Wednesday 30th March 2010 St Léger to Cheilly-les-Maranges. 7kms 4 locks

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.

Tuesday 29th March 2010 St Julien to St Léger-sur-Dheune. 10kms 11 locks

Peniche Wacho at St Julien
Canal du Centre.

Grey misty start, sunny and warmer by late afternoon. Loaded péniche Wacho went past heading downhill at 9.30 a.m. and the VNF keeper (the one wearing the red hat from the day before) called round in his car to tell us there was another péniche coming down and we could follow that one down. Neree (loaded) went past at ten so we gave it ten minutes and winded, setting off downhill at 10.15 a.m. 950m to lock 9 Moulin St Julien (5.13m) by which time the boat in front was part way down the short pound to lock 10. All the lights went off on lock 9 so we had to wait again. Mike started getting annoyed, but a few minutes later at 10.30 a.m. the VNF man in a car returned and reset the lock for us, then drove off again down the road to look after the commercials. As we dropped down 10 Chez-Le-Roi (5.13m), an old man came out from the house beyond the lock to sell us some eggs, 

Peniche Neree at St Julien.
Canal du Centre.

six for 2,50€, or some salad - I had salad so I said I’d have the eggs. I hadn’t got any change so he said he had some and would meet us at the tail end of the chamber as by this time the lock was more than half empty. He gave me change from 10€ and we had a short chat about the boat before we had to push on. Down to lock 11 Villeneuve (2.69m) and red hat was at the lock with two more VNF men who were building a new lock cabin. The lock gates had also been renewed and parts of the lock walls. He indicated that he would work the lock from the cabin. The gates closed and it emptied very slowly. He asked how old the boat was and he was surprised as he thought it was an original working boat – and Dutch, soon put him right on that one. I asked if he was a scaphandrier (professional diver) as he was wearing the red bonnet. 

Remains of old lockhouse near lock 10 Chez-le-Roi,
Canal du Centre.

No, but he was a plongeur (diver) just as his own hobby, fishing and diving for shellfish. He said au’voir as it was his last lock as we left the bottom at 11.15 a.m. and he set off back uphill in his VNF car. 1.5kms to lock 12 (none of the rest of the locks all the way down to Chalon have any names for some strange reason) and we hoped the locks would be switched on throughout lunchtime so we could keep going. A night heron landed in a tree beside us but not long enough to get a digital camera working. Then a black kite did likewise to eat something it had caught. The keeper was on the bridge at lock 12 which had an inhabited lockhouse and an old black dog by the gate. The keeper asked us not to pull the cord yet as the boat below wasn’t through the next lock. We waited. He came and explained that locks 12 to 23 had no weirs and all excess water flowed over the lock gates which could make life awkward, attempting to refill the lock below as it was emptying with a péniche in it. 

Control panel in lock cabin at lock 12.
Canal du Centre.

After about ten minutes he pulled the cord and we carried on chatting while we dropped down 2.50m. Off down the 600m pound to lock 13 (2.62m) and the new keeper sped off down the road in his VNF car. We sat in lock 13 and waited ten minutes as we’d seen Neree going down the pound below. I picked a bunch of cowslips from the field behind the lock cabin. I was going to throw out the squills I’d picked earlier but they were producing seed pods so I kept them. 900m to lock 14 (2.40m) and we were surprised to see the lock ready for us as it was past midday. The lockhouse was inhabited but no one at home. Water poured over the top end gates from the water rebounding up and down the pound above. 1.4kms to lock 15 (2.60m) which was ready. I went inside to make lunch. The keeper was there, he told Mike the péniche was in the next lock and then he pulled the string without waiting! 

Lock 16 - additional lock filling equipment?
Canal du Centre.

Lock 16 (2.69m) had a new sign which called it St Bérain. The lockhouse was inhabited but again no one home. There were wind chimes hanging from the lockside trees and a CB antenna on the shed. I made a cuppa en route for lock 17 (2.59m). Houses appeared on the right as we entered the town of St Bérain, a new bar restaurant called Chez Chantal had opened on the left and below the lock the café du Sport had long closed down, its windows smashed. A new VNF keeper (white hair and beard) turned up on the lockside to ask the usual questions. 1.1kms to lock 18 (2.69m) and our new keeper was on the lockside to ask us to delay pulling the string to allow Neree (we could see the boat slogging along the next pound) to get into the lock first. We left it ten minutes then Mike pulled the string, the gates closed but then nothing happened. 

Moored below lock 19 at St Leger-sur-Dheune
Canal du Centre.

Mike went to call on the lock intercom but it didn’t work, so I rang the emergency number we had written in our chart from last time. He answered and said he’d be with us in ten minutes. He reopened the gates from the cabin controls and then took the slides off the top of the left hand ground paddles and fiddled with something – it started emptying – he went to the cabin and then fiddled some more with the paddles. A little problem, he said, as we dropped down in the chamber. He closed the gates behind us and carried on fiddling while we set off on the 1.8kms pound to our last lock of the day. He went past us in his car five minutes later. Lock 19 (2.53m) had an inhabited lockhouse and vehicle access via a track through a field below the lock. A car and van were parked outside but there were no signs of life. Water flowed over the top end gates again as the lock emptied. At 3.10 p.m. we moored 200m below the lock next to the field before the town. A family was fishing 50m further on with a car and a van parked behind them with three dogs wandering around. 

