongside the canal the overwhelming sensation was of being out amongst the green.

At one lock a young heron (or was it a stork?) perched alongside for some minutes, and took off as we left. We thought heron, then stork, then heron! I researched online and to be honest I need a more able bird watcher to tell me what it was, please! There are a lot of both around the area, so hard to tell. (It was a stork….)

At another lock the flowers were what caught my eye. And along one bief (stretch) of the canal the wild sweetpeas were so riotous that their scent filled the air.

And then, at Ciry-le-Noble, this beautiful old building, once Claudius Martin’s pride and joy, graced the edge of the water.

Another piece of art nouveau architecture to enjoy.

We were aiming for a town called Génelard, a nice place to stop. But three locks and six kilometres out we saw a lovely shady place to stop for lunch. It was almost time for the locks to take their one hour lunch break and this mooring seemed very opportune.

A lovely serendipitous lunch mooring – so good we decided to stay the night!

The real attraction of this mooring was its tranquility. And we were not the only ones to appreciate it.

An intriguing ‘installation’ next to Calliope also served as a bench for an elderly couple and their picnic.

You will have realised by now that quite strange things appeal to me! This time, at the small playground near the mooring was an old fridge freezer, appropriately decorated to demonstrate its new use.

On Tuesday we made it the final 6 kms to Génelard – not an onerous journey. The intriguing bench cum statue by Ciry écluse waved us farewell.

We went through more lovely countryside, listening to nightingales, reed warblers and frogs as we went.

I have mentioned how broken down some of the old lock houses can be; today we found one that had been smartened up and turned into a gite. It looks a lovely place to stay – lock 15 Ocean.

The final beef into Génelard is through a cutting, decorated with reminders of the industry of the area – metal letters and images.

On this day it was the last lock of the day that caught us out. We came into Génelard lock, looking down at the basin where we could see plenty of mooring places; smiles all round. Stu pulled the well known blue rope and the gates closed behind us. 

That was that. We sat there waiting for the lock to empty. We waited for quite some time, and eventually decided there was a problem. Luckily it was not the ‘heures pour le déjeuner des éclusiers”, so a phone call brought us assistance within a few minutes. And while we waited I could investigates the sign on one of the lockside cottages that told me that the artist Jean Laronze lived there for a good part of his life.

As soon as we were tied up I walked up (and it is UP) into the town and found a boulangerie that not only had good bread, but also my favourite ‘flan’ – a sort of French custard tart.

Génelard was a key centre of industry, including a big company called Fournier et Moulillon who made mining equipment that was sold across the world. In the early C20th they ‘hid’ their industrial buildings behind a huge art deco facade.

Génelard is also known for being on the demarcation line between occupied and free France during WW2; a small museum remembers what it was like. to live through those times

Our next stop was Paray-le-Mondial. I had been looking forward to this as when we visited 7 years ago we discovered that it is a town steeped in religious history and with some lovely buildings and waterways.

We started off past another VNF depot, complete woith working barge moored outside.

Along the way we passed so many things that caught my eye; a kiln for firing pottery, the Chateau of Digoine, the ancient ironwork of bridges.

There were more ex-lock keeper’s houses, mostly in a state of complete disrepair, but occasionally one had been bought and restoreed to glory.

And on the more natural side, sleepy cattle, black kites soaring, and views across the French landscape.

PAray, last meal

Our last visit to Party 7 years ago coincided with the last night of our teenage granddaughter’s visit with her mate Abi and the most memorable event of that evening was going for a pizza in a restaurant overlooking the river that flows through the town.

This time we thought we would moor up in the marina basin, meeting up with fellow Piper boat Lilly. The mooring gave really good access to the town and we had a bit of a promenade round, but it was also a bit noisy and dusty for us ‘ruralites’ so we stayed just one night.

Even so we went for a good walk round to remind ourselves of the rather wonderful surroundings. Being here in August is to find oneself immersed amongst thousands of pilgrims who come from all over the world and sing and chant happy Christian things late into the night.

June is a lot quieter…..

The weather was not looking good for the next day, Wednesday. Nonetheless after a quick boulangerie visit we set off, only to encounter an absolute downpour within five minutes.

Luckily we could tie up and wait for it to pass, rather than enjoy a total drenching at the next lock.

Soon we were moving on again and had a pleasant morning of increasingly rural views and better weather ….

… until we reached the outskirts of Digoin where we passed by the redundant entrance to the old 14km long Arroux canal which brought iron ore from Montluçon.

The canal is only 3m wide, allowing the old 2.6m Berrichon barges to move along, with 20 widening to allow barges to pass each other.

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If you will indulge me, just a little more history. The Berrichon barges were often pulled by donkeys or mules, but recently by the owners of the boat. It is a little easier than it might seem as since the initial inertia is overcome the barge will move with little effort. We quite frequently move the 38 ton Calliope along a quay using just people power.

We were lucky once again to find a good long space in the ‘port’, and once more next to another Piper boat, whose crew emerged to help us moor up. Thank you Pascal and Eveline on Pas’ine.

Digoin, a fairly average town, provided some excitement for us with a stork’s nest on top of the church and a wonderful Art Nouveau post office. Yes, definitely storks this time.

Nonetheless we only stayed the one night, availing ourselves of the Friday market before we left and setting off for the last 100m before the Canal du Centre becomes the Canal Lateral à La Loire, and a new journey begins with an unexpected wait to cross the 240m long Digoin aqueduct.

But that is another chapter!

Revisiting Canal du Centre 7 Years On

The Mediterranean side

June 9th – 2023

 We left La Saône and came onto the Canal du Centre on a beautiful day. It’s quite a rise from the river water level to that of the canal, but the deep lock is very gentle with its rising bollards, and we ascended happily.

This canal, like many others, has a name for each side of the summit. The canal links the Loire, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean, to the Saône, which, via the Rhône, empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Thus the Saône side is known as the Mediterranean side and the Loire side as the Ocean side.

On maps and apps the locks are often numbered with an M or an O to help you remember which side you are on!! 😂

They also mention Med or Ocean on the sign at each écluse.

We had booked a mooring for two nights at Fragnes, not far from the Saône junction; our space was occupied by a hotel barge until 1 pm that day so we looked for somewhere to moor up, have lunch, and wait. Under this bridge was our only option!

Not our most picturesque lunch spot.

Ahead of us were a couple of good right-hand bends and so we used the VNF app (Navi) to show us the progress of the hotel barge so that we could move very slowly and wait to pass it in a straight stretch.

Soon after that we were moored up at Fragnes and spent a pleasant afternoon watching some rainclouds approach and then cool us down in the evening.

Next day was Saturday, the one day of the week that the local farm shop is open, so we walked through the little park adjacent to the canal and bought ourselves some fresh goats cheese, courgettes and asparagus. 

The rest of the day was a rather lazy and relaxed time, involving some red and rosé wine (again!),

That put us in the mood for some good planning of our trip further up the canal.

Oh, and the Captain got creative and gave himself a haircut – a ‘tête de Pep’. (For non-football fans, this refers to Pep Gardiola, current manager of Manchester City FC).

He’s looking very pleased with his new look in front of a lovely evening sky.

Having been woken by some nice church bells, and had time for a quick visit to the boulangerie, we set off on the Sunday morning, into the first lock of the day – the first of 11 ‘montant’ (going up).

It was difficult to see if we had the requisite green entry light, because a bird had helpfully used it to nest above and drooping over the light. 😅

But we could just see the green glow – all systems go.

Once in the lock all seemed well, until, having pulled the requisite blue cord, nothing happened. In fact, multiple pulls of the blue cord had no effect. I climbed up the ladder and looked for the usual signs and found three phone numbers to try; the final one worked.

Very soon our hero of the hour arrived in his VNF van, sorted the problem, and soon we were on our way again.

The scenery was immediately lovely – village churches tucked away amongst trees, some very colourful lock gardens, and gentle hills of crops soon to be harvested.

We started to see interesting metal work at some of the locks, with cut out designs epicting some canal scenes.

Most of the locks on the Canal du Centre close for lunch – that is to say they are switched off for an hour so that if you get into difficulties you won’t disturb an éclusier from his or her lunch. We were arriving at a lock around the noon closure time, and its also our lunch time, so seeing an easy place to moor in front of a lock we stopped.

The lock was ready for us to go up, gates open. Seeing a boat above the lock waiting to come down and wondering what we were doing Captain Stu walked up to explain. It was a holiday boat and the occupants had not appreciated the 1200-1300 closure.

After lunch we motored on. The blue skies ahead started to disappear and some threatening clouds gathered.

Would we reach a mooring for the night without getting soaked??

We had a sort of plan to spend the night around Chagny, but when we came up through our 11th lock of the day, Ecluse 24M, we saw two bollards set in grass in a quiet rural spot and decided to make this our Sunday night place of rest.

It was a delightful evening out in the countryside. The skies were ever changing, but we did not hget too wet and enjoyed a gentle sunset.

MONDAY

I decided to use the cool of the morning to give the boat a bit of a clean. This is sort of my job, although Stu often gets the mop out too.

My broken ankle had stopped me from doing anythjing much to the boat for some weeks, but I felt up to some gentle brushing away of muddy marks.

Apologies for the angle of the photo! We were not aground – just my haphazard way of holding a brush and taking a photo.

then set off past the déversoir (spillway) where excess canal water falls away.

There were several interesting navigational challenges for the Captain today. The long straight run into Chagny is a popular place for live-abaord barges, making then navigable channel narrower than normal. The friendly Irish crew of a barge at the other end waited for us to come through.

Then a shallow section of the canal was marked off my yellow buoys – interesting because normally buoys are red or green, to be left to port or starboard. Quick decisoins need to be made about yellow ones!

When we reached Santenay, our next chosen stopover, we understood the comment we had read about hotel barges squeezing past. Actually there is plenty of room and the Captains of these craft are good helmsmen and women. Amaryllis, who we had last seen at Sant Usage before we set off, cruised smoothly past, with a friendly greeting from the crew.

While our Captain dealt with that and a number of narrow bridges, I sat back and enjoyed the view of the valley! The scenery along here is just beautiful and well worth the trip.

By mid afternoon we were the only boat at Santana, so another quiet rural mooring for us.

Having good solar power on Calliope is important to us, allowing us to stay out in the country with no shore power and enjoy the tranquility.

Bearing in mind that I was still gradually working up my walking capability we went for a short walk down from thje canal and towards the villlage.

The bridge over the river Dheune was a mass of colour; the hills beyond beckoned but I’d need a bit more ankle repair before I got to them!

TUESDAY 

Along this part of the canal are many small villages, often with a Saint’s name, and a reminder that we are following the path of the river Dheune.

We were headed for Saint-Bérain-sur Dheune and passed through good farmland on the way; the sun was shining and hay had already been made!

We were still going up. Overall the locks were easy to operate, but sometimes the blue ‘Start’ rope, once it had dangled down to the bottom of the lock, was a bit slippery and not easy to get a good grip on.

Then either Stewart or I would climb up to the top and pull the clean section of cord!

We knew that there was no longer a boulangerie at Saint Bérain, so looking for bread along the way was a necessity (although we always have a pack of wraps on board for emergency lunches).

Google maps helpfully located a boulangerie near the bridge in Saint-Léger-sur Dheune, and according to the DBA Waterways Guide there were quite a few mooring opportunities in town. All are full when we arrived! So we took a chance and tied up to the fence posts on the opposite bank while I went to the wonderfully cool interior of the boulangerie; lunch was secured.

The mooring just outside Saint-Berhain-sur-Dheune had many trees around it, just right for a chair in the shade during the hot afternoon.

As it got a bit cooler we walked into the village to see if any of the shops or bar mentioned in the waterways guide were still there.

Unfortuately no bar for a cold beer, but there was a small ‘alimentation’ and a tabac. I bought some peaches and quiches – not realising at the time that they rhymed!

Back on board the back deck was pleasantly in the shade and was the perfect place for an al fresco supper of risotto (here I go trying for rhymes again!)

WEDNESDAY 

We woke to one of those clear summer mornings, still cool from the night air.

It made a great view looking back as we left to carry on upwards.

It is always somewhat amusant when we set off early (for us) to travel while it’s cooler, and then the first lock doesn’t work!

The lock was ready for us; Stu took Calliope in gently and we soon had ropes round bollards. The sign says ’Start’, so we pull the rope; nothing happens. So my ankle is taken up the rusty ladder to find the number and make a call to the VNF. 😁

And as I’m speaking to the VNF lady the VNF van arrives! How’s that for response time? Soon we were through and on our way once more.

The next lock is much simpler, so once we are up and away it seems like time for a cup of tea.

Not so fast! It turned out that the bottle of gas had just finished!

Crew took the wheel while Captain became gas engineer for a few minutes.

All soon done and tea was enjoyed all the more.

It was a nice blue skies cruise. Some locks had meadow-like untended gardens; some locks had waterfalls to give cooling spray; everywhere, looking back or looking forwards, was green rolling countryside. Sorry if I am sounding too waffly; it simply was one of those days.

Towards the end of the morning we reached the first two of the 5m+ locks that would take us up to the summit. Thank goodness for the rising bollards, spaced quite well for us, although a bit of clever manoeuvring was required so that we could pull the good old blue cord.

Before too long we had been through 9 locks, been raised 35m up, and all in only 9 kms . At a total of 3 hours it was a pleasant mornings voyage for us. 😊

The second of the big locks took us to Saint-Julien-sur-Dheune, our stopover for the night. We stayed here 7 years ago, when travelling in the opposite direction, and remembered it as the quiet village mooring that it still was.

We took our usual short walk to get to know our surroundings, first to view the river Dheune, very small up here, not far from its source.

The village is really not much more than a hamlet, but has an attractive little church, Saint Julien of course. We could see it from the boat rising up above the houses. There was also the tiniest Marie (town hall) we had ever seen.

Walking over the bridge on our way back we got a different perspective on our mooring.

