We did the tunnel, all 4850m of it. The channel was only 5.05m wide all the way, we’re 3.8m wide, but it was fine until the all the lights went out - resulting in a quick scrabble to get the search light out while making sure we didn’t hit the stone walls of the tunnel. Sorted ourselves out and then the lights came back on. The bloody thing did this twice to us - and can we say when you’re 1km or two into a tunnel it gets pretty dark! - Still all good fun.
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| Entrance to the Balesmes Vault |
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| Inside the tunnel before the lights went out |
It turned into a longer day than planned as the locks after the tunnel were all linked together and once you started the sequence you had to keep going to the end of the 12 locks (got told off for stopping for lunch by the VNF!). We eventually stopped at a pretty place called Piepape, had great, impromptu chilli night with the crew from Tychy and then had two short days to Dommarien and Cusey.
At Dommarien we BBQ’d on the tow path and watched a family of muskrats/coypu playing and eating in the canal. Not too sure what the correct name is for them.
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| Muskrat/coypu swimming near our mooring |
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| Junior |
About 10km from the halte at Cusey was a vignoble - so off we went on the bikes and found we could fit 1/2 a case into the Brompton’s front carry bag - usually called The Manbag - that clips onto the handlebars of the bikes. Sat in the sunshine that evening drinking vin cassis with the crew off Ettie - very sociable this cruising lark.
The following day we had a late start, it was pouring with rain, and ended up getting stuck behind a fully loaded perniche - a small commercial barge, one of the very few using this canal. It was painfully slow, so after a couple of hours we stopped at a lock - moored between two dolphins and found a fab rustic restaurant - all local food from the little village, served in a wooden shed by the side of the canal keeper’s house. What a find, great food and a great price too. Opposite the restaurant was a goats cheese fromagerie - heaven - bought loads of goats cheese and now have to eat it before it stinks the boat out!
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| Moored on a dolphin |
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| Our restaurant by the lock |
The engine started to get too hot the next day, several futile filter cleans but we’re still not happy. Parked the boat against a bank and checked all the pipes from the seacock to the cooling water pump. We eventually traced the blockage to the seacock being blocked under the hull. We took off the pipe to the seacock itself and opened the seacock - in theory a fountain of water should flood into the boat -but it didn’t, merely a trickle. Carole found the spindle of the kitchen roll holder was the perfect diameter to fit inside the seacock. Poked the spindle up and down through the seacock until a fountain of water did finally start to flood the boat! After retrieving the spindle, which very nearly slipped out of my grasp and would have headed to the canal bottom, we shut the seacock and stopped the flood. connected the pipes back up and started the now much happier engine - all good now, but I’m slightly paranoid about the amount of water cooling the engine now!
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| Scrumping apples |
The next day, at Oisilly, we met up with Ian, Jilly and Lola and their way back from the south of France - didn’t envy them their long drive back to the UK.
It was pouring down the next morning, so waited until it eased a bit, but not by much, and then headed towards Maxilly, at the end of the canal but only stopped briefly - too much mess and dog poo around for us - first time at a Halte Nautique. Two more locks, the last of of the second leg of our journey before we headed out onto the Saone - managed to mess up both of them! Got on the wrong side of the lock to our ropes and had to push the boat across - embarrassing after 250 plus locks to date - luckily no witnesses.
On the last few yards of the canal we spotted several kingfishers - stopped for photo session but it’s tricky!
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| This lovely butterfly took a shine to Dave's thumb |
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| Kingfishers are common on the Soane |
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| Leaving the canals |
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| Our very last lock on the canals. |
Met up again with Julia and Richard off the barge, Ettie, and invited round for meal. Good night!
Headed out onto the Saone and actually had 2m of water below the keel - big, big, big cheer - first time since the Netherlands. Parked at Pontailler sur Saone for the night - pretty little town with a great patisserie.
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| River Soane ahead |
Carole's Interesting Facts:
No. 14. Steel posts for mooring against are called "Dolphins". They are called Duc D'Albe in France as legend has it the Duke of Albe was hung from a post in the canal.
No 15. Apparently the Belgians eat coypu.
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