Monday 28th March 2010 Montchanin to St Julien-sur-Dheune. 7kms 8 locks

Peniche Varia above lock 5 Forge.
Canal du Centre

Grey, damp and chilly after overnight rain, brightening up mid-afternoon then thunder and more rain. Mike went on foot to the bakery for a loaf (1,10€) and then we refilled the water tank, which was still over half full as I hadn’t yet done any washing. Mike went to ask the VNF if we could have water and he passed the hose back to me through the fence. We set off at 9.45 a.m. and ran along the 4kms summit pound past the canal reservoir on our right. An elderly couple were walking the path around the lake, they waved as we passed. Past the new café opposite the old one on the bend and into the cutting. A jogger went past. Lots of sections of the stone retaining walls in the cutting had started to collapse and were in need of repair. There was a large patch of white and purple violets on the right bank, then we saw an animal scuttle up the slope. I thought it was a badger as it was dark grey, Mike thought it was a hare, he said it had long ears. 

Old disused lock alongside the new lock 6 La Motte.
Canal du Centre 

The first five locks were called collectively Les Sept Ecluses (The Seven Locks) still, although two locks had been removed by building three deep ones. Lock 1 Mediterrannée (2.80m) was ready with gates open and two green lights. Stepped off and pulled the cord on the left hand side then went in the cabin to make tea and toast. A short pound lead to lock 2 Charmois (5.18m). A VNF gang were on the lockside, two men were jet washing the lockside, two were painting and a fifth bloke must be our lock keeper. He asked Mike where we were going, St Julien, and asked if we were continuing straight there, yes. They cheered as I took the tea and toast out on the back of the boat. Sorry two metres to late, the lock was half empty! Down the short pound we could see lock 3 Fourneau (5.18m) was getting ready with red and green locks. The gates opened as we went down the pound towards it. The house alongside the lock had a plaque which said it was lock 5’s lockhouse. Another short pound and we were at lock 4 Ravin (5.18m). Above the lock the other VNF gang were unloading soil from a small lorry and a man with a shovel was smoothing over the soil they’d backfilled the old piling with. As we dropped down the lock we could hear the little kids in the schoolyard opposite screaming and yelling as they ran around the playground. It was 11.00 a.m. The gates took ages to open but they did eventually and we set off on the longer pound to lock 5 Forge (2.63m). We had a red light – there was an empty péniche coming up in the lock! Varia from Amsterdam went past and the crew waved. We had a green light so we went in and dropped down. The road alongside was noisy with lots of heavy lorries passing and dogs barking all around. 

Mooring at St Julien-sur-Dheune.
Canal du Centre

Ran down to lock 6 La Motte (5.19m) and saw we had red lights again. The lock emptied and the bottom end gates opened – then the lights went off. It was 11.30 a.m. Looks like an enforced dinner break. So much for going all the way to St Julien! Three locks short! I slung our centre rope around the one remaining bollard on the old quay by the canal museum and Mike switched the engine off. He decided to walk the 5kms back to Montchanin to get the car. Mike returned and parked the car by lock 6 at 1.15 p.m. He said narrowboat Oxford Blue was coming down. We finished lunch just before the VNF man in a car arrived and we said we’d hang on for the other narrowboat. Mike left the car to collect when we were tied up at St Julien. We shared the last three locks with Oxford Blue. Went into lock 6 side-by-side (haven’t done that in a long time) and chatted as we went down. I asked how their engine was now and they said they’d had a new gearbox and the engine had been overheating, but they’d fixed that this morning. Ran down the pound side by side to Lock 7, Rocher (2.50m) and carried on chatting. On down the short pound to lock 8 L’Abbaye (5.13m) and dropped down. They were continuing down to St Ledger as they wanted electric so we followed them out of the lock. As we rounded the bend to the road bridge at St Julien a DB appeared and a great cloud of blue smoke went up as it went hard astern (there was ample room to pass under the bridge) and someone gave a single flap of a blue flag but we went round the bows of Doriance, while they sorted themselves out. Winded and moored on the empty quay at 2.45 p.m. Another gritty quay!

Sunday 27th March 2010 Montchanin

Warmer night. Milder night, hazy clouds sunny spells. Weather forecast had said rain but we had none. The clocks went forward an hour in the night, Mike - still partly asleep at 6.30 a.m. - miscalculated the hour so got up too late to watch the first F1 GP live from Melbourne so he switched the inverter off again and got back into bed. He watched the repeat in the afternoon. 

Saturday 26th March 2010 A walk along the old canal to Le Creusot. Montchanin.