Saint Julien gave us the expected calm night and a good night’s sleep.

THURSDAY 

It was not quite so quiet in the morning.

A man arrived to jet wash the picnic tables – actually a very good thing to do and they came up a treat. But a fairly noisy activity to have next to you for breakfast.

No complaints though; it is good to see all canal-side infrastructure kept in good condition.

Today was the day we would reach the summit! Not quite Everest! But an achievement of sorts. Only 8 locks to go when we set off that morning. We shouldn’t have been so smug!

Missing a bollard!
Bollard as expected

The first lock, another of the deep ones for this canal, would of course have the usual two floating/ rising bollards – except it didn’t! One was missing. 

The photos show the situation once we were at the top of the lock; I couldn’t take photos when we were 5m down and sorting out how to deal with it (one rope round the front existing bollard, and Stewart driving Calliope against it.)

We managed that adventure, but virtually all the locks required my puny arms to pull the cord that would operate the lock – positioned almost out of reach at the front of the lock behind a ladder, and slippery with slime! No worries; there is always a way.

So amongst our fun we had a few minor difficulties, but we did it. And on the way up began to see vestiges of some of the the old faience tile-faced bricks for which the region was famous.

So with several more or the deep locks behind us, now all with floating bollards present and correct, we were nearing the top.

Leaving the last but one lock (I think) there was a wonderful view looking back at whence we had come.

There is always something left to surprise. This time it was this peice of a generator or motor, raised on a plinth next to the canal.

Unfortunately I could not get off to read the plaque. Maybe someone can tell me what it is.

And here we are at the top, with this wonderful mural painted onto the redundant lock keeper’s tower. At the top the two gentle mermaids (do canals have mermaids?) tell us which side goes towards the Saône and Mediterranean, and which towards the Loire and the Ocean.

Now just a kilometre cutting between some of the étangs that feed the canal to reach Monchanin.

The mooring, outside a VNF depot, may not be the most scenic we have stayed at, but it is safe, easy to moor, and it is at the top!

It is also within easy reach of a very good Italian restaurant where a chilled bottle of rosé was our celebratory drink if choice!

The summit celebration – wine, pizza and salad next to an étang. It might seem I am over-egging it, but it was a cause for celebration that my recently broken ankle had stood up to everything required of it on the boat, and Captain could once more have confidence in the fitness of his crew.

A short walk back to Calliope, and we settled down for the night, knowing that it was all downhill from now on, as will be related in the next blog post.

Out on the Saône again!

for a few days

June 5th – 9th 2023

A quick explanation to those who who not know why our cruising has started several weeks later than planned …. at the start of April I broke my ankle. Even with the excellent treatment from the French health service it has obviously taken a few weeks to get me sufficiently mobile again.

Stewart had already completed a heap of maintenance and painting on Calliope – a bright white cabin roof and Interdeck grey decks were proof of that.

The extra weeks gave us a chance to have good friends (and master marine engineer!) Ian and Nicky over to stay, so Stu took the opportunity for expert help to service the engine and check out some electrics.

Plaster off and two weeks of physio later the Captain decided I was nimble enough around the boat to be trusted, so off we went, on an exploratory trip down the Saint Usage canal basin and into the lock that would drop us down into the river. Half hidden behind the French flag I prove that ankles in compression socks are still ok for holding ropes in locks.

And there we were, set free to wander the waterways again! We set off upstream, just for a kilometre to moor up at the local campsite but, most importantly, the crew have passed the competence standard to continue!

This is it! This is why we love the cruising so much – the wide open spaces, the water, the tranquility of many moorings, and, very often, the rosé wine on the back deck!

Calliope heaven.

After a lovely lazy evening, with beer and a light supper at the Camping snack bar and surprise visit from friends Roberto and Ursula (who had cycled over to say another goodbye!) we began to plan the next day.

Ha ha! Already the little challenges of cruising in France locked in – I remembered that there was a national strike the next day and that the one lock we wanted to go through would be closed.

Ah well – there is an awful lot worse than being here for an extra day and night!

I even managed to start washing the accumulated dust off the boat – we have been moored for two months across the quay from the council road works depot, with associated heaps of gravel. This was not a problem at all; we got to know the guys who worked there and it was rarely noisy. All part of the industrial history of the canal when the aggregate would have arrived by barge.

First task before we left the St Jean-de-Losne area was to fill up with diesel from the fuel pontoon. It is self service, or is when it works; note Stewart’s perplexed pose! But a reboot of the system by the tourist office and trying a different bank card soon had it sorted.

We were off! Calliope was heading down river to a village called Seurre. It was another beautiful day, edging into the high twenties with cloudless skies and a pleasant breeze keeping the wheelhouse cool.

As we approached Seurre écluse (lock) I went into communications officer mode, calling them on the VHF radio and found enough French to request our ‘aval’, or downwards, passage through the lock.

Then as we got closer I suddenly saw a sign informing us that we must wear life jackets in the lock.

A quick scrabble in the wheelhouse cupboard and we donned them before we passed through the open lock gates.

The moorings at Seurre are just below the écluse, and usefully have a new long pontoon for barges as well as plenty of finger pontoons for smaller boats.

There was an initial kerfuffle, asking another boat to move along a bit so that not only Calliope, but also one of her sister ships arriving later could moor comfortably. As usual with other boaters, people want to help each other and some judicious shuffling went on.

As it happens within two hours this became unnecessary when the owners of another boat returned from lunch, cast off, and left the end of the pontoon for us to move to – a perfect mooring!

Our friends on Triton arrived during the afternoon and took their place at the other end of the pontoon.

During their cruise they had caught 61 small fish and we were invited to a friture supper with them. The closest UK equivalent would be whitebait. Excellent!

A bit of a triumph for me in Seurre – my first walk to a boulangerie in 8 weeks, ie since I broke my ankle.

The flower displays around the town were bright and cheerful too – all adding to my good spirits.

The little bit of Seurre that I saw was a creative mix of old and new – just a taster here. (Captains note: the bald old bloke with the tummy in pic. top left isn’t me – though we do share many attributes….)

And then we set off – and what a wonderful morning’s voyage it was. Within the first half hour the Captain had spotted a night heron, two storks along with kingfishers, egrets and a good mixture of other soaring and swimming birds.

We were out in ‘cow country’, always a favourite for me. I love to see them wading into the water to cool down, turning their curious faces to watch us pass.

Once more we only had one écluse to traverse, this one at Écuelles. It was another calm descent – these big locks are often much easier than the smaller ones!

The bollards were a little far apart for a perfect Calliope fit, but very manageable.

A little further along the river at Chauvort we saw  these ‘twin towers’ and wondered at their history.

A quick Google informed us that they had been one end of a suspension bridge originally built in 1840, rebuilt in 1828, but destroyed in WW2.

The stone obelisk shaped towers have been kept as a memorial.

We were watching out for a small pontoon mooring outside a restaurant where we had planned to meet some other friends for the night.

It was easy to find, and there was a lovely stretch of pontoon just waiting for us. It was not long before we had tied up and were considering a late lunch. But that was to be delayed for a while …..

Two animated Dutchmen came quickly along the pontoon to tell us that they were the advance party for an ancient boat being rowed by 16 people upstream, and expecting to moor just where we were for their lunch break!

A bit of adjustment meant all could be accommodated.

She was a real beauty – a dutch boat known as a Church Boat because they brought people in from outlying hamlets to church, and also to market.

The International crew of all ages were gradually rowing up the Saone; it looked very hard work to me!

Half an hour later our friends arrived. It was lucky that we had planned for them to tie up alongside Calliope. The pontoon was very popular and boats of various sizes were arriving, trying to squeeze in, with currently moored boats moving backwards and forwards, and if no space could be made the newcomers had to leave and find somewhere else.

By evening our half of the pontoon was like this – calm and pleasant, and crowded! Calliope and La Fenice are at the far end.

We had a lovely evening together, initially on the back deck and then in the restaurant. Dining out is starting to become a habit!

It was early June; the sun didn’t set until after 9.30 so we enjoyed those dusky moments when birds go home to roost and frogs call out across the water.

Next day the crews on La Fenice and Calliope were keen to get going.

A cast off time of 9.30 was agreed and by 9.34.46 (the time this photo was taken) we were following our Piper friends towards Chalon-sur-Saône.

At Chalon our ways parted as La Fenice carried on towards the river Seille while we watched out for the junction with Canal du Centre.

The junction is not massively obvious, but the ‘barber’s pole’ was a good clue and Captain Stu slowed down to turn in gently – you never know what is coming the other way, and in this particular instance there was also a family fishing who needed to pull in their lines away from our propeller quick time.

.

Yes – we were going down the right channel.

Goodbye River Saône, for now. We will see you again in the Autumn.

Saint Jean de Losne Salon Fluviale

Apologies that I haven’t posted for a while – mainly because we were home for six winter months in UK. Now .. here we go again!

April – May 2023

We excitedly set forth for France and Calliope on April 4th, planning a week aboard to prepare for the season before taking the car back to UK. Then after about 10 days we would have returned to France by train, validating our 6 month visa on the way.

But as you will read below plans sometimes change – it is good to be flexible!

After a beautiful channel crossing and landing at Dunkirk we set off to Thuin in Belgium to join our good human and canine friends on Pavot for a night. A dual purpose to this diversion – a totally enjoyable catch up, and delivery of a few UK purchases.

Then onwards for a few hours next day, arriving at Calliope, moored safely at Saint Usage quay, in time for an early evening ‘welcome home’ glass of wine.

Next morning we both set to, cleaning, painting and polishing. Not only did we want Calliope to be well maintained, we also had the Salon Fluvial coming up. This is one of the biggest inland boat shows in France, and Calliope must look her best as a Piper representative!

The polishing was so impressive that I could see myself reflected win the hull again!

Stewart fixed up the hose and I brushed and washed the cabin roof ready for him to paint. (I am not to be trusted with a paint brush!) I had the easier job by far!

The days passed and the weather changed from wet to dry, spreading superb rainbows across the sky. Then continuous dry, and Stewart was finally able to apply the paint; it looks beautiful!

But before he started painting an unexpected event occurred. The crew slipped on the stairs and broke her ankle! A visit to Dijon hospital confirmed this fact and a couple of visits had me well plastered!

It took me a while to get the hang of the crutches, but eventually I was sort of mobile, within a limited range!

A change of plan was required.

Luckily we could be totally flexible and decided to take it a day at a time. We carried on preparing for Salon Fluvial, where we were to be part of a group of 18 Piper barges moored up outside Simon Piper’s house at Saint Usage (next to St Jean de Losne).

Stewart continued with prepping, masking and painting – first the back deck, then the front deck, and finally the sides – while all I could do was sit with my foot up, watching admiringly.

And its quite a long way from stern to bow on a 65 foot boat!

But well worth the effort.

Stu took over my polishing job as well, finishing the stern, then round to the sides.

Meantime I hopped about inside dusting and tidying!

Although to be fair it was Stewart who brought the galley worktop upon to its gleaming best!

Meantime I made an attempt at developing this year’s on board garden, using plants we had luckily bought a few hours before the ankle incident. There was also a marigold that had somehow survived the winter and was determined to bloom. Together they brighten up Calliope.

We discovered that we had been given roles to help manage the Piper invasion. Stewart was second-in-command to Roberto, our temporary harbour master. And I was allocated as communications officer, putting out messages own the group WhatsApp. For both of us it was good to feel part of the event organisation.

Piper barges began to arrive. Despite how it appears they are not all blue and white, although that seems to be the definite preference amongst owners.

By the end of Friday all 18 were in place. (And two photos courtesy of other Piper owners that help to capture the mood.)

Boats put up their bunting, opened their doors, and for the next two days we all welcomed potential Piper purchasers aboard to look round. Between us we spanned over 15 years of Piper boats with various sizes and layouts to see.

Simon and Andrea Piper, plus their team, invited us all up to the house on two of the evenings, where we were well fed, socialised and recounted our tales of cruising; all very good fun. Thank you Piper Boats!

And then Salon Fluvial was over. It took a few days for boats to gradually leave, each one’s leaving accompanied by the tootling of barge horns, and mass waving. Here we provide a send off for Tesserae; new friends who had been moored alongside us for almost a week ……….

For those who are interested in birds, we had a very insistent cuckoo at Saint Usage for quite a while, calling out for minutes at a time.

Also, to our wonderment, we could hear the piping call of the golden oriole as well.

Both birds are notoriously hard to spot, so no actual photos, but here is an internet image of the golden oriole.

……. leaving Stewart and I to contemplate a much quieter view across Saint Usage basin, and await the removal of my plaster in a couple of weeks – at which point this year’s cruise can begin.

SW on the Rhone au Rhin

part 2 – Mulhouse to Saint-Jean-de-Losne including a tiny bit of La Saône

10th to 22nd September 2022

Saturday was rather another rather long, and initially wet, day, travelling from Mulhouse to Dannemarie. For this section of the canal we had to have an éclusier with us, although the stretch is being automated and within a year or two I expect it will all be operated by remote control in the hand of the boater.

This is both good and bad – good for the independence of the boater, but bad and sad for the éclusiers who lose their livelihoods.

Initially we were accompanied by one éclusier on a VNF motor scooter; he was a friendly and helpful guy, chatting away to me; I replied in my brokn French, and we mostly seemed to understand once an other.

He remained cheerful in his wet weather gear even though travelling on his motor scooter between the locks.

We were to travel 23 kilometres, and with as many locks – uphill. We set off, as mentioned, in the pouring rain and for the first couple of hours it continued to pour.

So rope crew was determined to be as cheerful as the éclusier, bundled into her wet weather gear too. (To be honest I rather like the rain – very refreshing after the hot summer).

We quickly left the town behind us and enjoyed the open views – and duckweed topped waters! The green set off my few paltry sunflowers rather well.

