Baye to Chatillon-en-Bazois

15 kms, 14 locks, 5 hours (including 1 hour lunch break)

Last night we stopped at the summit between the Seine and Loire river valleys.  We were at an altitude of 261m, the highest we have ever been on the canals.  Today we started the slide downstream, the first time in 4 weeks that we are going down in the locks, what a pleasure.  And better yet, we were all alone and the lockies got us through at a fair old pace.

We have left the forests behind and on this side there are open fields and lots of white charolais cattle.  Big meat animals, not dairy cows.

The village and ancient church at Bazolles

Charolais cattle

Exiting the top lock of a triple staircase lock

The quay at Marré looks like a good place to stop

 It was hot and sunny all day and we had the bimini down in the morning because we didn’t think we could get under the low bridges.  But when we stopped for lockies' lunch break, tied up in a lock with not a tree anywhere near, we checked the charts and found we had already passed the lowest bridge, so up it went.  What relief.  The sun was baking down and there was not even a zephyr.

Then Ian lowered the windscreen so when we set off again we had a pleasant breeze to relieve the heat.

Below lock 12 the canal becomes more windy as it follows the river

Bimini up, windows down

The canal crosses over the river Aron

Approaching Chatillon, fortifications of the chateau

The back of the chateau, roof glaring in the sun

Entering Chatillon

We have stopped in Chatillon-en-Bazois, the first town with bakeries (lots of them) since Clamecy, a week ago (not counting the baguette we ordered at Chitry-les-Mines).  Our freezer and supply of fresh veggies are getting very low so, fortunately, there is a supermarket here which we will visit tomorrow, maybe more than once.

There is charter boat company here with pontoons where you would have to pay, and there is a long quay with electricity bornes, which used to be free.  Now that section is under construction with fairly major work being done there and I wonder if it will still be free in the future.  We have stopped at a grass quay where other boats are using stakes and we are using Ian’s hook gadgets into the holes in the metal sheets lining the quay.

Looming over us is a rather large chateau.  

Unfortunately it is not open to the public and a quick search on the internet didn't tell me anything about it.  I will have to ask Mr Google to dig deeper.

Sardy to Baye

8 kms, 16 locks, 3 tunnels, 6.5 hours

A charter boat (Locaboat) arrived late yesterday going in the same direction we are.  It is a much bigger boat than us and, this morning, we were just contemplating asking them if we could go behind them in the lock when the lockie rocked up on his bike and asked if we wanted to go into the lock at 9.00.  Yes, we said, and can we go behind the other boat because we are smaller.  Yes, he said, no problem.  5 minutes later we were lined up astern of the hire boat and all went smoothly.  The people on the hire boat were great, obviously not the first time they have done this.  One of the younger chaps was really keen to help the lockie, and us.  He shot up the ladders in the locks, took their line to a bollard, took our line to a bollard, closed the gate and opened the sluice, with great vigour (whereas the lockie was trying to be gentle).  The water poured in in a torrent and they were bounced around from one side of the lock to the other, banging the walls on each side.  They managed to lose a front fender twice but retrieved it with the boat hook and tied it back on again.  As the lockie walked past us in one of the locks he smiled and said It’s better at the back!

Not my photo, it's taken from a poster board at the beginning of the 16 lock ladder (not staircase as I thought yesterday)

The energetic chap hard at work, next lock right ahead 

A pottery in an old lock keeper's cottage

The locks are beautifully kept, including decorative bollards

Isn't it lovely?

Some of the locks still have the really old, un-mechanised wooden gates.  Our energetic friend was hard at work again

This lock keeper's cottage now houses a sculpture and his workshop, his works of art are on display alongside the canal

Each lock is painted in different colours, except the old wooden ones.  Here we are in a wooden gated lock looking up to a yellow one and a pink one

Synchronised lock opehing.  As we leave the yellow lock a downstream boat exits the pink lock

More lock art

...and even more

We had to wait 20 minutes for a boat coming down in the opposite direction, and we had the customary 1 hour (plus 15 minutes because they stop early) lunch break, and then at the top of the flight we had to wait over an hour for the green light to enter the tunnels (there are 3 of them) because boats were coming in the opposite direction.  These turned out to be 5 electric hire boats from a rent-by-the-hour company just after the last tunnel.  They wheeled around, waited for the last one to exit, and promptly took up station ahead of the two of us who had been waiting for them for over an hour (gnashing of teeth).  But the last one so slow it got between us and the Locaboat and just crawled along at 3 kms/hour.  Idle on our boat is faster than that so it was rather frustrating, but this stretch of the canal is so stunningly beautiful you could not let that detract from the pleasure.

The lunchtime break, a barge in one lock and the Locaboat plus us in the lock below

 Time to go for a walk and take photos of wild flowers

Waiting at the top of the flight for other boats to traverse the tunnels

At last we are on our way into the "vault", a cut through granite rocks including the 3 tunnels.

We have stopped at the summit on a long dock between the canal and a huge lake. 

The Locaboat continued through the lock and after tying up we went to say goodbye to them as they were processed through the first lock going downstream.

Chitry-les-Mines to Sardy

May 29th

No internet last night, so this post is a day late.

8 kms, 12 locks, 5.5 hours

Having booked the lock for 9.00 this morning, I collected the baguette we ordered yesterday from Stephanie in the marina office, by 8.50 we were on our way, and arrived at the lock with plenty of time to spare.  As we waited another boat cruised up to join is in the lock, a small sailing yacht with the mast down and tied to the deck, and a great big dog on board.  Oh dear, we hate being in the front of the lock going upstream.  But, you can’t always get what you want so you grin and bear it.

Early morning mist rising off the canal

The lockie was late, and who should drive up and open the gates but Stephanie!  She wears lots of caps.  The lockie, another young lady arrived just as we were entering the lock, took our fore and aft lines and placed them on the same bollard (well, these locks are not well-endowed with bollards).  I asked if she could open the sluices “doucement” and she certainly did, we had no problems at all.  We shared another 2 locks with the yacht then they apologised and said they would be late at the next lock because his cooling water intake was blocked and he would have to jump over the side to clear it, it happens every day (really? And we have been favourably impressed at how little weed there is in this canal).

When we arrived at the next lock they were nowhere in sight and the lockies (2 of them) were waiting.  Then a third lockie arrived from the next lock upstream plus a cruising boat heading downstream.  After a 20 minute wait the yacht was still nowhere near so the lockies decided to let us continue on our own.  Whew!

The Le Boat charter base at La Grange

We are now climbing up to the summit and the gradient is getting steeper.  Today we travelled 8 kms and traversed 12 locks. Again we ran into the lockie’s lunch hour from 12.00 to 13.00, so at 11.45 they left us tied up in a lock (early lunch?).  We had just another 2 locks to go before our mooring for the night and we were tied up there just 30 minutes after the lockie came back at 13.15 (a very long lunch!).

So here we are in the middle of nowhere, it’s peaceful and quiet, and there are no street lamps.  About 20 minutes away there is a tiny village with no shops whatsoever and just a handful of houses. The quay here is very good with bollards well-spaced for smaller boats, no services, no fee.  It is recommended as a good place to overnight before starting the climb up the “echelle de 16 ecluses” (which I think translates as a staircase lock with 16 locks) and 3 (short) tunnels across the summit before the next stop at the top.