Possible old entrance to derelict canal from Montchnin
to Le Creusot via Torcy

Sunny but with hazy cloud so cooler. We had a lazy, idle morning, then we went for a walk to find the canal that lead up towards Le Creusot via Torcy. The entrance looked like it started from just beyond the next bridge where there were two sections of curved stonework. No actual signs of it as all had been obliterated by the building of a furniture showroom and then beyond that the N70. We crossed the road bridge over the N70 and could see a blue post (the French conveniently mark water courses that go under roads with blue posts) by the fire station which indicated where it was, so we turned left by the fire station and went down a road called Chemin des Mariniers (Boatmen’s Road) – a good clue that! - and found a path alongside what was obviously a filled in waterway as it was boggy and there were last year’s reeds. 

Old lock (fir trees in chamber) on old canal to Le Creusot
via Torcy. Montchanin.

Crossed a road with a concrete structure where the navigation bridge had been. 

Tiny tunnel entrance (1,267m long) on old canal to
Le Creusot via Torcy. Montchanin.

On the other side of the road was the Etang (lake) de la Muette with the navigation (still in water) alongside it. A lock could be seen in the garden of a house with fir trees growing out of it. Beyond the lock was a new leisure centre around the lake and the navigation called Port de Schneider (after the family who owned the large steel making plant in Le Creusot). Followed the path along the canal, which became very narrow and sharply twisting within a few hundred metres and the towpath climbed as the canal went into a cutting. Soon we were at the entrance to the tiniest tunnel entrance we had ever seen. They must have used little boats like the starvationers used in the Duke of Bridgwater’s mines at Wordsley, only we guessed these must have used the current flowing on the little navigation as far as the port for transhipment into chalands, the forerunner of the péniche. Interesting stuff, which needs more investigation – nothing found on the Internet. Back through town on the road emerging a bit further uptown than the Intermarché and back to the boat for lunch then Mike watched afternoon the repeat of the (5 a.m.) F1 GP qualis from Melbourne.    

Friday 25th March 2010 Blanzy to Montchanin. 9kms 7 locks

Lock 5 Planche-Calarde. Canal du Centre 

Getting warmer! Sunny and warm all day. Got the boat ready and left at 9.45 a.m. We were almost at the first lock when a VNF man in a car came past us, turned his car around and went back up to the lock. He’d been to look for us, but we weren’t late! Lock 7 La Roche was ready for us with green lights. I got off up the ladder and pulled the cord on the single post by the top end gates just as the keeper returned. I went to pick a couple of blue flowers which were growing in abundance below the lock. (Identified as Spring Squill, they were a bit like English bluebells but smaller with flowers that opened out into pale blue star shapes). 

Got back to the boat just as the lock was full. The keeper told us there was a loaded péniche coming down and we should cross in the next pound. No problem. Just around the bend we met “Select” and a blonde lady came out of the wheelhouse to say hello as her two dogs started to bark at us. 1km to lock 6 Brûlard (2.62m) which we did ourselves as the keeper was looking after the péniche. I made a cuppa en route to lock 5 Planche-Calarde (2.51m) on the 600m pound. The lock house was empty with the doors and windows bricked up. The keeper returned as the lock filled to ask if we were OK on our own. Yes, perfectly! He went back to look after the commercial. 

Top lock No 1 Ocean. Canal du Centre

I noticed earlier that he was carrying a couple of windlasses with him so he must be winding the gate paddles up too to speed the locking a bit for the péniche.  He went up to the next lock and passed us heading back downhill ten minutes later. 2.4kms to lock 4 Parizenot (2.09m). A man with a bucket and a catapult was propelling stuff that looked like barley into the canal on the far side from the road. Must be baiting ready for fishing at the weekend. Lock 4’s post was right up front; I pulled the string and Mike backed the boat off down the chamber before the paddles opened. Three VNF men were on the steps to a “new” lock house. One was the leader of the wood cutters from the day before plus a new bloke and the other must be off duty as he went back in the house, with his cat following. The two got in the flatbed van and sped off downhill. 

Summit level. Boatyard of Jeff Renel, engineer extraordinaire.
 Canal du Centre

On the 1.5kms pound to lock 3 Favée (2.90m), there was a lake on our left between the road and the N70, which had three fishermen on its banks. Our keeper arrived as we entered lock three and he asked if we wanted a rope round a bollard. No thanks, not necessary as the automatic locks fill very gently. (He was the first to ask!) I asked if he knew anything about the old canal and tunnel which lead to Le Creusot via Torcy. He said yes, but it was for small boats and he could show us the old lock and tunnel if we liked to walk. 500m to lock 2 Brenots (2.58m) and we chatted with the keeper. Told him we would moor by the VNF atelier and we had to go shopping when we get there, so he told us there was an Intermarché five minutes walk away and he showed us on the map where the old canal went. Great we’ll look at that later. 1.1kms to lock 1 Océan (2.53m) No blonde lady keeper living at the top lock nowadays (like there was when we first went through the lock), the windows and doors were all bricked up. The keeper came to catch mooring ropes for us but we said we were OK having done it ourselves for a few years now. The sloping bank was squidgy! As you trod on the grass the mouse (or rat!) tunnels just below the surface gave way and it felt like you were sinking at each step! Tied up and had some lunch then we went to La Poste at the far end of Montchanin in the car. The post had arrived (no fee asked for) and then we went to get a few groceries from the Intermarché. While I was packing the stuff away Mike went back into town to get some diesel, he topped up the car’s tank and bought a container full for the boat at 1,37.6€/litre. The price of diesel goes up by few centimes more per litre each time we go shopping. The circus Zapatta was in town over the weekend and a van with loudspeaker was circling, advertising the fact veryloudly.