The duckweed also gave me a chance to muck about with shadows (yes, the sun made an appearance), and to enjoy the green lace patterns we left in our wake.

The locks felt quite narrow on they stretch. Officially they are 5.2m wide, and Calliope is 4.2m wide – so theoretically there is half a metre spare each side. It sometimes doesn’t feel like that, especially with an audience. But slowly does it, and we ease in smoothly.

This one is at Heidviller.

The skies continued grey, though not wet, as we passed by Eglingen and the 15th lock of the day. Only another 8 to go!

But after that the weather gradually improved, with the sun coming out between the clouds. It became noticeably windier as we climbed upwards into the hills, and the terrain changed too.

After 7 hours continuous travel, with lunch taken on the move, we arrived at Dannemarie with its wide basin, small port and a mooring under the pine trees for Calliope. Phew!

It is a nice place to be – calm and interesting. I had a quick recce up the hill into the town, finding a small Super U supermarket for beer replenishment (we had given all we had to the éclusiers who had worked hard all day alongside us) and found a boulangerie for next morning.

I didn’t have time to properly explore the town, but did notice that there was a stork nest on the chimney of the town hall.

Other than that we settled for a quiet night to rest our weary bones.

The next day, Sunday, was to be our last ascending the hills and locks.

It was just the most lovely autumn day to go – blue skies, light winds and a few scudding clouds. (Does anything scud other than a cloud?) So much better than the drenching we had the day before.

As were moored just in front of the lock and as we prepared to leave a boat came down through the lock, and slowed down next to a Calliope. It turned out to be Paul and Desirée who have been following this blog for awhile. (Thank you. I really am surprised and flattered when I meet anyone who reads my outpourings). Here they are, almost in silhouette against the morning sun. Happy cruising to them both, on Anna Sophia.

We were soon onto our second major day upwards, this time including a final rise of 9 locks in 1.5kms, and in total 15 over 4.5kms. But we began, as we left Dannemarie, going over a small ‘pont canal’, or aqueduct, over the river La Largue.

I can see it was time I cleaned the paintwork, but when you have lots of locks, and therefore lots of rope throwing, on a wet day things do get a bit mud-stained, including me.

Let’s look at the locks first. Here is the flight of 9. Basically it is out of one, across a short pond, and into the next. They were all between 2m and 3m deep, so not difficult, and through great countryside.

It was also made easy for us by the éclusiers.

We had a good team with us. Our main (young) man for the day was Gabriel, but his colleagues came and went during the ascent to help, chat, or simply enjoy the view.

We handed out tea, coffee and b biscuits to keep everyone going.

The locks along this part are set with a water level that means the water runs over the top gate to meet you like a waterfall as you enter.

With the sun out much of the time it gave an extra sparkle to the day.

It was a three hour trip to cover the 4.5kms – makes me smile to write that; snail’s pace!. Looking down we could see what we had jointly achieved. We were about 40m further up into the hills.

Let’s have a quick focus on nature because along the way I collected photos of a lock-side flowers and a heron taking off. Here they all are.

It was a very pink day, apart from the heron.

And I took photos of something else that always fascinates me – the grooves in the tops of the lock walls caused by countless ropes over a couple of centuries.

It makes you think back over the centuries – this canal has been open since 1834, so almost two hundred years.

At the top of the last lock up our éclusier Gabriel handed over our new box of tricks.

We have had many telecommands (remote controls) for locks over the years …..

…. but this was a new version – larger, in a box and with a charger.

Interesting; and nice to be back in charge of our own lock operation – and going downhill!

Let’s see how we get on with that for the rest of our journey on this canal.

(I probably should have trimmed the bottom off this photo. Apologies for my toes, complete with the chipped remains off bright blue nail varnish for my niece’s wedding – or perhaps, if I’m lucky, you haven’t noticed.)

So we continued on alone, waving goodbye to Gabriel and his manager, who now both had the rest of the day off. We cruised, without locks, for 5 kilometres – essentially along the top of a range of hills.

By mid afternoon we were approaching the mooring for the night – Montreux-Chateau. At first we thought there was no space for us, but as we passed the big restaurant barge a big long empty quay opened up to our view and we tied up with glee.

Blue skies and reflections to be enjoyed for the rest of the day.

After a quick wash down of the decks and bollards (they get somewhat muddy after 37 locks as mentioned before) we both had a well earned rest.

A short walk in the afternoon disclosed that there is no longer a chateau here. All that is left is a small grassy knoll and the lavoir that was part of the chateau’s out buildings.

But we did find a small supermarket that was open next morning for a quick trip to get bread and a few things we had run out of.

The evening there was perfect – quiet and with wonderful skies. The sun set to the West and later a big moon rose in the East.

A drop of wine before supper and a meal of turkey escalopes, new potatoes, green beans, and a rather special parsley sauce (my secret recipe) set us up to enjoy the tranquility.

It certainly suited a Captain who had driven Calliope into 38 locks over the past two cruising days, each one only 1 metre wider than our ship!

Time to relax.

On Monday we were set for a different direction; downwards!

Everything started off beautifully this morning. We were all prepared with our new telecommand, but then an eclusier appeared to let us know he would be accompanying us for the first few locks as they sometimes had problems with the lock doors opening.

So he prepared and operated lock one, and the next few as well.

At the second lock I saw him eating a nice apple and he pointed across at the fruit tree laden on the other side of the water. Seeing my envious eyes he picked me a juicy apple for me too.

I have mentioned before how fruit and nut trees were planted at many of the locks, allowing Bargees and their families access to fresh produce as they worked. here wass another example.

I had heard that this was a lovely canal to cruise and we had lovely scenery all day. We began to see cattle – always a treat for me.

I think these are the famous, and delicious (sorry vegetarians) Charolais.

There were also some interesting obstacles, including a swing bridge, operated by our happy lock keeper and the ‘pont tournant de Froidefontaine. We did not get to see the ‘cold fountain’, if indeed it even still exists.

We had been cruising along close to both Le Bourbeuse and l’Allan rivers.

Now, just after écluse 7, it was time for them both to enter the canal and for a while the three waterways were as one, although it would not be long before the canal took over again.

4 kilometres further on Captain Stu had to take a sharp turn to port into a narrow aqueduct over river l’Allan, followed immediately by a lock. By now we were alone, operating the locks with our super-large telecommand. So we were glad to get the green and red lights, meaning that the lock was preparing for us, before Calliope set forth across the aqueduct!

As you can see the aqueduct was definitely narrow!

In fact not much spacer to spare either side!

But lovely views down onto l’Allan either side. As crew I get time to look at the view, and to take photos!

That lock gave me a bit of a surprise; at each lock you push up the blue lever to set it in motion; an alarm bell rings to indicate the lock gates are closing.

On this occasion the bell alarmed a nest of wasps in a hole at the top of the mechanism and they flew out towards me.

I think I then became the more alarmed of everything in the area! But no stings so all was well. You can just see two of the wasps in this photo.

The meanderings of l’Allan continued, this time joining us just after lock 12 at the point where another river, la Savoureuse, entered the downstream flow.

These junctions always add interest, and sometimes add a degree of difficulty, depending on how strong the current is that comes in from the side.

On this occasion we were met by a double red light, meaning  ‘en pann’, or ‘lock not operating’. So we sat back, had lunch, and waited for assistance!

It wasn’t long before a helpful VNF man arrived and had us in the lock, looking out over the drop to the river below. Once we had descended we only had 5kms, I lock, and a few bridges to go under before we reached Montbéliard and our stop for the night.

We had been told that the section of quay outside the VNF offices at Montbéliard was both a nice place to moor, and free. It is just beyond the main port de plaisance and we could not see if it was empty until we turned the corner of the port pontoons. Hooray, it was empty!

We took a walk up into the famous old town, ‘sight-seeing’ for a while before finding a good local bar that was open on a Monday. (Just in case shopping and eating out in France is a new experience to you, the majority of shops, bars and restaurants are closed on a Monday).

Returning to Calliope for the rest of the evening we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful sunset skies we have had this summer.

 The following day we left Montbéliard, and we started off with a series of ‘narrows’. We were slightly caught unaware at first but a closer look at the map showed where each one was coming. They were due to the canal being squeezed between a road on one side and the river on the other. Some lead to locks, some lead to bridges, and some simply narrowed and then broadened out again.

We were again surprised to be joined by an éclusier even though we had our remote control. This whole section is fairly recently automated and there seem to be occasional problems and so it is easier to send an éclusier along to accompany a boat and deal with issues as they arise, rather than have to send someone out when a phone call is made by a stranded boater.

Along the way we saw a hopeful heron, patiently waiting for the fisherman to decide to throw away some small fry – just right for breakfast!

As always there was wonderful view after stunning scene – so difficult knowing which photos to include.

This one is not exactly stunning, but shows a village rather than fields – Dampierre-sur-le-Doubs.

Churches dominate the landscape time and again.

Just over a kilometre after Dampierre we had a short stop. Today’s cheerful Eclusiers did want to take his one and a half hour lunch break -something that didn’t happen with our accompanying lock keepers over the past few days.

That was okay; we were happy to more up for a while for our lunch and then carry on to the lift Bridge where we had agreed to meet at 1:30.

In fact he got sent off to deal with something else and we were left waiting for an extra half hour until he could rejoin us. Once we realised that he was not at the bridge the Captain went astern and onto a VNF quay nearby; it provided a convenient place to tie up to while we waited!

It was around here somewhere that we were joined in our downward journey by a little frog, jauntily clinging to some weed that had got wrapped round the blue operating lever of the lock.

At one point the canal crossed the river Doubs – a crossing that must be quite exciting when the river is in flood.

We were going right to left on the map.

Luckily for us it was a calm day and we could enjoy the view. The bridge ‘above’ Calliope’s wheelhouse is the bridge across the Doubs seen on the map; the red buoys are visible too.

We had been heading for a mooring at l’Isle-sun-le Doubs, but decided on an earlier stop after our delay. Both the eclusiers and the DBA recommended a wooden pontoon out in the country, very peaceful and quiet. We moored up there and it was just as promised.

It’s an unusual mooring. There are not many pontoons this long next to locks on this canal.

The DBA Waterways Guide describes it as “19 steel piles at 5m intervals 3m from bank with a wooden walkway the whole length” – and that is just what it is!

Wonderful.

We took a walk round the little local village (Colombier-Châtelot), scarcely more than a hamlet, where a large stream flows through and has obviously powered a mill in the past. It also must have supplied water for this lovely stone structure – simple lavoir or cattle trough?? I think the former because of the groove to allow water to flow out at the lower end.

Later, after our supper, we were joined by another boat on the pontoon. It was a bit of a surprise as they arrived just after 7pm, which is when the ,locks close for the night and you imagine no more boats will be moving around!

Stu went to help them moor up – loads of room for us both – and we then enjoyed getting to know the crew of Ziggy B on our back deck.

Kimberly is a member of Women on Barges, as am I, so we were both pleased to meet.

The rest of the evening was one of those magical completely quiet, completely dark times that we treasure.

And still warm enough to sit out on the back deck too.

On a bright blue morning we carried on downstream, leaving our new friends behind.

Now we really did seem to be in control of our destiny.

Telecommand in hand we were set for the 13 locks of the day.

We were clearly right alongside the river Doubs now – in fact we were squeezed between the rocky cliff of the valley and the river itself, as you can see at this lock.

We were now seeing an interesting, and useful, addition to the lock signage here. The lock number is shown on the ‘traffic light’ – here you can just see Ec.25 next to the green light. This is all part of the modernisation of the locks on this side of the canal, and links in with the remote control system we were using.

We soon reached l’Isle-sur-le-Doubs where we had been thinking of staying for the previous night.

There is a short by-pass canal here, including a lock at each end and a lock in the centre of the town, with a tiny ex-lock keepers cottage next to it.

Before we left town we moored up right next to an Intermarche supermarket; very handy if you are getting low on milk, bread and fresh veg.

The lock at the other end of the ‘by-pass’ took us back onto the river again. We love being on rivers – so wide, so scenic, so full of interest.

Here is Calliope leaving the lock – number 27, as shown on the sign.

And here is Calliope two moinuites later, heading downstream between the navigational buoys, there to keep us away from sandbanks and other obstacles.

We started going through some lovely little locks at the side of big wide weirs and I began to understand why so many people have said that we had to go on the river Doubs.

At this one the lock keepers house is now a VNF office. I took the photo of the doorway because it made me smile that we were now in a region that included the Mediterranean! Google maps tells me that it is over 600kms to get there.

Many of these locks had a short ‘lead in’ canal at the side of the river. Most of these had a ‘gard’ at the end – a door that can be shit to guard against floods. These are not always set at the easiest angle, and are frequently narrow – and picturesque!

This one is at Rang, and a bit different. It is just over 3lkms long and contains two locks, dropping Calliope calmly down over 5m while the Doubs rushed along to port, dropping the same amount in a more chaotic fashion.

The day was rather grey. The scenery was not shown off to its best effect. We were travelling along a steep sided tree-clad valley with sudden splashed of colour as we passed through villages such as this one – Clerval.

It’s not often that I get a chance to see a lock from this perspective. This was our last lock of the day and I was able to walk back to a bridge that overlooked it. It is one of the locks without a ‘lead in canal’. There is a 100m wall above the lock separating it from the weir – not easy to see in this photo.

I had chosen a mooring by another of these locks, out in the middle of the countryside, but when we got to it it was clear that we could not stay there for the night. So we carried on a few kilometres and a couple more locks until we reached this one.

And here we found a pontoon below the lock, at Hyèvre-Magny, that we could tie up to. Quite a relief after a longish day.

Officially it is awaiting pontoon for the lock but by that time of day and this time of year it was unlikely that any other boats would be coming past. If they did, and they needed the pontoon, obviously we would move but luckily that didn’t happen.

It was tempting just to stay on board and enjoy the surroundings but I made the effort to go for a short walk using a narrow bridge to cross the river and take a look at the nearby village.

