Off to Nancy

It was a lovely autumn day as we left St Symphorien on the 13^th October and after waiting for the eclusier to set ecluse #75 for us we entered the Saone at about 10.30am. We were on our way to Nancy where we will spend the winter.

We followed the original river course in a northerly direction and every now and then we entered a deviation to get past a shallow section or where there were rapids in the river. The banks were generally rich farming country and the quality of the stately historical homes bore this out.

After passing the city of Grey we entered the Derivation de Savoyeux which had a tunnel that we had to pass through. Large in section and only 643 metres long, we considered this tunnel “a piece of cake”. Being veterans of the Pouilly Tunnel allowed us to scoff this one off.

But wait. Don't be too hasty there was more in store. Another tunnel loomed on the Derivation de Saint-Albin. This one was slightly longer – 681metres but was approached by a 2 kilometre winding cutting – very difficult to negotiate and only one way at a time.

By this time the Saone was becoming – in parts – quite a small river. There were times when it was quite narrow and twisty and times when we felt that we could talk with the neighbours.

We reached Corre at the confluence of the Saone and the Canal des Voges and after entering the canal stopped at a pleasant mooring to tour the town. Next day after leaving we were stopped by a cute swing bridge operated by a one manpower machine.

Our next port of call was Fontenoy-le-Chateau, a village that for centuries had been a centre for lace making and embroidery. Today an attractive but sleepy spot that appeared to be full of retirees from around the world. It nestled into the valley and the canal wound very tightly between the hills.

We cycled from here to the village of Bains les Bains. Famous for its hot mineral springs, the population of the area have travelled here since Roman times to “take the waters”. All we wanted was some groceries and access to an ATM to get some folding money.

We were approaching the summit of the Canal des Vosges and would soon descend to the town of Epinal where we will spend a few days.The summit pound is some 300 metres above the Saone and we were stopped three ecluses before the summit by a manual one, that had no man to work it. We spent a cold and frosty night in this lovely setting. It will be Epinal tomorrow.

We will tell you of Epinal next time,

- so keep in touch.

Shortening the "to do" list

We arrived back at St Symphorien sur Saone around 1.00pm Sunday 28^th August.

Some things had changed and some things were still the same. Boats had come and gone throughout the season and now the regulars were were coming home to roost. Over the next few weeks we saw the comings and goings of many vessels and people we have met as we had wandered the canals. Most of them were heading at this time for their winter moorings, to be closed up and “winterised” against the forces of nature in the French winter.

The canals in the southern areas of France are primarily tourist canals and they close during the winter months. Commercial barges can still use them by arrangement with the authorities – the VNF, who may supply a lock keeper to accompany the barge on it's journey. It is interesting these days that even with the popularity of the canals the VNF's primary source of income from them is the supply of water to industry, as cooling or manufacture, to farmers as irrigation and to the numerous electric power stations we have seen. Even older canals no longer navigable, are used as water courses.

We had a list of things to do with Matilda that seemed to grow every time we checked. The main things were some work on the engine, replace the canvas covers around the stern verandah, rebuild the chimney for the wood fire, set up the insulation on the coach house roof and paint the cabin deck.

We also did some touristy things as well and one day with friends Alan and Ann, we drove in their car to Nuits-St Georges to visit the Cassisium, a cassis distillery. Cassis (or black currants) have been grown and distilled in this area for at least a thousand years. This factory takes as much of the crop they can get and makes a beautiful range of liquers with them. Everyone knows Crème de Cassis.

We visited at the same time as a bus load of Dutch hospitality students and were plied with all manner of samples at the end of our tour. Hard to take!

The mists and dew in the mornings reminded us that the seasons were moving on and we set ourselves a deadline of departure for Nancy before the 14^th of October. Our major projects were complete but we did not finish our painting. The deck looks a bit like a spotted animal where we have patched blemishes in preparation for a good final coat. It will have to now wait till the spring.

Thursday 13^th October, departure planned for 10.30. We notified the lock keeper the day before of our plans as we were entering the Saone river and they like to know. At 11.20 he finally left his cottage and set the lock for us – French!

Never mind – Nancy, here we come. More next time and till then,

We'll keep in touch