 |
| Locaboat hire base and moorings at St Leger-sur-Dheune. Canal du Centre |
Sunny start, clouding over lunchtime with black rainclouds. The fisherman with a van was back when we started getting ready to move. Set off at 9.30 a.m. then paused on the quay by the Locaboat base while I went to the bakery on the bridge for a loaf, 1,05€. Away again at 9.55 a.m. Replica DB Highersynthe-Bouquet and DB Animo were moored on the quay amid dozens of pénichettes. A couple from a house by the road bridge came out to wave and tell us it never rains in Bourgogyne, we replied - only at night! Mike steered left when we passed a man on the right with a strimmer to avoid flying leaves, grass and gravel. Lock 20 (2.56m) was ready for us. The same lock keeper as the day before was there to greet us. He worked the lock from the cabin then, as the gates closed, we asked if he’d heard of an accident at Chalon and he said yes, the crew of a passing péniche had told him about it, it was at Chalons-en-Champagne. (We’d email from Helen to say they were going to be delayed by two weeks as there had been an accident at Chalon when scaffolding collapsed and four men had been injured, two of them seriously, but she didn’t say which Chalon!) That’s a relief for us, but very inconvenient for George and Helen who have no choice other than to wait, bet George is upset.
 |
| Mooring at Cheilly-les-Maranges next to towpath/cycle piste Canal du Centre |
A beautiful view of the southern end of the Côte d’Or hills from the keeper’s house. 1.2kms to lock 21 (2.72m). A herd of brown Jersey bullocks were grazing the meadow to our left and on the right a shepherd and his dog were taking a big flock of sheep and new lambs up a lane leading up the hillside. Our shadow was there on the lockside at 21 along with four more VNF men and a smart Renault VNF crew bus. A ladder with scaffolding had been set up by a lamp post. On to the 1.3kms pound to lock 22 (2.71m) A VNF tug called Blaufries was moored above the lock. Yet another empty lock house, this one with the original plate over the door that said it was lock 29. Our keeper and one man in the van were there. The roving lock keeper pulled the cord but it didn’t work so he reset it from the cabin, then it worked OK. Water was pouring over the top end gates of lock 22 as we left. The keeper went off in his car and so did the man in the van. 500m to lock 23 (2.80m) our last lock of the day. Dark clouds were gathering, threatening rain. Our VNF man worked 23 from the cabin. When the gates started to open he wished us a good day and set off back up the road in his car. We started off on the long pound 11.2kms, but we were not going all the way today. A couple of kilometres later we stopped at midday and tied to a short quay alongside the cycle path at Cheilly-les-Maranges. An empty péniche called Santa Cruz went uphill just after two o’clock. The cycle path was busy with gangs of lycra-clad cyclists in team colours whizzing past at high speed every now and again. The next empty péniche, called Joshua, went uphill at 3 o’clock. A loaded one called Lucmar went by at 6.30 p.m. also heading uphill.
No comments:
Post a Comment