It was worth making the effort because I found a lavoir!

Maybe I should quickly explain my love of lavoirs.

I think it is the idea of the community that must’ve gathered around these laundry washing places, the sharing of joys and troubles that went on there for decades.

It was quite gloomy by time I got to this lavoir, so not so easy to se the features under the old beamed roof. But you can se the separate stone tanks of water, the fresh water constantly pouring in at one end, and the wooden pegs to hang things up.

It flowing water is one of the aspects of the lavoir that appeals to me – constantly renewed rinsing water. albeit also constantly cold!

Back on board we had a peaceful night with the only sounds being the water falling over the local weir and an owl.

We woke up to heavy rain and that continued almost the entire day. There were just one or two short breaks that got one’s hopes up, only to be followed by the next downpour.

Nonetheless we were able to enjoy our trip down the river because of the stunning scenery, rock faces, kingfishers, and general movement of the water. 

Some of the locks were more exciting than others. Many of them were simple falls of around 1m and easy to negotiate.

Several had very narrow channels leading from the main stream to the lock – and rather shallow at the edges too after this hot summer, so not so easy. Of course the day’s rain was exceptionally welcome to replenish these waterways!

Another lock completely fooled me. It had very high sides as we came in, with the bollards we should secure too way up above us on the quay. I felt that it was a lock in which I would be going up, so put a rope around a sliding pole above the median horizontal bar. And of course we started to go down! We are going downstream after all! What an idiot. Luckily I realised in time and got my rope where it needed to be before it got stuck.

Then there was a lock was adjacent to an old industrial mill. The mill race took water from the lock channel and whooshed it to one side, causing unexpected side currents- but Captain Stu was his usual capable self and kept Calliope on course. The photo is of us leaving the lock.

The ‘lock’ in the photo above is a temporary lock. On the day that we went through the flow on the river was low enough for us to drive straight through, but when the waters rise a lock can be brought into service here. The ‘quay’ is a floating pontoon that allows for whatever level of water there is at a particular time; ingenious.

We thought we would moor up above the last ‘different’ lock of the day – a double lock. When we tied up we realised it was right by a busy rural road. Looking over the ‘cliff edge’ of the double lock we could see a much quieter pontoon below, much like the one from the night before.

So we untied, went into the double lock, and descended to the river.

A double lock is where you exit one lock chamber straight into another, thereby stepping down twice. It dropped down over 6m in total; here we are moving form lock 1 to lock 2 – half way down.

And here we are, just below Deluz, waiting to enjoy a marvellous sunset as the clouds gradually, finally disperse.

And when the skies did turn red/orange/pink I was on hand to take a photo – and Stu was on hand to take a photo of me!

The next day was Friday – 4 days until we were due in Saint-Jean-de-Losne. We needed to keep moving.

It was still grey as we continued our journey on towards the Saone.

There were not many locks on this day, but as usual they were next to weirs on the river.

The weirs were beginning to look a little more exciting, what with all the rain and us being further downstream with other rivers joining in all the time,

Two hours and only two locks on we are on the outskirts of Besançon, looking up at the massive Vauban citadel on the hill above the city.

We arrived in Besançon with a plan – cut the loop off by going through the tunnel (souterrain) and moor up just the other end.

But that mooring – two 15m pontoons – was full!

So a quick re-plan was required and I booked us into the port – back the other end of the tunnel. This meant that instead of another tunnel trip we could go round the Besançon river loop and see the city. With that positive news in mind we put lunch out of our minds for a while and enjoyed the view of city walls.

The port said we must go through the manual lock – yeah, like there is a manual lock still on this river/canal! Must be a translation issue!

Until we got to the lock! Very pretty and next to an old mill. So we had fun working out who would do what off the two of us, tying up, emptying the lock, driving in and securing, filling the ,lock, and out.

Needless to say Stu did all the difficult stuff while I pushed and pulled and turned handles and wheels – and took photos!

But once moored up we were in a good position on Quai Des Artes to both visit the city and later to join our new friends on board Ziggy for cocktails – a very sophisticated experience!

Of course we could not stop to enjoy Besançon for an other day because of our rush to St Jean de Losne – but I suspect we will be back.

So next morning, cold and grey though it was, we were off at 9.30, after my mad dash to a boulangerie for a very good baguette. We had to go back through the tunnel under the citadelle again, but this time at the end we turned left instead of right and into the next lock down.

I completely lost my sense off direction and was momentarily alarmed when the Captain went to port out of the lock, but of course he was right! We joined quite a strong downstream current, following the heavy rain of a few days ago, and looking back to bid farewell to the citadel.

This made entering the next lock more than difficult. It is beside a big weir which was sufficiently angry to try to pull Calliope sideways as we entered the lock. The captain did very well!

Once in the lock Stu thought it advisable to put his rope around the sliding pole instead of a bollard. In attempting this, from above, his shoulder nudged the alarm cord which was so sensitive that it set off the alarm! Funny really, but one does not like to alarm the éclusiers so I called up to explain that there was not a problem. Nonetheless in order to allow the lock to continue its operation someone had to come and reset the lock. He was verge good about it.

We did not have to wait long and were on our way again, having apologised to the VNF.

To be honest this was not the easiest of days. But as always we rose to each challenge that came our way. Stewart had got steer through many narrow bridges and ‘gardes’ (like a lock but with no change of level and there to stop any flood waters going down the canalised parts).

turn to starboard to enter
it IS wide enough
the light show
looking back at the watershed

One little diversion was going through a second tunnel – this time the Souterrain de Thoraise. It has been made interesting by a Danish artist who has had some LED light strings installed through the tunnel roof, and a watershed at the Eastern entrance that stops before you enter, then re-starts behind you. There are some chrome tube sculptures at the western end.

11 kilometres further on we went through lock 58A and just below found another perfect pontoon for the night. The Captain is showing his delight at this beautiful setting. Once more it is officially a waiting pontoon for the lock, but arriving not long before the lock ‘closed’ for the night we decided all would be well.

In fact all was very well! The evening sky was one of the most beautiful we had enjoyed and there was scarcely a sound other than the splash of jumping fish and birds singing their way to bed.

We watched with delight as the sun burnt the mist off the water tin the morning, waiting just long enough for the river to be clear and bright before we left.

Here I am, wonky glasses, enjoying that early morning sun on my face and the gently switch of Calliope moving downstream.

It is moments like this that constantly remind me how overwhelmingly lucky I am to be living this life on the water.

We had set ourselves a 28km target cruise for the day. It was easy to achieve in such lovely weather and along an extraordinarily beautiful stretch of the Doubs. It was no wonder fishermen and swans were out there sharing it with us!

We passed by the village of Ranchot with its marvellous angled weir.

The short canal that by-passes the weir ends up with a lock (as usual) and then a long curved wall separating it from the main river; yet another magnificent view.

There were narrow sections again, to complement the wide open scenes. This is the start of a canalised section that runs alongside the river from Orchamps to Dole.

It includes, at its upstream end, this high walled section and écluse de garden.

By 2pm we were entering the avenue of plane trees that lead into Dole. We were aware of the possibility of no space for us on the quay at Dole; it is a very popular place to stop, so we were on the look out for an alternative.

And here it is – our alternative. We moored above Dole, just above the Charles Quint lock. On this occasion there was no sign about it being a waiting pontoon, so we felt good tying up here.

I went for a quick walk round Dole, main ly so that I knew where the boulangerie was for the next morning.

These few photos do not do justice to an amazing small town – where Louis Pasteur was born . It is absolutely lovely. There is a characterful inner moat with old houses and restaurants lining the quay and plenty of narrow lanes and allies to explore.

Yet again we had landed somewhere for just one night that definitely requires a return visit.

Monday was our last day to reach Saint-Jean-De-Losne and the town quay where we hoped to meet up with Simon Piper of Piper Boats.

It was also the day of Queen Elizabeth II state funeral; a sad, ceremonial, reflective day.

I made my dash to the closest open boulangerie for a nice fresh baguette. That meant we could cruise through lunch with a crusty sandwich in hand.

And then we were off, passing through the Dole marina area and round the city wall.

On leaving Dole we joined a lovely open river and headed across it towards the next lock, in sight and just a kilometre and a half away. We approached and saw a red light, partly open gates, but no boat emerging. It didn’t make sense. Using our remote control made no difference and we pulled into the waiting pontoon.

Up jumps crew to go and report the ‘en pan’ lock. I used the automatic connection to the VNF office that is on the side of most lock huts, and was told someone would be sent to help us.

After about 20 minutes a van pulled up on the other side of the lock and a man started to work on the weed clearing machine at the side of the lock – was that perhaps the problem? After a further 10 minutes, and no sign that the man recognised our plight, I went back to the lock and explained.

Ah! Now he understood why we were on the waiting pontoon – and two other boats were wallowing about on the river behind us, both also waiting for the lock. His job was weed clearance, but he would help us. He went to the lock controls and soon the gates fully opened – to reveal a large tree trunk that presumably had been trapping the doors.

Together, with a variety of boat hooks, rakes and rope, we managed to bring the log to one side of the lock and secure it to the ladder. Hooray. At last the lock could operate, and we could all proceed.

We went on through a mix of fields and huge chemical works,  but few photos were taken as I was using my iPhone to watch as much of the state funeral as I could, and have the two minutes silence together with the rest of the British nation.

It was not too long before we were at last kilometre of the canal, and its final three locks. The first two are each alongside beautiful old mills as shown above; a very peaceful setting near a village called St-Symphorien-sur-Saône.

Then into the final lock, number 75, where we handed back our telecommand and soon found ourselves out onto La Saône

It is only 4 kilometres from St Symphorien to Saint-Jean-de-Losne so it was not long until we were moored up on the stepped town quay. It is always an interesting place to tie up as you have to find the rings set at various places and levels on the steps, and make sure you have ropes long enough to secure your boat!

This time it did not take long and we sat back to relax and enjoy the end of another epic season, this time including time on 9 different rivers, and about 6 canals. The rivers were:

  • Leie
  • Scheldt
  • Sambre
  • Meuse
  • Moselle
  • Saar
  • Rhine
  • Doubs
  • Saône

Not bad!

All that was left to do was to turn the corner into St Usage, where Calliope was to spend the winter, then go back to the UK and start planning for the 2023 cruising season!

Hope to see you all again in April

South West on the Rhône au Rhin

Part 1: Strasbourg to Mulhouse including 72kms of Le Rhin

6th to 9th September 2022

We were in Strasbourg on a beautiful mooring in the Basin de la Citadelle (Port d’Europe) with this lovely view from our back deck.

We had been there since late July, originally planning to use the Canal des Vosges to travel southwestwards, but water shortages through this very hot dry summer had resulted in several canal closures, including the Vosges.

So the change of plan was to use the Rhône au Rhin canal, now separated into two branches and necessitating a 72km strip of the Rhine itself. To go on the Rhine we have to have a pilot aboard – someone with a Rhine license. All boats over 15m must have a qualified person aboard on this big and often commercially busy river – although this regulation is due to change from 15m to 20m – which will let us off the hook.

It isn’t too difficult to find a pilot with the licence – and our search was made even easier by discovering two of them working at the Port d’Europe; one of them was free to come with us – Alain. We booked him in and set about enjoying our last week in Strasbourg!

Alain was to join us at the lock where the northern branch of the canal joins the Rhine at Rhineau; on September 6th we set off for a gentle two day trip down to meet him.

It was interesting to move through the edge of the city on the water, seeing some of the more modern buildings after all the historic houses in the city centre.

We were soon at the first lock with a holiday boat practicing the ups and downs of inland waterway navigation with the help of a friendly éclusier. The first few days on a new boat can be a bit of a steep learning curve, though it is our experience that nearly every other boater will help immediately if help is needed, and often even if it’s not!

If we are early to a mooring it’s our practice to step off Calliope and catch the ropes of a later arrival; we have many friends to this day made from that simple gesture.

Soon we were out of the built up areas, enjoying the shade of the trees lining the banks – it was still rather hot!

We quickly discovered, after that first lock, that the method of lock operation on the Northern branch of the Rhône au Rhin is the pole, or ‘perche’ in French.

Here one must give it a good tug, whereas on other waterways in France it is necessary to twist the pole.

No confusion here – it is clearly marked.

And when you get beyond it, is is also clearly marked to leave it alone!

The VNF don’t want people leaving a lock to pull the pole again!

We were going rather well until we got to Plobsheim, just on lunchtime. The lock was not working; in order to find the phone number to call for assistance Stewart had to put me ashore in a rather precarious position, onto some narrow wooden guide rails, some rotten. So I had a Russian Roulette walk ashore – would I lose my balance and fall in, or would the wood give way?

In fact neither happened and I scrambled through a bush and up a steep bank to raise the alarm. Just as I was looking for a number to call from the lock a VNF van sped up and out jumped a friendly female éclusier. Our predicament had been caught on camera, and leaving her lunch half eaten she had rushed to the rescue.

Before long we were in the lock, accompanied by a family of swans who had to be persuaded to leave before the lock gates closed.

Heading for the aqueduct
Leaving the aqueduct
Over the Ill

Almost immediately the Captain had another obstacle – a narrow aqueduct over the river Ill (pronounced ‘ill’, and very difficult to explain any other way…). Lovely lovely spot.

We continued on to Krafft, a village with a VNF (Voie Navigable de France) depot, office and quay. Although not immediately an attractive mooring we found it just what we needed. It was quiet at night, secure, and with a nearby boulangerie for the morning bread!

The local VNF team had gone to the bother of making one end of the quay a haven for boaters.

A line of huts included the rubbish bins, and also a covered seating area with barbecue, picnic table and garden .

We could easily go into the office and organise our trip through the lock onto the Rhine for a couple of days time – you have to book your lock slot.

As the sun went down and dusk crept in we felt very fortunate with our mooring.