Thursday 24th March 2010 Génelard to Blanzy. 21kms 9 locks

Canal side house near Civry. Canal du Centre

Cold night, sunny all day and warmer. Got the boat ready and moved off (earlier than we’d said to the VNF) at 9.45 a.m. I stepped off to drop the rubbish in the bin by the sanitary station on the left below the lock. Lock 16 Génelard (2.53m) was empty with a green light. There were two VNF men by the post at the top end of the chamber so one of them pulled the cord to activate the automatics for us. Up and out again in minutes. Into the winding sloping sided stone faced cutting about 8m deep. Patches of bright purple violets were flowering along the top edge on the sunny side. I made a cuppa on the 2.6kms pound to lock 15 Civry (2.41m). A VNF man in a car was there to pull the string. He held it down for about a minute and gave up so I pulled the one by the boat and it worked! 3.3kms to the next. 

VNF wood cutters paddling their boat with a shovel.
Near Civry. Canal du Centre

Mike took photos of a brightly painted house, two VNF men (who’d been cutting trees on the off side) paddling a small boat with a shovel across the canal back to their van and then an old wooden cruiser called Mami moored opposite a house, the boat was now in a very sorry delapidated state. Into lock 14 Ciry (2.81m) and the VNF man started the lock for us. It had gate paddles at the top end (none at the bottom end - that had grounds) and two opened on the right hand side which gave us a rougher ride than any lock so far – but nothing Mike couldn’t handle, a touch forward to put the bow back against the wall and reverse to keep it at the rear of the chamber. 1.7kms to lock 13 Azy (2.59m). Our VNF tail sped past in his car just after we’d gone through the village of Ciry-le-Noble. There was no sign of him at the lock, though his car was on the lockside with the wood cutters’ van, so I pulled the string myself (only two posts in this lock, one either side at the rear end). Another one with just top end gate paddles. 

Derelict coal washing/loading depot.
Montceau-les-Mines. Canal du Centre 

The lock house was inhabited and had boat masts and flags from when the resident lock keeper was ex-batellerie. The three VNF men came out and the wood cutters got in the van to head back towards Génelard. 1.9kms to lock 12 Four (2.55m) four control posts around the lock, keeper not around so I pulled the cord, the green light wasn’t working and a cloud of wasps flew out of the bottom of the box! The keeper arrived in his car and started shovelling dead leaves out of the lock mouth. As we left the lock, I told the keeper and he said yes, he knew the bulb had expired but he didn’t know about the wasp’s nest. It was 12.20 p.m. as we set off on the 4.3kms pound. We ate lunch while on the move as we ran into the suburbs of Montceau-les-Mines. As we passed a family dining al fresco there was a very strong smell of perfume coming from the direction of their little house we thought that maybe they had some anti mosquito candles burning. Our man in a car went past as we approached the next lock, 11, Vernois (2.63m). 

First liftbridge. Montceau-les-Mines.
Canal du Centre

There was only one post and it was right at the top end of the chamber so the keeper pulled the string. 400m to lock 10 Chavannes (2.29m). The lock light wasn’t working and when the keeper pulled the string on one of the four posts it flashed but nothing else happened, so he resorted to operating the lock with a crane-type controller on a cable from the lock office. It was starting to get very warm with the sun on our backs so off came our fleeces. The restaurant by the lock was apparently a good one, judging by the row of cars and vans outside despite the 11€ menu board. On into town and Mike did a sharp left into the old coal loading basin opposite the Port de Lucie, both now empty, to take photos of the long derelict coal washing plant with nine loading chutes. New high green mesh fences surrounded the basin to keep people out. In the sky above us we saw seven contrails of military aircraft heading south. 

Second liftbridge and keeper's cabin. Montceau-les-Mines.
Canal du Centre

Now we had noisy roads on both sides and a narrow park in front of the coal fired power station. The latter was closed, no steam from the cooling tower, perhaps mothballed for possible future use. Three bridges had to be lifted for the boat to pass through the town centre, the first was a flat road deck, the second a traditional lift bridge with the controller who worked all three bridges in a cabin alongside it (we waved and said thanks) then a vertical lift pedestrian footbridge. Beyond this there was a car park built on the infilled part of the old canal basin. Among the boats in the truncated basin was a narrowboat called Kells, whose owner we met at Gannay last year, covered and left for winter like the majority of boats in the basin. 

Fourth liftbridge (vertical footbridge)
Montceau-les-Mines. Canal du Centre

The concrete walls on both canal banks as far as the next lock was covered in vegetation, mostly trailing ivy, and a team of workmen were busy trimming the trees and bushes along the right bank. On the left bank beyond the road there were rows of large shops. We had a green light so we passed under the road bridge and into lock 9 Montceau (2.86m) and I pulled the string. There was a woman up on the lockside waving her arms about gates closing(?) – perhaps she thought we were too close, we weren’t! We’d forgotten that she normally works the lock from the office at the front of the VNF office block on the lockside. When the lock filled and she came out again I apologized and said we’d forgotten she worked the lock. No problem, she said, the automatics work well now, and then she asked where we were going. 