Next day we did not go far. We began by crossing the Canal de Décharge de l’Ill, essentially a man-made way for the river to escape ever since the canal system here was built. It meant , for us, going through a narrow barrage, which can be closed off to protect the canal Rhône au Rhin if l’Ill is in flood, then over the crossway, where on the day we crossed there was little flow of which to be wary.

If you have read my blog before you may by now be bored of my interest in the changes to the canal system over the centuries.

Sorry!

But here is another example of the ancient and modern kilometre markers.

We had considered going to a mooring right by the last lock, but it was not clear if there would be space for us, and if the water would be deep enough. So to be safe we stopped a few kms short at a mooring recommended by the éclusiers.

The last lock, immediately before our mooring, also had its interest. As we approached we saw a boat heading towards us, which then turned mid stream just by the perche, and pulled it sending the lock in motion.

Although we could have fitted in the lock with them we wanted to stop before the lock so that I could run up and check that the desired mooring was free.

So once more I scrambled ashore ( I wish I had photos of my 74 year old valiant scrambles) and went to the lock – only to find two New Zealand friends of ours on their boat.

We had a quick explanatory chat and catch up before they went on their way.

It was an excellent choice for us – another rural tranquil setting, and after a walk of 20 minutes into the nearby village of Boofzheim found another good boulangerie!

Back on the boat, just in time – it poured with rain. We all needed this water so much after the long dry spell, so were pleased to hear the heavy rain continue all night.

As night came in we could see distant thunderstorms through the trees and hear the lovely sound of raindrops on the roof.

It was quite a big day the following day – which we new was going to be a long one. So we were early to bed.

Then we were on our way, with navigation lights on, at 6.45 – a time we are usually still sleeping – and picked up our pilot, Alain, at 7.45. We dropped him off almost 12 hours later.

Alain joined us at the lock from the canal down onto the Rhine so we were straight out onto the big river, heading upstream towards our first lock.

All the locks on this section of the Rhine (maybe on all of it) have two locks side by side, one twice as wide as the other, but both the same length. They are less deep than many we have been through on theoRhône but big enough thank you! We were in the smaller lock most of the time -though not every time, as you will see. As Calliope floated to the top of the first lock at Rhineau it had become almost daylight.

Alain encouraged us to use a lot of the power in our 150hp engine – something you cannot do in narrow canals where we would create too much wash and damage the banks.

Our here on the Rhine we were up to 1700 rpm which was giving us 13kph according to Alain’s app.

Calliope loved it!

The wake we set up here was allowable, and the movement through the water looked beautiful as the sun rose.

That is Germany on our port side; France ran along to starboard.

We all took turns at the helm, although Alain did most because he was so enjoying being back on a boat rather than in an office. Stu and Alain were in charge for the locks, and I was trusted not to hit anything in between on such a big wide open waterway!

We met up with other, much bigger, barges at the locks. I certainly would not be trusted with, or even want to try, to put one of these wide commercial barges into a lock that is about half a metre wider than the boat! How do they squeeze in? It made us look very narrow!

You will notice we now have our mast upright; it is normal for barges – commercial and pleasure – to travel with them half lowered to fit under the many low bridges we pass under, but with no such encumberments on the Rhine our pilot suggested raising it so that the VHF communication with the locks could be accomplished with more ease.

In many ways these locks are far easier to navigate than the narrow self-operated locks in the canals.

Such a breeze for the crew – I could put a rope round a floating bollard, secure it, go below and make a cup of tea whilst watching my rope through the window!

Most of our journey was through countryside, and to our East we could see across to the Black Forest mountains. I tried to explain to Alain the significance of the Black Forest, in terms of gateaux, and how I had a huge one made for my 60th birthday!

Later, as we got towards the end of our time on the river, there was a far more industrialised section at Ottmarsheim; this is on the French side, despite its name. We like to see these big modern quays, demonstrating the importance of water transport in the 21st century.

At last – 10 hours later and in fading light – we saw the sign for the southern part of the Rhne au Rhin canal – our exit.

The sign was telling us that we could aim for either of two locks. We had already agreed with Alain that we would go for the larger of the two, on the first side of the little islet.

So at last we get to our last lock of the day, Niffer, an extremely interesting and different lock! I have searched and searched for information on the architect of this building but cannot find the answer. Interestingly it is the smaller of the two locks, known as Niffer-Kembs, that seems to have the notoriety, having been designed by Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

At this lock we had a different design of floating bollard – initially rather nice, but with the ability to trap your rope when you get to the top!

Alain was leaving us here, and as he stepped ashore he was luckily on hand to pull the rope free.

Bye bye Alain – thank you!

Cheers Captain – our pilot has left, we are off the Rhine, and back to our own devices. We have done it! It may not seem much to most of you, but we had been apprehensive about being on the Rhine and needing a pilot. In fact it was simple, enjoyable and educational, though a long day for people who usually aim for a maximum of 4 hours cruising!

Then, as we look for a mooring, and the sun sets behind black clouds, we hear that our Queen Elizabeth II, Lilibet, has died. It cast a sombre mood over what was otherwise a feeling of success and relief. We drank a toast to the passing of a very special woman.

Then as we relaxed and settled down, out of the darkness came a bright light!

A big barge passing us, working late. Thank goodness we had our navigation lights on again!

After the ghostly giant had passed though we had a very welcome peaceful night at the halte nautique at Hombourg.

The morning light was glorious; it made it all the easier to get up and move on to Mulhouse, a few kilometres away.

And the daylight gave us a better view off where we had spent the night – a good VNF pontoon on the canal, offering respite to those who have left the Rhine – or are about to join it!

Before we set off Captain Stu lowered the mast again to its normal cruising position.

The run into Mulhouse started with a wide canal capable of accommodating commercial barges like the one that passed us in the night. We reached the right angle bend in the canal and found the wharfs where these barges dock and turn.

Then the canal narrowed to freycinet size – the size of the smaller 38 metre commercial barges, and closer to Calliope size, though they are still almost double our length.

We arrived at a very modern lock – so modern that the VNF had not yet finished it so it was not yet automatic.

A very helpful éclusier came out to meet us, taking the details of Calliope and making sure that we had a current vignette – the equivalent of road tax, but for a boat in France.

Then the giant lock doors closed down behind us and we began what was to be quite a trip upstream over the next few days – but that is in the next blog post!

For now we were happy to cruise into Mulhouse, past good floral displays, and the development of what will be a lovely modern garden (not shown here). Stu tells me that the upside down writing is for reflections in the canal, but not calm enough or the right light for reflections as we went past.

We had called ahead to book a mooring at the Mulhouse port. Soon we were able to moor up to the hammerhead reserved for us – in plenty of time for me to find a local boulangerie – good fresh baguette towards our lunch.

There are only two more things to report before I sign off and leave Calliope in Mulhouse.

One is the city itself.

The city is full of interesting and architectural buildings – just a few shown here from our short walk around. To be honest we did not do justice to the place – we were still a bit tired and shell-shocked from the Rhine and the news about Elizabeth R.

It is worth a longer visit.

The other less glamorous delight of our stay was to find a working ‘pump out’ in the port. It really helps the black tank system to occasionally have a good clear out from the top via a pump out system, but they are hard to find in France and Belgium.

This tine it meant mooring against another very helpful barge and running the pipe across to Calliope.

It all worked exceedingly well, despite Stu’s slightly worried face!

We spent the evening and the night feeling ready for the Rhône au Rhin uphill journey ahead, as you will read in the next blog.

One week to reach Strasbourg

On Canal de la Marne au Rhin Est

20th to 26th July 2022

As we came to the end of the Canal de la Sarre we reached a T-junction and the sign above. For now it was an easy choice – we were heading for Strasbourg where our niece and her family would join us for a few days.

After their visit we might come back this way and travel towards Nancy – if the canals in that direction had not all closed. We were in the middle of a second heatwave and long weeks without much rain. The waterways of France were drying up; many had an ‘arrète de navigation’. But that is me getting ahead of myself.

We were now on the eastern branch of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Our last canal had brought us up to the heights of the Sarre river and we found ourselves looking down at the landscape, rather than up to the hills of the past weeks.

Our first stop was at Xouaxange. We had several attempts at pronouncing it and I am not sure if we ever got it right. The internet was not much help, suggesting equally unpronounceable phonetics. We found a nice empty quay in a simple park setting, and were joined later by some other boats, and camper vans.

It is a small village, with a few nice structures. These include the bridge from the quay to the village, and the church with its unusual tower.

An earlier decision had been made to eat out; we were short on provisions after several pleasant quiet rural moorings. There appeared to be one restaurant in the village and it was not the French cuisine we expected!

It was a very friendly, slightly quirky place with a mainly Madagascan menu. It began to rain (very welcome) as we approached so we sat inside next to an open window and enjoyed a tasty different kind of meal.

It did not rain for long, despite my rain dances and the country’s prayers.

By next morning when we left the skies were mainly blue again, but there was a freshness to the air that had been missing for a while.

The canal leading out of Xouaxange was narrow and on a long curve, following the line of a hill; lovely cruising as long as you don’t meet anything. 

We didn’t.

One reason for the narrowness was that we were about to cross a short aqueduct over the very upper limits of the River Sarre. It was proud to describe itself as one of the first (maybe the first) steel built aqueduct in the country, and is appropriately named Aqueduct de la Forge.

We had joined the Sarre on 29 June, where it joined the Moselle in Germany. At that point it had its German name – the Saar. Three weeks later we were looking at its beginnings – the first full journey of a river for us.

We continued along our high plateau looking at at countryside that was greener than it should have been after the dry spell. Maybe last night’s rain has got to work already.

Captain and crew had been wondering what mechanism would be used to open and operate the locks, bridges, tunnels etc along this canal.  We had handed in our remote control for the locks on Canal de la Sarre and were watching for clues.

The answer came big and bold!

We were coming up to two tunnels and a system of ‘detection’ was in place to know when a boat arrived at the end of the tunnel. We had to moor up behind a holiday boat that was already there and wait for the traffic lights to turn green.

After a while two boats appeared from the first, shorter, tunnel (Niderviller) and it was our turn to proceed.

As usual there was a long narrow cut leading to the tunnel entrance; we followed the holiday boat into the darkness.

At the other end we were required to wait again at a second ‘detection’ point – and again behind the holiday boat, which was tackling the tunnels quite a bit faster than us! I guess it’s not his own paintwork that is at risk.

This time, unusually, there was a second tunnel alongside the one for the canal. This was for the railway and trains came rushing past as we waited.

Then it was our turn for souterrain (tunnel) two – Arzviller – the longer of the two.

Stu had noticed a wooden ‘guide rail’ at approximate zig-zag fender height in Niderviller tunnel, and in the hope of the same construction here he gently steered towards the starboard side of the tunnel. I adjusted the zigzags to match the guide rail and Calliope glided through.

We emerged into a wide right angled basin – the ‘gathering and waiting area for the Inclined Plane of Arzviller.

The plane replaced, in the 1960’s, a series of 17 locks that took the canal slowly up a wooded valley – very beautiful, but also very slow for the working barges that were using it at the time.

As only 38.5m (length) of boats can go up or down at one time we were expecting to wait until there was a suitable space for Calliope’s 19.8m. The length was designed to carry the 38.5m freycinet working barges of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In fact we waited two hours, firstly in a queue of other leisure boats, and then because the passenger boat took precedence over us. People can buy a ticket to go on a passenger boat down and back up the plane, plus a small cruise.

But that was fine because we were able to get a good look at what was going on.

I found a good vantage point to watch the caisson (watertight box) come up the plane with three boats inside.

Then I had time to go into the building where you can see the huge winding wheels.

A sense of scale is seen when you notice the white van at the far side of the photo!

Next I watched the tank fill up with boats at the top, and make its slow majestic way down the side of the hill to the lake below, where the boats are able to ‘disembark’ as a door rises at the front of the caisson.

For those wanting to know more about this monumental structure you can read it here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Louis-Arzviller_inclined_plane

At last it was our turn and we entered the caission. This was our view, from Calliope down to the bottom.

Calliope in the caisson at the top
Calliope leaves caisson at bottom
Calliope moves away

Here are three photos to show aspects of our descent. In the centre photo one can see the door to the caisson lifting up to let us out – with cooling water dripping down on the crew’s head!

We moored up for the night below the plane – and in plain sight of it!

In many ways it is a lovely peaceful mooring, although the road on the opposite side of the lake has fairly constant traffic during the day – not quite what we expected.

The first interesting thing we passed next morning was the entrance to the first of the 17 locks mentioned above. We have heard that the walk up past these old locks is well worth doing, but with our need to get to Strasbourg we could not stop this time.

It’s on our list for next time though.

There are so many fascinating and architecturally interesting structures as you pass along a canal – here is a rather lovely railway bridge, beautifully constructed of mellow bricks.

Now the wooded hills on this side of the uplands are becoming more obvious.

Locks are definitely downwards; lock houses are yet another design. One day I will collect together on one post all the many shapes and sizes of lock keepers houses we have seen.

By now we were getting closer to our overnight stop. Lutzelbourg castle could be seen atop a hill as we continued descending towards the town.

On the way into Lutzelbourg we saw an example of the little engines that pulled barges along the canals and through the tunnels for a short time between the days of horse drawn boats, and the era of boats with their own internal engines.

Initially these were apparently electric (not sure how), and later were run on diesel.

Coming into Lutzelbourg was a revelation. We had no idea that it would be such a pretty little place – almost Alpine in the way it clings to the side of the hill.

As we came through the lock above the long mooring we were able to look around a bit and see the river Zorn below us.

The other half of the town is down there, the other side of the river. .

And then we were there – tied up alone on a long long mooring in (rather hot) sunshine and with green forests all around; wonderful yet again!

Once more we were not to be alone for long!

Luckily we had, as usual, moored up by 1130. This second photo is the quay at 4pm.

It was nice to see so many people enjoying the canal. After all it is what keeps them open and navigable.