Port de Plaisance moorings.
Montceau-les-Mines. Canal du Centre

Blanzy, and we booked to continue up to Montchanin starting at ten the next day. Set off on the 1.8kms pound past the hypermarket Leclerc, still extending the store at the back alongside the canal like they were when we last came past in September 2009, and into lock 8, Mireau (2.40m) which was empty ready for us, still in the suburbs surrounded with houses. Only one post, right at the front end of the chamber, and it had two filthy dirty strings down the right hand side of the ladder so there was no way to tell which was blue or red, so no alternative but to go up the ladder a few rungs (at least they were dry) and yank the cord at the bottom of the post. It worked. Mike reversed to the rear of the chamber. It was 3.00 p.m. when we left the last lock of the day. 

Mooring at Blanzy, sloping underwater wall,
tyres under the chine. Canal du Centre

Just before we reached our destination we passed the only boat we’d seen going in the opposite direction to us, a widebeam narrowboat called Rennaisance whose crew were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. At 3.15 p.m. we tied up on the sloping quay at Blanzy after lowering tyres to keep the boat off the underwater wall. Gave Mike a hand to unload the moped down the plank and he went to move the car from Génelard to Montchanin. 

Wednesday 23rd March 2010 Génelard. Day off

Cold night. Sunny and warm again. Mike went to retrieve the car from Roanne. 

Tuesday 22nd March 2010 Paray-le-Monial to Génelard. 20.7kms 7 locks

Coypu trying to overtake! Canal du Centre

Sunny, cold start after a very cold night, but warmer later. Mike walked to the boulangerie just down the road from the first road bridge to get a loaf. We set off at 9.40 a.m. to be at the first lock, 23 L’Hyron (2.73m) at ten. It was ready, empty with a green light and no sign of a lock keeper. I waited by the post 1 min 20 sec before it would activate the automatic sequence. The lock keeper appeared as the lock was almost full. He was on the phone all the time he was on the lockside. On to the 5.2kms pound with a very noisy main road on our right hand side until the canal did a sharp left bend, we went under a road bridge and then had a minor road (D974) on our left instead. Roads follow this canal most of the way to Chalon. By the road bridge there was a large car park for cyclist’s cars. 

Old pottery kiln at Palinges. Canal du Centre

Beyond the bridge two small coypu were sitting on the grassy edge of the road enjoying the sunshine until the spotted us. Both dived in but one tried to swim faster than the boat before he turned and dived. We noted four parallel contrails in the sky, we guessed they were French jet fighters heading to sort Gadaffi out. Lock 22 Volesvres (2.53m) was ready, deserted and the house derelict. Several herons flew past and three buzzards started soaring on thermals alongside the canal. Our VNF man arrived by car, went in the lock cabin by the house then went away again. 1.6kms to lock 21 Haillers (2.58m) the keeper, a pleasant chatty bloke (once he knew we could converse in French), was on the lockside and pulled the cord for us. This lock has an old device for passing haulage ropes under the bridge, a rusting contraption with three pulleys. Two farm labourers stood on the lockside to watch our strange boat lock through. As we left they went across the road back to their tractors and trailers. 2.7kms to lock 20 La Gravoine, we were in and up in no time. I went in the cabin to make sandwiches for lunch, which we ate on the move. The keeper had told Mike that the Canalous hire boat, that was coming up behind us, had set out from Digoin 

Lock 16 Genelard. Canal du Centre

it was going to Montceau-les-Mines tonight on its way to Castelnaudary on the Canal du Midi. We ate our lunch and it overtook us just before the next lock, 19 Digoine (2.84m). The large Recla cruiser went into the lock first and bounced slowly along the walls to the front of the chamber. Two men were on board, probably Canalous staff. There were two VNF cars on the lockside and a new keeper pulled the cord for us to activate the automatics. No sign of the first keeper, he must have gone in the house. The hireboat bounced its way out of the chamber when the lock was full and set off up the 1.5kms pound at full throttle. Mike increased revs to keep up, but even doing over 8kph instead our usual 6kph they soon left us behind. Into lock 18 Thiellay (2.51m) behind them. 

Mooring in the basin below lock 16 Genelard. C. du Centre

By the time they’d bounced along the walls to the top end of the chamber we were in behind them. One of the men got off with ropes and came to pull the cord next to us. I said (they were French) if they didn’t want to wait for us at the next lock, which was 4kms away, then not to wait for us as we were only doing 6kph not 10kph like them. He spluttered a little and said he wasn’t going that fast (he was doing at least 9kph) and said they weren’t in a hurry and would wait. There was no sign of the new keeper and the lock house was derelict. 4.1kms to lock 17 Montet (2.50m). Mike took photos of what we thought was an ancient and unusual pottery kiln in Palinges. 