We did find a rather nice small shop in Lutzelbourg, with a good mix of fresh local cheese, vegetables and meat, wine and beer, and a reasonable array of dry goods too.

Almost next door was an excellent boulangerie, and across the street a few restaurants – including the one we  chose for a summer’s evening pizza.

We watched with interest next morning as the ‘great get away’ began.There are locks either end of the long mooring, so whichever way the boats were headed there would be a queue for the lock.

We waited a while until there seemed to be a queue of one in our direction and set off down stream.

One of the effects of the lack of water is that boaters are asked to share locks with other boats to save water. We were therefore expecting to share with the boat ahead of us, but they moored in the centre of the lock. Despite our polite calls in English and French they did not seem to understand so Captain ‘hove to’ and we prepared to wait our turn.

A passing lock keeper was not too pleased about this. He recognised it was not our decision not to share, and told us he had called ahead to the next lock to hold up the boat in front until we arrived to share!

At the next lock we discovered a very nice Norwegian family who had only collected their boat the day before. The previous lock was the first they had ever been through and to them our 20m barge looked much too big to fit with them.

But we soon got a system going for the pair of us and continued all morning sharing locks with them, getting to know them more and more in each one.

Down and down we went, through the trees and valley, with each turn as beautiful as the one before.

We passed plenty of lock houses, this one ready for winter already with a good stack of wood outside.

Both boats were on their way to Saverne for the night and our last lock as we entered town was a bit more of a challenge, both in turns of its structure (with a high sill at the top end) and the audience of ‘lunchers’ at the two restaurants alongside!

It is also twice as deep as all the previous locks as two locks have been combined into one. So it looked a bit awesome to our Norwegian friends.

Initially we were trying to space the two boats out to allow us all access to the bollards in the wall of the lock, allowing us to move the ropes down as the water level dropped. But then Stewart noticed that there were ‘sliding poles’; metal poles the full depth of the lock to put a rope round and ‘slide down’. That made it easier for us.

We all came through unscathed. I wish I had photos as it was an interesting experience, but it was a busy time!

There is a big modern marina at Saverne, with open air bar and food stalls, mini golf, and generally a nice place to relax – but it was full. So we continued round the corner to the stretch of the canal pictured above. The first section, complete with water, electricity and boards, is still part of the marina. This was also full (disregard the empty space you can see as mooring was not allowed there the day we arrived.

We went on to the end of the line, grabbed the mooring pins and a hammer, and jumped ashore to make fast! We are the second to last boat along, inn the distance. The last boat was our Norwegian friends.

I was soon off to find a supermarket and buy some good fresh produce. This meant crossing a bridge, where I took this photo.

In fact it turned out to be a quiet and pleasant mooring.

The Norwegians and their holiday boat were scooped up by the Capitaine of the marina as they needed water.

That left us at the end, right at the edge of everything, for the night.

All ther locks since we joined this canal had been set on motion by sensors that knew we were approaching.

It was therefore lucky next day that we suddenly caught sight of a pole suspended above the water and in the shadow of the tree on the right a sign saying ‘Tirez Ziehen Pull’.

We were back to the most fun of the lock initiators – the pole to turn, or in this case pull, suspended above the canal. It then reopen ds on the helmsman’s skill in taking Calliope close enough, and the crew’s coordination, to hang on with one hand and reach out for the pole with the other.

Although, to be honest, Stu is such a good Captain that I can usually reach the pole with no exertion.

While I am mentioning canal side signs, here is a nice example of the old and new together – the old stone kilometre marker, and the new PK sign for the same point.

It was another scorching hot day and we were glad to have the front windscreen down, back doors open, and a breeze able to blow through the wheelhouse as we moved through the countryside.

There was no dozing off ih the heat though. Apart from several locks to descend there were also narrows in the canal where bridges passed over.

Some look impossible to squeeze through as we approached them, but I guess they are the same width as the locks.

Anyway Stewart steered us through them all with no bumps or scrapes.

Our next mooring was one of the most magical ever! It was a kilometre or two from the village of Ingenheim, out in the countryside, and so so quiet that most of the time we could not hear anything! Not even a bird.

There are just three yellow bollards set into the grass bank – but that is just enough to make an easy secure mooring.

Next to us, and the reason for occasional short term company, was an old boat imaginatively converted into a rest place for cyclists and walkers. A hut at one end provided shelter from rain or sun; a barbecue could be used by those with the food and fuel; and there were cycle stands at the front plus flowers for decor.

I have mentioned that it was hot – maybe 36°C – so many wasy were deployed to keep core temperature down!

Supper was preceded by long drinks in the shade of the bankside trees; the river Zorn, a short walk away, was a cooling place to paddle and sit in the shallows; hair was tied up any-old-how off my neck; and the Red Ensign jooined forcwes with the parasol to keep the sun from the back deck.

Together these measures meant we had a really pleasant summers day and night at Ingenheim.

As the sun went down, around 9pm. I went up to the nearby bridge to try and capture the lazy evening atmosphere.

Our mooring, and Calliope, can ben seen adjacent to the trees on the right.

In the other direction, towards the village, the sky was fading from blue to pink.

The end of a beautiful day.

Next time I want to stay there longer!

But as you know, we had a deadline to meet so next morning, an other blue-sky day, Stu reorganised our fenders while I walked up to the next lock, just half a kilometre ahead.

The lock system had changed again. Now we were in a loose ‘chain’ where each subsequent lock was expecting you to arrive. But we had ‘broken’ the chain by stopping overnight and I now needed to go to the lock and call up the VNF to open it for us.

I could have called from the boat using my mobile, but I like the exercise of the walk in the cooler morning air.

And its lovely to be off the boat and able to watch her glide up through the water, a scattering of ducklings ahead of her and last night’s mooring behind.

Mother duck and her babies kept out of the way, popping up in the breakwater by the lock.

Lock 41

The lock house here, at Lock 41, is yet another of the abandoned ones. What a place to be able to buy, revamp and live in.

It was a bit of a day for birds, but not good photos.

Nonetheless here is a parenting Egyptian goose with some of his/her goslings …..

…. and here is one of many storks we saw in the fields, but they are never close enough to be in good focus.

When we were cruising on the south of France, on the Midi and Garonne, we often saw golden fields stretching away from us, full of sunflowers. And I managed to grow quite large and glorious sunflowers aboard as well.

This year had been disappointing up to here, but suddenly we had a field of sunflowers, and my first bud showed signs of opening!

Coming on down towards the Rhine valley we realised we were getting closer to civilisation as we passed a working barge.

(Later, moored in Strasbourg, this barge passed us on an almost daily basis, moving up and down the canal carrying cement.)

Thos of you who have read a few of my blogs will know that I have a certain love of the differences I find in locks.

We often see white or yellow lines painted on the wall of a lock below the position of a bollard so that you know where to throw your rope when deep down in the lock and unable to see the quayside.

On this occasion as well as a white/yellow mark, there was also the outline of a bollard shape cut into the lock wall.

Rather lovely I thought.

By lunchtime we had arrived at Foret de Brumath – a mooring described as being rather gravelly and dusty. It was both those things at the commercial end, but quite pleasant and close to the trees at the leisure boat end. We tied up and waited for the sun to move round and bring the shade of the forest over Calliope.

As the afternoon drew on and the shadows lengthened towards us we were surpised to see another boat – another Piper boat – appear from the Strasbourg direction.

Naturally we went to help with mooring and discovered Gabriel, owner of Vagabonde and Capitaine of the harbour at Kembs, handling his boat single handedly.

We were invited on board later and had one of those unexpected delightful evenings of Franglais conversation, champagne and chocolate!

Thank you Gabriel – our turn next.

All to soon it was the next day and the parting of the ways – Gabriel continuing upstream for a short holiday, and us onwards towards Strasbourg.

I just mention that we passsed lots more storks – with their images captured no better than the ones before!

Easier to see, and more interesting to some, was the swing bridge at Vendemheim. (Have you noticed how Germanic many of the names are around here? Of course Alsace is onie of those areas that has swung back and forth between nations over time).

The bridge was shortly after two locks – all three structures controlled from the building at Lock 47. When we arrived there was small queue. It seemed that there had been a fault in one lock, boats of various sizes waiting to go in both directions, and also one holiday boat that had broken down all together. All they could tell us was that their engine had stopped working. We did not feel capable of helping, and they were not in any danger, so we had to leave them behind.

After the suburbs of Vandenheim we only had 10 kilometres and 3 more locks to go before we were well and truly in Strasbourg and looking at the visionary building that holds the European Parliament.

Sadly this is a place without British representation any more, but we can still admire the reflective curved walls.

I think we had just the right kind of sun and clouds for this photo – lucky me.

The next marvel was the Russian Orthodox church on the junction of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin and the Bassin des Ramparts.

This is where we turned to starboard, heading along the basin towards the Port d’Europe and our mooring.

We cruised past a long line of old barges, some now houseboats and others waiting for new life to be injected into them.

Then we spied the port and the fuel pontoon where we had been told to wait until directed to our final mooring. We ‘double parked’ against another big barge – Melba – who were waiting for their mooring to be free. Naturally we got chatting, and when we all moved too our pontoons we found ourselves moored directly behind her! Mark and Debra are now firm friends.

Across Strasbourg port from the mooring

Relaxing that evening in the knowledge we had got to Strasbourg a day before our guests arrived we looked out over the port and marvelled that yet again we had been lucky enough to get an ‘end of pontoon’ mooring with our back deck open to this view.

As the sun set we planned our route by tram to the station the next day to meet up with Jo, Warren and Ollie.

Our last quiet evening for a few (fun filled) days).

And here they all are – well Warren took the photo. And it is not of their first evening, but of one of the breakfasts we enjoyed.

Warren and I liked the walk through the citadel park to the boulangerie for fresh croissants, pain au chocolate, croissant armandes, pain au raisin and anything else that looked tasty!

Well balanced of course by fruit and juice!

Calliope statue above Opera House
a bridge in Petit France
Strasbourg cathedral

Of course having visitors gave us the perfect excuase to be tourists in this fascinating city, We all set off together and over their stay we sam any of the sights.

One of the best for us was seeing a statue of Calliope – the muse of epic poetry – on top of the opera house with the other muses. There she is – the wonder woman who gave her name to our boat.

We saw many of the special places ion Strasbourg and these photos are a tiny sample of our wanders.

fountains
fountains
fountains

It was still hot, the heatwave continued with everyday riding into the lower thirties by afternoon. Thankfully the cathedral square includes a line of cooling fountains – just the place to get soaked and then allow the water to evaporate off, taking body heat with it. I was pleased that Jo and Ollie joined me in the fun,

From Strasbourg cathedral
From Strasbourg cathedral

We cooled down at the right moment as the next thing we did was climb the 300+ steps to the top of he cathedral and look at the spectacular long views from the top.

We learned that in the past the townsfolk would go to the top of the cathedral for the day, taking picnics with them. There is a big flat platform there; it must have been a true breath of fresh air after the hot and fetid streets below.

The family were with us for three nights. Two of those nights we dined aboard and then sat together in the back deck as the air cooled and the sun set.

One of our favourite views was across to the boat sheds where the ‘gateau bateaux’ (passenger boats) went each night to be cleaned ready for the next days trips round the rivers and canals of the city,

According to Stewart they also had their rubbing strakes re painted; as we found out next day the boats are almost as wide as the two locks they have to go through, and with no space for fenders they cannot avoid a few scrapes.

We thought we would give the boat trip a try – a real ‘boatman’s holiday! It was very good – highly recommended. We saw parts of the city that we might have otherwise missed and from a different angle.

The accompanying commentary, delivered in about 10 languages, was interesting and informative about both the history and the culture.

We had a good plan for after the boat trip too.

A refreshing Alsace beer or wine by the river.

And then an Alsatian meal in an excellent restaurant in a subterranean restaurant.

The curved ceilings were beautiful.

The food and wine were all good too.

It was the last evening with our guests and we enjoyed it to the full.

Citadelle

Then they were gone, and it was back to just Captain and Crew. On the way back from the station to see them off we walked oince more through the Citadel park which is immediately adjacent to the port.

Naturally it is a much quieter place now; soldiers replaced by coots and squirrels (including at least one red one!); guns replaced by shady trees and benches; parade grounds replaced by children play areas and paddling pool.

The original ramparts, moat and gateways now provide charismatic backdrops in every direction and it is such a cool place to walk during these sweltering summer days.

By now we had decided to return to the UK ourselves for most of August. Our planned route via Canal des Vosges could not happen for a while as there was not enough water.

And, more importantly, our niece was getting married and we wanted to be there!

So just 3 more evenings watching sunsets, and wondering if they heralded rain before we left.

The day we set off to our second home (Calliope feels like the first one) was blue and warm again.

Our journey of walk/tram/train/Eurostar/train/ ferry/taxi was accomplished in around 8 hours.

In less than 4 weeks we would make the return journey to continue our voyages!

Savouring the Sarre in Slow Time 2

Part 2 – the French stretch – Canal de la Sarre (Canal des houillères de la Sarre)

12th to 19th July 2022

We arrived in Sarreguemines with extra crew aboard – son and grandson – who had joined us on the German part of our Sarre (Saar) journey – as documented in the last blog post. We had moored up on the long upstream quay of the port, most of the time with no-one behind us; a very pleasant mooring.

We liked Sarreguemines, for loltys of reasons. One was the flower displays everywhere; someone had spent a lot of time designing and planting these, all round the town.

And then the evenings there, as darkness fell. The river was a magical place to be. especially for the Bastille Day fireworks. Even the secure gate from the pontoon to the park had its own twilight architectural delight.

But probably our greatest enjoyment was on the last day when, despite the heat, we walked back to the junction with the river Blies, and then upstream to the Moulin de la Blies ceramics museum.

The museum is housed in the old ceramics works themselves, and includes everything from grinding the stones to add to the clay through to hand-painting the plates, pots, cups etc. It is fascinating and full of detail; easy to imagine the people still working there.

The views from various parts of the ‘works’ were often onto the Blies, an important part of the process.

Initially, before steam took over, the river provided the power for all the mills and wheels.

It was also the way that much of the raw material arrived, and much of the finished china and porcelain was taken away.

Some of the old ruined industrial buildings have been incorporated into a beautiful garden – very shady and welcome on a very hot day!

It is impossible tfor me to fully describe how interesting and enjoyable the museum is – but do go if you are in the area!

Next day we continued up the river, all prepared with our remote control for the locks, map and binoculars.

Officially we were now on the Canal de la Sarre (formerly Canal des Houillères de la Sarre) with the river running along to port. It was built to allow the transport of coal from the mines around Saarbrucken, hence its name – houillère meaning coal mine.

The weather was still hot – somewhere in the thirties – and we hoped to find a mooring with some shade.

Along the way, at Rémelfing I think, we had a friendly audience as we went through the lock.

All went according to plan and we waved a cheerful goodbye as we continued to Zetting.

Each stretch of river or canal has its own design of a sign to tell us to activate our remote control for the next lock – the ‘zapping stick’ as it’s called on Calliope.

Sometimes the wireless signal can be operated from a hundred yards away; other times only when you are right next to the sign.

I’m not sure what the M signifies. The rest of the stuff around the M is graffiti, in case you are trying to work it out!

Although not far out of Sarreguemines we were cruising through lovely open countryside, with all vents open to catch as much cooling breeze as we could on this beautiful sunny day.

As always we were wondering if there would be space for us at our planned mooring, and as is almost always the case, there was!

The only other boat along the quay seemed to be an abandoned holiday hire boat. No-one came near it while we were there. The life jackets were neatly piled up inside and the bikes on the back. It was bit of a Marie Celeste moment.

At this point the river Sarre is canalised, with the canal passing along the side of a valley, about half way up, and the river Sarre down below. We had a lovely view across the valley from Calliope, and a picnic bench in the shade should we be a bit warm on the boat.

I tried, without much success, to get a photo of the bridge over the canal (next to the lock) and the bridge over the river (in the distance on the left with a car gong over it).

This was just to demonstrate now close together the two waterways are at this point.

One of the daft things that I try to do!

In the opposite direction we could see the fascinating Zetting church, at the top of the hill above the village. The tower was very old, ninth century, and originally a watch tower. The nave is romanesque and the tall choir is C15th. The history is fascinating and worth reading of you like churches. https://www.roundtowerchurches.net/rest-of-europe/france-zetting/

Stu and I walked up the rather steep hill, through the village, to the church.

I was hot!

Zetting was an ideal place to get a bit more barge cleaning done. Although we have a pump and hose I do rather enjoy sluicing the deck (and myself) down with buckets of water, especially on hot days.

(Whoops, two photos of me in a row.)

All of this ‘effort’ led to the reward of a cold Kriek beer at the end of the day.

There was beer for the Captain too of course.

And a quiet night at Zetting. Mmmmmmm, zzzzzzzzzz.

The following day’s journey was on to Sarralbe, with the canal running right against the river Sarre at some points, making for beautiful scenery and vistas.

It is not a long journey – maybe 3 hours in all – and with a couple of points of interest.

We were well and truly back into France now, and the PK (kilometre markers) were in a new French style. They are very clear and have totally replaced the old stone markers along this canal.

It was also fn to see the vivid green ex-lock keepers house at écluse 21. It is now a VNF office and the larger buildings next door, presumably storage areas, are the same height colour.

Day after day the temperature was around 30°C and harvesting was well and truly under way, leaving behind views of my three favourite colours – blue, green and yellow.

All of this made for a pleasant trip to Sarralbe – so named because it is where the River Sarre meets the River Albe.

A completely renovated port is now available for bateaux de plaisance to enjoy. There is a long pontoon with electricity and water, plenty of bollards, goods rubbish facilities and – it’s all free! A park with paths and shrub style planting pins alongside, all gradually maturing; in a year or two it will be even better.

We tied up at one end where we would be shaded by trees later in the day and had lunch. Then we set put for our usual walk around a new town. What we found amazed us!

Almost every roof and chimney stack had storks on their nests!

We later read that there are about 37 breeding pairs in Sarralbe and that they have been encouraged for the past 15 years to next there.

We were fascinated!!!

Of course there is more to Sarralbe than storks!

The twin steepled church is magnificent (and even here you can see the white markings on the roof of the stork inhabitants)

Then ther is the old mill and mill pond on the Albe – peaceful now but with busy industrial history.

And for those who’ve read a few of these blogs over the years – there was the shadow of a lavoir!

A tiled roof shows where the locals would come to rinse hew soap from their washing and exchange the latest talk of the town. The notice tells of those times now gone and how it looked on the past.

All of this was in temperatures of 30°C+. Captain and I had worn hats and sought shade as we walked the quiet streets. But this was not enough for crew, who could not resist the cooling effects ofnthe fountain on the way back to the barge.

Despite the charms of Sarralbe and the very pleasant port, once more we only stayed one night; we were on a deadline to reach Strasbourg in time for family who were coming to visit.

We were also very aware of the weather forecast and the top even hotter days ahead, so set off towards a known shady mooring next to écluse 16.

Soon after we set off on the Canal de la Sarre we found ourselves passing over the River Albe on an aqueduct. There is something marvellous about one waterway passing over another; they always delight me.

Our next lock clearly indicated when it was built – some 108 years ago.

Quite a few of the locks have inset stones like this – some more decipherable than others.

And my ability to get a photos will usually depend on whether I am needing to work hard with the rope, or have an easy ride!

The cruising time on this day was around 4 hours.

We knew we we must be nearing our destination the we saw the lovely little lock house for écluse 16.

Good to see that this lock house is lived in. Many of the empty ones are available to rent at a low cost once you have entered into a contract with the VNF to repair and maintain it.

We ‘sailed’ on, enjoying the shade, and enjoying the free flow of air through the wheelhouse with the windscreen down.

And then we arrived, to find a perfect spot at the end of the quay, with shade creeping across the grass towards us, boding well for later on the day.

It did not take long to set up a cool lunch under the trees!

We passed a pleasant time at Écluse 16. There is a ‘posh’ restaurant there, sadly closed on the day we moored up, so we provided our own supper and had an early night.

During the afternoon a barge passed by in the opposite direction, carrying the purple, pink and orange flag of the WOBs (Women on Barges). I too am a member, as was the lady on the boat along the quay. We are a friendly bunch, and a bit of chatter rang across the water as we all quickly said hello and farewell.

Note the assortment of drapes the boats deploy to give shade. The was an unusual heatwave for this part of the country and I was glad of our experience in the South on the Canal du Midi where we had invented good shade techniques!

In the morning we realised there was a small problem with emptying the black tank, which was three quarters full. Captain turned engineer checked and cleaned the pump valves, but this did not bring success. The obvious solution was to go to a pump out and empty the tank that way, but we were not sure of the closest one.

Luckily my WOB friend from the night before had a sensible solution. She suggested a mobile pump-out service, such as would go to empty a septic tank at a house. So anticipating there being more chance of finding a local ‘vidange’ service closer to civilisation we decided to make a run for the end of the canal that day – a rather hot one!

Apart from the heat the cruise was lovely, with the canal passing through large areas of lakes on both sides.

Lock 10
Lock 2

We were due to see plenty of locks and their lock keepers houses. The one at éluse 16 is now a restaurant, as mentioned. But most stand empty. Some are large, some small, and all a sad sight compared to their importance in the heyday of canal coal transportation.

In fact there were 15 locks to go through, so I invented a ‘very-hot-weather’ dress style. I kept a bucket of water outside the wheelhouse with a long sleeve cotton shirt in it, and each time I went to the bow for a lock I put on the soaking wet shirt. The water evaporated as we went through the lock, keeping me cool! That plus a hat and lots of water to drink kept me fit. The Captain did the same, minus the wet shirt!

As we approached the end of the canal, after lock 2, we came to one of the last moorings at Pont Albesch. The canal widens here and there is a long quay, some of which is very suitable for mooring, and shady in the evening. We moored up, had lunch, and began to search for a vidange option.

It was the Captain who came up with an answer. He searched for farmers who empty tanks of various kinds as a side-line, and found one ……. within sight of the mooring! The nearest farm to us, whose cows we had been watching (you can just see them in the photo above), also ran a licensed vidange business! How lucky was that???

Having worked out the French for ‘can you empty a tank on a boat’ in French I rang and was soon in conversation with my new friend Eric. He came to look at the task, agreed he could do it and promised to be back after milking the cows that evening.

With this good news I relaxed and went for a cooling swim.

I frequently swim in the rivers and canals – especially if I can see plenty of healthy fish.

I keep my head above water and take a shower when I come out. So far no ill health has befallen me.

It turned out that a farmer’s work is never done; when Eric had not reappeared at about 8.30pm I walked up to the farm, and was introduced to his cattle. I love farms and livestock!

Eric and I agreed that it would be best to leave it for the morning, and as good as his word he was there at 8.30am, with tractor and pump. He and the Captain disappeared into the engine room, where Eric lovingly stroked our Beta Marine engine before connecting the pipes.

Within minutes our black tank was empty, any possible blockage easily removed, and we were ready to bid au revoir to our new friend.

Thank you Eric, and thank you to our WOB friend for the totally logical suggestion.

Off we went to complete our journey on the Sarre / Saar and its associated canals. At the final lock, 1, it was time to hand back our trusty remote control.

All the instructions are there, in three languages. And after some careful peering, without his reading glasses, the Captain returned the ‘tèlecommand’ to its rightful place.

This was all done in a little purpose built modern VNF office on the lockside.

And it was pleasing to see that the lock keeper’s house was being lived in.

The remainder of the canal, we knew, had more big étangs, or lakes, either side. But the banks were built up and we could not see them. All we could see was the circling black kites, watching for fish far below.

It was not long until we were turning to port to join the Canal de la Marne au Rhin Est.

It would only be a few days until we arrived in Strasbourg!

And our cruise down to there is the next edition I must write!

Savouring the Saar in slow time 1

Part 1 – the German stretch : 29th June to 14th July 2022

We turned onto the Saar at 1005 in the morning, saying goodbye to the Moselle which had been our friendly waterway for the past 11 days, and to Luxembourg where we had moored for the past four nights. Now we were in Germany and the scenery was immediately different; the vineyards disappeared; wooded valleys lined the banks.

Before long we were into our first Saar lock. We had been told that the left side (in our direction) would have floating bollards, an asset in these deep locks. With the usual great German engineering the locks operated smoothly and our ascent was gentle!

We discovered a new waterways sign on the Saar – the two white lines on a blue background.

It means that two boats can moor alongside each other between the signs, presumably because the river is wide enough at that point.

The words underneath mean it is suspended in winter service (Google translate) but dont depend on me for the interpretation.

Before we left the Mosel and turned onto the Saar we had phoned ahead and booked ourselves two nights on a pontoon owned by a restaurant in Saarburg. Usually we cruise in fingers-crossed mode, and are very rarely unable to moor at our first choice. On this occasion, however, because we much preferred the idea of mooring beneath the castle at Saarburg rather than at the main mooring just outside of town we booked ahead for this ‘two-boat’ pontoon.

waterfall from below
a view to the river
from above the waterfall

It was a good decision. We were then right next to this marvellous old town and could explore it easily. It is a fascinating place as you can see from these photos – quite a history.

We did climb up to the castle one morning, going before it got too hot. I think we counted 381 steps up to the very top of the tower.

Well worth it for the view! No wonder a` castle was built here.

We could even see Calliope far below.

Somehow we still had the energy for a bit of fun right at the top!

As well as getting to know the old town itself, walking the narrow streets, we also went to two of the museums because of the industrial heritage each displayed.

Just behind the mooring is a bell foundry, now a museum, but it feels as if the workers have just gone home for the night and will be back tomorrow. The making of a bell is an ingenious and time consuming process – especially making sure it rings the right note!

These photos show something of the place, but one really needs to be there to understand it all. One thing that stood out for Stewart and I was that the moment of pouring the molten brass into the carefully constructed mould is so important that the priest from the church that had ordered the bell would come to the foundry, with other dignitaries, to say prayers for a safe casting.

The other museum that attracted us was the watermill museum. Water cascades through the middle of the town, although that was not its original course. Alongside the cascade first one, then two, then three watermills were built to mill a variety of products. Two of these buildings now form a museum, with the water still pouring past and turning waterwheels.

After two days and nights in town we set off for the country leaving the pretty and historic town of Saarburg behind.

We soon had another lock to rise up through. And this time I was fascinated by the structure of the gate at the top end.

Looking up from the depths I could see lines of small circles against the sky.

And down at my level there were much bigger circular spaces too.

They seem to be designed to let the water through in a slower more controlled manner – but I am happy for any engineer to correct me.

Then as we rose up I started to see the huge arcing mechanism that would lower the door in a curve to take it below the level of the water when the lock was full.

This would allow barges to move over the door and into the river.

Fantastic! And a far cry from the lock gates of centuries gone when there would be big beams of wood for the bargees to push in order to open the doors – but the locks were much much shallower then!

For those as nerdy as me, or just fascinated by the movement of water, here is a little video of the gate going down, and the river beyond.

There are several long long quays along the Sarr (and other rivers) set aside for commercial barges to take a break overnight, at weekends and between jobs. Most of these have 20m at one or both end where Sportsboots (as we leisure boats are called in Germany) can moor.

We were off to sample two of these, passing along a spectacular river valley on the way, still with a few vineyards to be seen! And a chance to get the bed linen washed and dried before our guests arrived.

We arrived at the first long quay, at Hamm, on a Friday at around noon. We were pleased to see only one boat – a work boat – moored on the entire length. Surprisingly this was moored at the very far end, and was more than 20m. The other end had a sign for boats carrying dangerous cargo – definitely not us – so we went and moored behind the work boat, which was empty and seemingly there for the weekend.