Basin at Genelard, Canal du Centre

Through the trees we saw the hireboat had just left the next lock and we had a red light. They had decided not to wait after all! The keeper was on the lockside and the chamber was emptying. Glad he pulled the cord for us (it wouldn’t work so he went in the cabin to restart it) as now the lock had been filled and emptied, down by the boat the cord was all wet, black and gungy. The keeper asked us the usual questions then sped off in his car to watch the hireboat through the next lock. It was 2.20 p.m. as we left the lock on the 1km pound. Round the corner, past the VNF atelier (workshop) and winded to moor in the basin below lock 16 Génelard, where two fishermen were set up on the mooring quay. The one nearest us left shortly afterwards. The water was turned off and the electricity likewise.

Monday 21st March 2010 Molinet to Paray-le-Monial. 15.8kms 4 locks

Canal aqueduct over river Loire at Digoin. C. Lateral a la Loire

After a cold night, the day was sunny and mild with a light breeze. A VNF man in a van arrived to ask which way we were going, he was disappointed to find we were going uphill (confused by the fact that our bows were pointing downhill, which we explained was due to our liking to moor port side to the bank) and wished us bon voyage. I added see you next time! We set off at 9.30 a.m. to get to Digoin for ten, winded and headed uphill. The countryside was coming to life with huge purple splashes of violets along the towpath edge and celandines under the trees. A small DB called Gudrun, flying a Dutch flag, was moored just before the lock. N°1 Digoin, (3.9m) the last (or first) lock on the Canal Latéral a la Loire, was ready for us empty with both gates open. 

Canal aqueduct over river Loire at Digoin. Canal Lateral a la Loire

A small crowd of gongoozlers were taking photos from the tail end bridge. The keeper came over to take a rope for me and I handed it up on the end of a short shaft to him. The lock is mechanised so he only had to press buttons. The gongoozlers transferred to the lockside, but behind the long metal fence, where they chatted away between themselves in Dutch. I told the keeper that we weren’t stopping in Digoin and would continues to Paray. He said OK he would let the keeper know to set the locks for us. It was 10.10 a.m. as we crossed the aqueduct over the Loire. We tip-toed through the town so as not to wake the sleeping masses of hireboats. One small, sparkly new little narrowboat, called Eau de Vie, was moored on a pontoon end among all the cruisers, majority of which like it were left for winter. 

End of moorings in Digoin. Canal du Centre

Two DBs were moored at the end of the town basin, an inhabited one called Talisman and an unnamed bare-looking barge. I made a cuppa as we headed off along the 7.5 kms pound, the first on the Canal du Centre. The next bridge had sprouted a fence made of wooden poles, which extended along the towpath on both sides to protect the cyclists from falling in the cut or down a steep ditch. I found it annoying that they should deface the canal with such a monstrosity in the name of health and safety! The old Recla factory was now a Canalous hire base and a long line of cruisers of all types stretched out along the bank. Two youths were busily scrubbing the bottom of one Tarpon cruiser out on the bank, getting it ready for the approaching new season. 

Lock 26 Bessons. Old paddle gear and one of the
four posts to activate new automatics. C du Centre 

At the end of the line the converted former youth hostel barge C.E.C.I.L.I.A. was looking very unloved and in need of renovation. We passed the odd cyclist and jogger now and a again but mostly the canal was ours alone as we left suburbia behind. A black kite wheeled over the boat, searching for fish that we might have flushed to the surface and checking the winding loops of the little river Bourbince too. A chunky looking horse was grazing below lock 26 Bressons (1.98m), which was ready for us, empty with a green light showing. Must be on automatic, there was no sign of life. We went in and Mike pulled the blue cord to activate the automatic sequence. These locks were only recently made automatic and each chamber has four posts with pull cords, roughly one at each corner. It filled gently but quickly. 3.2 kms to the next. A large factory on the right marked the outskirts of Paray’s industry. We passed under the noisy, busy bypass N70 and carried on to lock 25, Mont, (2.73m). It was ready with a green light although it was well into lunchtime at 12.30 p.m. Mike pulled the string and the lock worked. A short pound lead to lock 24 Quarrés (2.56m) which also was ready with a green light.

Mooring at Paray-le-Monial next to the wooden post eyesore.
Canal du Centre

A VNF atelier (workshop) on the towpath side of the lock was shut for lunch. The lock was almost full when the keeper came out with a clipboard to have all our details and ask the usual questions, where were we stopping, how long for and when were we setting off again. Formalities over, he and Mike had a chat about the weather, etc and he confirmed that our suspicions that the clock goes forward an hour this weekend coming. We motored on into Paray, the busy D979 road on our right was now right alongside the canal. A new replica DB called Kotare from London was moored at the end of the wooden fencing (which goes most of the way along the canal towpath through town) and its skipper came out to say hello and ask where we were going. We tied up at 1.20 p.m. put the dish up and had to move along a bit to find a gap in the branches to get a picture.

Sunday 20th March 2010 Molinet. Day off.

Mooring at Molinet. C. Lat a la Loire

After a cold night bright sunshine and mild, no wind! Why couldn’t we have had weather like this for the previous two days? Another loaded péniche went uphill around 6.30 a.m. On with the jobs! Mike got the moped off the front deck and fetched some bread from the village. A small DB called Topaz, with an Aussie flag on the back, hooted as it went past so Mike waved from our side doors. After lunch we put the bike on the roof and treated it to a new cover, we cleared the front deck off, stowed the coal and all the briquettes under the seat. There were two big pieces of scrap timber on the end of the mooring so out with the chainsaw. Mike ran the engine and Markon drive for 240v power to run it and we chopped the wood up for logs for the fire – every little bit helps. It was 5.00 p.m. by the time we’d packed up and stowed everything away!

Saturday 19th March 2010 Melay to Molinet. 31.4 kms 7 locks

Mooring at Melay

8.7°C Grey, showers of drizzle during the morning and chilly with a strong north wind. Up before eight to get moving at nine. I rolled the electric cable in then took the satellite dish down and put the TV antenna away. Moving at nine to be at the first lock at ten. I made a cuppa to warm us up a bit. There were bright purple patches of violets among the grass along the edges of the towpath as we ran down to lock. At Artaix basin a yacht (left for winter) was moored in the middle of the piled edge and a small cruiser tucked well into the corner on the grassy bank. A middle aged VNF man worked the next four locks for us, very slowly, opening one gate at either end. Down the deep Artaix lock (4) 5.97m. Below the lock Mike took photos of the old lock house and the derelict lock chamber. A short winding pound lead to lock 5 Montgrailloux  3.23m. Our VNF man had driven down in his VNF van. When the lock was almost empty the pressure made one of the gate paddles on the bottom end gates vibrate very loudly. Our keeper had been back up to the previous lock but was back before the lock was empty as it was very slow to empty. The weir, which brought water in below the lock, was located in the lock mouth and made exiting the lock interesting. 

Rusty bridge with unusual supports, near Avrilly

A short pound lead to lock 6 Chambilly 2. As we left the bottom at 10.55 a.m. the keeper asked if we would be going through the next lock before lunchtime – yes please. A large cruiser called Marine was moored just below the lock. 3.8 kms to the next lock so I made another cuppa en route to the deepest lock on the canal, the shaft lock N° 7 Bourg-le-Comte, 7.13m deep. The keeper asked if we would go through the next lock today, yes, be there in about two and a half hours. The top end gate of the shaft lock was riddled with holes which poured water as the lock emptied; when the lock was almost empty the left hand gate paddle started sending a fountain of water into the air which washed the back deck and made Mike rapidly shut the engine room doors. As we left we both told the keeper that we would be at the next lock at 2.20 p.m. The strong weir forced us over on the wall as we left. It was very cold with the wind blowing in our faces as we set off on the 15.7 kms pound. Mike took a photo of the old rusty bridge below the lock, the ends supported on thick branches. The old British-registered Recla cruiser moored by the house at the first bridge now had a for sale notice on it. On past Avrilly, where we had moored on the way up the canal in October. I made hot toasted cheese with fried spam (croque monsieur in French) for a lunch on the move. Nothing moving and no walkers or cyclists, the cold weather must be keeping them indoors. A caterpillar tracked vehicle had made very deep ruts in a very fragile looking section of the towpath before Croix Rouge. No boats on the moorings at Croix Rouge. Our next lock keeper, a younger bloke in his thirties, was sheltering from the wind in the doorway of the old lockhouse at lock 8 Chassenard, another deep one at 6m. We were five minutes late, arriving at 2.25 p.m. The lock was full with both gates open and no lights, it was automatic, but keeper operated using crane type controls on a cable. We dropped down slowly again. A short pound lead to lock 9 Les Beugnets 3.00m deep, and our keeper pressed the buttons again. It was getting colder by the minute. The wind was directly in our faces on the last pound and lifting small wavelets on the surface of the canal. Lock 10 Les Bretons 2.85m was full and ready. The young man had parked his ancient VNF open backed pickup (which was loaded with offcuts of piling) by the workshop. I got off and asked if I should pull the string, yes he said – the blue one, as I yanked it and the gates started closing. A crowd of French gongoozlers with cameras arrived to ask the usual questions. I left Mike to it and went to get the ropes attached ready for tying up. Down very slowly again. Said merci and au’voir to our last keeper of the day, telling him we would be at Digoin Monday at ten as we left the lock at 3.45 p.m. A short distance to the junction with the Canal Latéral à la Loire where we turned left for Molinet. 2 kms to the mooring. When we got there there were two fishermen, one on the grassy bank and one on the end of the quay. We moved to the far end to leave him enough space behind us on the quay (he caught a fish just after we finished tying up). He told Mike he didn’t think there would be any voyageurs about yet. They were the first fishermen we’d seen. It was 4.10 p.m When the fishermen left Mike moved the boat back along the quay.