Yes, that is little us, dwarfed by the landscape and the work boat!

The views to the vineyards on the hills opposite were lovely, though slightly spoilt by noise from a road opposite.

We went for a walk around the area – all countryside. It was definitely sunhat weather, and we were pleased to find a seat in the shade half way round! Then we settled down for the evening. In fact we settled down for two evenings, staying there a second night.

Just a couple of extras for this mooring – a visit from a silver fritillary butterfly and a fly past by an air balloon.

The next section of the journey was a part of the river loved by hotel and passenger boats, because it goes through Mettlach, historical home of Villeroy Bosch, and current home to one of their factory outlet shops, right next to the river.

This meant that when we reached the lock at Mettlach we were told we must wait to use the smaller of the two locks until two passenger boats had left Villeroy Bosch and gone upstream through the lock.

This was the first time on the Saar that we found the large (commercial barge) and small (private and smaller craft) locks side by side – a feature we saw often on the Moselle.

Not a problem; all part of life on the water. We tied up in sight of the lock and had lunch while we waited.

This voyage upstream towards our next mooring was even more spectacular, than the day before, including a hairpin bend with high wooded slopes each side. A wonderful ‘lookout’ has been built at the top, right on the curve; we could just see people way up above us, looking down.

This photo may give a better idea of the scale, as we cruised on up river away from the ‘treetop walk’.

In case you are going to be in the area, here is its website:

https://www.baumwipfelpfade.de/en/saarschleife/

Not far then to Schwemlingen, the second of our long quays.

This time there was a cabin cruiser at the far end; we went to tie up next to it. We liked it even more than Hamm and stayed three nights. A big commercial barge came and went and a couple of other Sportsboots visited for a night or two as well.

The commercial barge was carrying its family as well as its cargo and it was wonderful to see how the youngsters made use of the on board crane for fun.

It was getting hot, and they certainly had the right idea, putting the river to good use.

We too had a ”keep-cool’ strategy! As the weather warmed up we took advantage of the breezes by opening up the dog box on the roof. It somehow makes Calliope feel even more summery!

While we were there we took a walk over the bridge to Besseringen to find a bakery, and anything else of interest. We did find some nice bread, and an interesting piece of art at the end of the village hall, but little else to be honest.

We were entertained one evening by the local fireman and women coming to practise their rib and man-overboard skills, plus the whooshing of hose practise into the canal.

And we were certainly entertained, if not enthralled, by the sunsets!

While we were moored up we had seen a lovely old tjalk pass by and had exchanged happy waves with the crew. Next day we found ourselves passing them, waving again.

Then at the next lock, with only a large commercial lock to use, we were asked (told!) to wait for another boat.

And after 15 minutes or so, who should arrive but the tjalk and crew!

We would have been happy to share the lock with any boat, but it was particularly nice to get a bit closer to this lovely boat and crew.

Captain Stu, being at the stern, was able to have a good chat with them as we slowly rose up to the top.

waved

We continued on our way, with fingers crossed, towards Saarlouis. We knew that the pontoon there was only about 40m long. Luck was on our side and we found a half empty pontoon to welcome the ‘just-under-20m’ Calliope; smiles all round.

Saarlouis rather took us by surprise. We had done no research beyond knowing that there was a big supermarket near the mooring.

What we were not prepared for was finding a town immersed in the history of Franco/German conflict. At one point in time Louis, the Sun King of France, ordered Vauban to build fortifications here – and many still remain.

Also there are lovely narrow side streets in the old part of town now given over to café and bar culture. We sat ourselves down and enjoyed salad with a local ‘pizza’ – the base was made of good German potato!

We were only supposed to have one night on the pontoon, but we sneaked in a second one (sorry to disobey the rules, but no other boats came along wanting to moor there). This allowed us to see a bit more of the town, and to stock up on beer and wine before our visitors arrived. Bizarrely the huge supermarket had hardly any beer and no wine boxes so we had to find a drinks store – an easy enough thing to do.

We also got our first view of the Saar Polygon. This is a monument commemorating the coal mining industry in Saarland, which ended in June 2012. As you move around it it appears to change shape – a very clever piece of design.

I keep giving weblinks in this blog – but there are so many things that I’d like you to know more about than I can describe or photograph. So here is a link to the Saar Polygon.

I tried to get a few photos as we cruised nearby to catch the different perspectives, but alas the best I got looks almost the same as before. So I have added a couple of other things I likes along the way – a church that I think is at Bous and some colourful buoys.

Next stop – Völklingen. We knew it was a popular mooring because of the UNESCO Heritage status of the huge Ironworks (steel mill) museum. As we got close we saw the magnificent outline of the old industrial site that we would soon be visiting.

We had left early, for us, to make sure that we got there in time to secure a mooring for the next few days. It was a Friday, so a little anxiety about lots of boats turning up for the weekend.

We need not have worried. We arrived to find a long empty pontoon apart from a couple of very small boats that seemed to have long term moorings. It was far lovelier than we had hoped; we had expected something rather industrial, but in fact it was a quiet mooring with nice scenery around.

We got secure and then began the fun of registering with the town hall, in German. My German language skills date back to school about 60 years ago, and were not great even then! But Google Translate came to the rescue and we registered, and got the code to the pontoon gate so that we could get back in.

We had a relaxation day before son and grandson would arrive in Saarbrucken, following their flight to Luxembourg. That allowed us a walk around town, on both sides of the river. The steel mill side was quiet and typical of a town that has had a busy industrial past, but is now mostly a suburb of Saarbrucken. It does have two good looking buildings with verdigris weathered roofs. And some great street art running through a subway – this is about a fifth of the total work.

We also had an external view of the Ironworks, or steel mill, that would be our focus on Monday.

So awesome against the blue sky – but of course when it was a working site the sky would have been sulphurous yellow and smoke would have obliterated all the structures.

The mooring was also by the ‘Alte Sluis’, or old lock, that served the steel mill many years ago. It is now a quiet place for turtles, kingfishers, green woodpeckers and photographers!

Apparently the European ‘pond turtle’ is now quite rare so we were lucky to catch a glimpse.

And a glimpse is about all I can include here!

By the end of Saturday we were pleased about our early arrival. We had visited the local supermarket and stocked up on German delicacies, beer and wine ready for our guests and sat back for a quiet evening. We celebrated being there with a gentle G&T on the back deck, and waited to see the sun go down.

The next day the pontoon completely filled up with friendly German and Swiss boat crews! So our advice to you is arrive Monday to Friday, as it seems popular at the weekend.

There really was a surprising amount of wildlife around.

This musk beetle turned up to delight us – I had no idea what it was, but Google helped!

And on a more ordinary note, the two Völklingen swans came by to help me get rid of all our old crusts.

(I too have read that I should not feed bread to swans, but everywhere I go I see them thriving and see people giving them bread, so I don’t know.)

Sunday was not really about Calliope cruising, but as it was our main visit to Saarbrucken I have included it. We bought train tickets online to go and meet Ashley and Harvey, walked up to the station and were pleased to see it was not long to wait for the train.

But a slight setback occurred when the train came in! Everyone on board was wearing a mask (Covid) and ours were back on Calliope 15 minutes away! So crew made a mad dash back, returned with masks and we were on the next train. Phew!

Saarbrucken is a big modern city with some genuine old features. The area around the town hall and Sant Johanner Markt is lovely. We ended up there for a lunch of worst and frites while waiting for the airport bus to arrive.

We also walked by the river and looked at the potential mooring – very nice and green on that side of the river, but with a full motorway on the other bank. Not for us then!

Once back in Völklingen with family we had an evening on board catching up with news and planning the next day.

This blog cannot do justice to the amazing place that is the Ironworks museum. When we went there was also a music video exhibition in the Blower Hall, so here are a couple of photos from there. TRhere was everything from Madonna to Peter Gabriel, Ganman Style to Queen, Leningrad to lots of things I’ve never heard of!

I hope this photo gives a sense of scale – yes that’s me by that big wheel – not a doll!

This is where the ‘blast’ originates for the blast furnaces that we saw later.

One of the things I most loved, both in the blower hall and throughout the steel mill, was the sense that the workers had just gone home; that they would be back.

Their tools, work clothes, and things like coffee mugs sat waiting to be picked up and used again.

Then the steel mill itself is so large and complex all I can do is add a few photos and a link to the web site – but it is superb! We explored it top to bottom.

So here are a very few of my photos, and the link to the wonderful website to give you a much fuller experience, and a longing to go there yourself!

The views from the top were far far reaching in every direction, and Harvey was proud to have his Pompey (Portsmouth FC) shirt taken to new heights!

By the way he doesn’t have pale blue hair. We all had to put on blue hair covers before we put on the hard hats!

Some of the steel mill complex has now been allowed to go back to nature; watching nature reclaim the area is wonderful, and we were all glad of the cool green spaces after the hot metallic ones!

Throughout the steel mill there were pieces of urban art, far too many to display here. One installation I liked was a careful placing of old work lockers – genuine lockers from various industries across Germany.

What they had in common was their connection to the people who used them – people who clocked in each day, hung up their home clothes, stored away their lunch boxes for later, and sometimes wrote little messages to themselves or others.

and a little more of the urban art ….

One exhibit was rather alarming!

Especially when it seemed to pick Harvey up and look round for somewhere to take him!

Luckily we rescued him from King Kong’s clutches.

It was exhilarating, informational, and exhausting – so we recovered in the museum beer garden before heading back over the river for supper in a Turkish restaurant.

[I am just wondering whether to share with you my most fun moment of the day ….. it does make me laugh so I hope it will amuse you too ……… ]

Enough of that nonsense!

Ashley and Harvey wanted some cruising on their short holiday; we planned to spend a day carrying on southwards, up river, through Saarbrucken, to Sarreguemines.

today’s river front, Saarbrucken
Saarbrucken plaisancier m oorings
old bridge Saarbrucken

The journey was lovely, passing by interesting locks, villages, and of course through Saarbrucken.

For a while we were cruising midstream between France, on the starboard side, and Germany, on the port. Although this is obvious it really helps to make clear how often rivers are borders, and areas for battles – hence the many castles we have seen.

We reached a very different lock on the outskirts of Saarbrucken. We were in a new freycinet sized lock, with obvious work going on alongside. It looks like a big commercial size lock is being built there to allow more working barges up the Sarr.

It was quite funny because the sound emitted when one raises the blue lever to operate the lock is more like an alarm bell! It certainly caused me to check I had not pushed the red alarm lever!

The next lock was at Grosblieberstroff.

We went up the lock easily enough and sat back at the top waiting for the gates to open.

But they didn’t – and it was a few minutes before it sank in that all the notices on the nearby building. in three languages, were telling us that we needed to collect a remote control to use at all the locks from here to the end of the Canal de la Sarre!

Once the remote was collected the gates smoothly opened.

We were soon underway again, cruising in the most beautiful weather, with the front windscreen down and a happy Captain who was in both shade and breeze at the same time.

Both the additional crew members helped out at locks and, in Ashley’s case, at the helm as well.

Calliope is a lovely boat for two to handle, but it is still a treat to sometimes have someone else sitting out i the sun!

We still have to give them some time off!

The last lock, on the edge of Sarreguemines, was essentially the border and we passed back into France from Germany; time to change the courtesy flag again!

(I did say that this was the German stretch of our Saar journey, but I will allow myself a few extra hundred yards just to complete our time with Ashley and Harvey aboard.)

We knew there was lots of pontoon space there so were initially a bit despondent when it all seemed to be full of boats. Then we saw a third pontoon with only one boat. Hooray! We were soon secure on the mooring, and not long after another boat joined us, so three in a row, next to a park.

To cut a longish story short, it was mainly empty because of its proximity to a footbridge from where Bastille Day fireworks would be set off the next day. Officially it was ot of bounds for 48 hours. though we were n ot aware of that. But the Capitaine said we would be fine and we settled in with front-row back-deck seats for the spectacular the next day.

It was an easy place to settle in to. We were moored almost on front of Le Casino des Fäienceries – now a restaurant but built by Paul de Geiger, director of the Faïenceries, who had it built in 1878 to provide a meeting place for his employees. We were also treated to lovely evening skies and many wonderful floral displays – this one on the passerelle (foot bridge) just by the mooring.

As Ashley and Harvey had not had a chance to see Saarbrucken, and we all had the summer special €9 train tickets to go anywhere in Germany for a month, I returned to the city with them for another wander. Drinks and ice cream were the main requisites as we walked round!! Somehow the only photo of the trip was waiting at the station!

It has to be said that it was hot both in the city and back in Sarreguemines. We were in the shade a lot of the day, at the edge of a park, but even so we were looking for ways to cool down

Grandson had one.

And we all had another!

This was quite an eventful cooling, with Stewart spitting out beer, plus a wasp(!!!), and Ashley somehow knocking over a full 50cl of beer, trying to rescue it, the glass breaking and him cutting his finger!

But all was soon returned to normal. mainly due to a very lovely and efficient waitress, who immediately appeared with elastoplast, a new beer, and jugs of water to clean up.

The night that ended with fireworks, and began with the usual bustling fun of a French town partying. We found somewhere to get beer, Creamant, burgers and chips, with plenty of music up and down every street.

Later we watched one of the best ‘feu artifice’ displays I have ever seen outside a major city. They were doubly fabulous because of the reflections in the river alongside Calliope. Thank you Sarreguemines.

All too soon it was time for Ashley and Harvey to go home. We began by walkng through the park and over the passerelle towards the station. Then they reversed their journey from 4 days before, by train to Saarbrucken, bus to Luxembourg and air to London. Stu and I walked with them to wave goodbye, then back to a quiet empty boat.

It was so lovely there in Sarreguemines that we stayed an extra night and visited the wonderful ceramics museum and gardens – but that is in the next blog – the French part of the Sarre!