Friday 18th March 2010 Roanne to Melay. 25.5 kms 3 locks

Grey skies with a few sunny spells. Chilly and breezy. Rain later in the evening. Up at eight to get ready and moving for ten. Finished putting the gear we’d stored over winter in GV’s wheelhouse on to the boat, (thanks to John and Lizanne) Mike disconnected our electric cable and I helped get it back on board. Peter and Pauline came to wish us Bon Voyage as we finished getting ready. Then we had the Roanne send off – Peter had got a canister fog horn and that started the rest of the DBs hooting as we went down the basin to the lock at 10.00 a.m. The keeper had the shallow lock ready (No 1, Roanne) and we motored in. In minutes we were down and out through one gate. The keeper asked if we were continuing through the next lock, yes as we were going as far as Melay today. Set off on the 8.3 kms pound at 10.10 a.m. passing quickly out of the suburbs and into the countryside. The chateau de Matel was visible through the trees now they were devoid of leaves. The canal banks were starting to sprout the first few cowslips. We ducked under the N7 rocade (bypass) and around the prison’s high concrete walls topped with barbed wire, then past the old Arsenal still surrounded by more high concrete walls, barbed wire and electrified fence - but these were for keeping people out, not in. The old loading wharf bore graffiti from the last days of commercial traffic – Taci (a péniche, was here in) 1988. The walls were crumbling and beyond them were mature conifers, which also suggested long abandonment of the unloading wharf. Several coypu swam across the canal and one went up the bank and bounded into the undergrowth. 

Lock 2 Cornillon

At lock 2 Cornillon a new lock keeper greeted us, a man in his fifties wearing specs. We were in and out through one gate, dropping down 3.00m ropeless. As we left the keeper said he would see us at the next after lunch at 1.00 o’clock and told us there was a small tree that had fallen in the canal and advised us to go carefully round it. It was 4.3 kms to the lock so I made lunch before we got to the lock. The boat gently touched bottom three feet from the bank by the bollards above the lock so Mike jumped off and put a rope around the bollard to stop the boat drifting about while we ate our lunch, we only had half an hour. Into lock 3 Briennon just after 1.00 p.m. Again, we went in and out through one gate after dropping down 2.97m ropeless. Into Briennon and past the basin. A small DB was moored across the end, called Aqua Ludens it was flying a German flag. The restaurant/trip boat L’indefatigable was taking up a fair chunk of the available mooring space in the layby, the rest was filled with small cruisers mostly moored end on to the wall. An old péniche called Dhuys was moored beyond the end of the layby in what looked like a blocked off old arm, it was still surrounded by water but had a door cut into the side of its hold at ground level. 

Burgundy tiled church tower. Briennon

Mike took a photo of the smart Burgundy tiled church tower in the village of Briennon. The bank was ablaze with the yellow stars of spring-flowering celandines. Jays called out in the woods alongside the canal and new notice boards were spaced out along the non-towpath side showing what flora and fauna cold be seen. We wondered why this was on the off side, perhaps this had been designated a tourist walk while the red gritted (hateful stuff, the path at Roanne was covered in it too – gets everywhere on the boat even into the shower) towpath now served as a cycle path. Quo Vadis was moored at the quay in Le Champ opposite the town of Iguerande and the skipper waved as we went past. A great white egret was wandering in the field opposite the moorings at Melay, it was large, the same size as a grey heron. We moored at 3.35 p.m. on an empty quay at Melay. Ran the cable out to the electric box by the road and settled down for the night.

Thursday 17th March 2010 Roanne

Dutch barge Quo Vadis left the basin at Roanne. Mike walked to the Post Office to collect his Carte Grise for the moped then we drove to Carrefour at Mably, ordered the registration plate and went shopping while the guy made the plate up for him. It cost 16€ and looked very smart BP 89 Z, nothing like car registration plates and no department number on it. Back home for lunch. Did a last load of washing and I phoned to book the lock for 10.00 a.m. the next day and helped Mike make brackets to attach the new plate to the moped’s carrier. A new Circus arrived, loudly; lorry after lorry driving slowly down the road opposite with music blaring from loudspeakers and sirens going. After dinner we grabbed a bottle of cremant de Loire and went next door for a drink with our neighbours. The cremant wasn’t very good, a bit sour but Pauline’s sloe gin was excellent.

2011 03 16 Roanne

The postman arrived today but there was no one in at the Capitainerie! As it's a registered letter it has to be signed for and Mike had asked the Capitain to sign for it on his behalf, but he wasn't in, so the postman left a notice to say he hadn't left it. Mike went to the post office in town to collect the letter with the new registration book for his old moped - come back tomorrow - the letter has to make its way to the Post Office before he can collect it!! At least the showers have stopped, for a while.......

2011 03 15 Winter mooring in Roanne, Rhone-Alps,France

We were supposed to leave today, heading North to make our way to Belgium as we have a (provisional) date for docking and painting. The delay has been caused by having to wait for an important piece of paper. Without it Mike dare not ride his trusty moped for fear of a hefty 700 Euro fine! Only by a chance comment from a neighbour did he find out that, as from the 1st January 2011, all mopeds under 50cc will have to be registered and carry a number plate on the back. Up until now all mopeds bought before 2004 had been exempt (mopeds bought after 2004 have had to have number plates). Paid a visit to the Prefecture in town, filled in the relevant paperwork, (found out to our surprise that it was FREE!), waited nearly two hours in a queue, then the lady who dealt with the application said it would take four to five days to arrive. Today is the fifth working day and no sign of a registration document (called a carte grise or grey card here in France) in our postbox. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Looks like rain too......