L'Avenir - cruising Europe's inland waterways

    One more lock will take us from the canal de Bourgogne onto the River Yonne. We have visited this town of Migennes several times before. The fact that it may not be the most beautiful in France is thanks mainly to its railway. During WW2 the Allied bombing raids destroyed the rail marshalling yards, the bridges over the river and, unfortunately, much of the town itself. Today, whilst the uninspiringly rebuilt Migennes remains a convenient place to catch a train and stock up with fuel and food, it also provides a nightly magnificent spectacle – the murmuration of thousands upon thousands of starlings. One starling on its own may not conjure up any particular vision of beauty but believe me en masse they are absolutely spellbinding. Burgundy has always been a rich region of France and consequently it has many fine chateaux some of which have been owned by the same families for generations. Evidently there were some aristocrats who managed to hang onto not only t...

We may be on the downside of the Canal de Bourgogne but the temperature’s definitely on the way up. We’ve left the green forests behind and are now into rich farmland where gold is the predominant hue. Farm machines are everywhere. If you can’t see them you can hear them every hour of the long summer day (except lunchtime of course). There seems to be a machine for everything and all look new. They’re out in the fields cutting, turning and baling the ripe hay –jobs that once took many people days to complete are now finished in a few hours.  Tractors pulling laden trailers constantly clatter across the canal bridges and through the villages leaving a trail of hay sprigs or cereal dust in their wake. One sight that can’t fail to cheer is the field filled with hundreds of thousands of bright sunflowers which turn in unison, each like a hand mirror to the blazing sun tracking across the sky. It has been a little while and a lot of locks since the last blog post. Go...

There was much excitement in Pouilly yesterday when Tour de Cote d'Or whizzed past the canal basin and into town. This may not be the Tour de France being only 3 days in length and confining itself to Burgundy but it is an important cycling event nevertheless. What interested me particularly was their route. Day 2 for the racers covered much of the same area of our cruise. What has taken us 3 weeks they have done in around 3 hours. They weren't hanging around scoffing 4 course lunches mind you. Day 2 was also the day for the climb section and guess where that was - the very same route that I wrote about a couple of posts ago. The 10% incline hill up to Colombier that just about killed me and I was merely pushing my bike. What is more they were timetabled to do it in about 5minutes! I'd have liked to have seen that. Actually I don't believe they did. They were a bit late arriving here in Pouilly.

Old electric tug which once pulled peniches through the Pouilly Tunnel Much has been written about the Pouilly Tunne l . Boaters endlessly discuss its dimensions and those who have already traversed its 3.33km sagely advise others on technique with the result that worriers (like me) imagine all manner of disaster and become generally tedious company. We've been through a fair number of canal tunnels and they all vary. Different lengths, heights, shapes; fancy lighting, no lighting; towpath, no towpath; ghosts....To be honest I haven't actually met any ghosts but if there are any to be found then the cold, dark, stalactite encrusted Pouilly Tunnel might be the place. Construction of the Canal de Bourgogne was begun in 1775 and of course, at that time, all the work needed to be done by hand. Progress was further slowed by the turmoil caused by the Revolution and the tunnel joining the 2 sections of the canal wasn't completed until 1832. I read that English prisoners of...

Chateauneuf en Auxois  The summit of the canal de Bourgogne is up in the clouds today which means it is wet. We’re waiting here until we can pass through the 3.3km Pouilly Tunnel tomorrow. We could have gone this afternoon but we not only have to co-ordinate our passage with the trip boat but also make some modifications to L’Avenir so she will fit through the decidedly cramped conditions of this tunnel. The arch of the tunnel comes close to the boat roof so good luck to the skipper who’s going to have to steer a dead straight course and will he be able to stand up? I am watching a barge owner on the other side of the mooring basin completely dismantling his wooden wheelhouse so he will fit through. A bit more of a palaver than us - we have to take down our nav frame, canopy and wind and side screens. The previous 50km cruising from Dijon up the Valley de l’Ouche has been beautiful. We’ve been lucky in that the weather has been good, as has the company -but we expected ...

We left Dijon a week ago – long enough to forget our would-be bike thief (except when I sit on the damaged and therefore even more uncomfortable seat) and recall a few of the many good things about the city.   During the 14 th and 15 th centuries Dijon was the capital of Burgundy, then a huge and rich Dukedom extending as far north as Flanders and east to Switzerland. Today Bourgogne may be much smaller but the city is expanding into the countryside. Should you travel out to the termini of the tram routes (which we did just because we had an inexpensive day pass and we could) you will quickly find yourself amongst block after block of new, low rise apartments and eventually a huge shopping mall ‘in progress’. As yet, the old city still has a vibrant shopping centre. Let’s hope it survives. Most of Dijon’s tourist attractions are within the ‘Quartier Ancien’ – the medieval centre. Typical decorative tiled roof Dijon's most famous product No, not beer...

I had intended this post to tell you how much we have enjoyed our stay in Dijon with its quaint medieval streets, handsome Place de la Liberation, imposing Palais des Ducs,   cathedrals, restaurants, mustard, pain d’epice (gingerbread) and more. Sadly, all that has been overshadowed by a couple of incidents. For the first time in our 6 years of cruising we have been bothered by thieves – twice in one week. Perhaps we have just been lucky up until now. The port at Dijon is a short tram ride to the city (and, for those Melbournites amongst you, the trams are great. You can easily buy a rechargeable cardboard ticket at any stop and you touch on by waving your ticket in front of the machine as you board – works even if it’s in your wallet or bag. No touching off. Simple, efficient, cheap.) The port has water and electricity but no captain to collect mooring fees and so, at the moment, it is entirely free. Thank you city of Dijon. Perhaps that’s the reason that one or two ...

The Canal de Bourgogne is not as popular as some French waterways. When we mentioned our plans to other boaters, before setting off, the usual response was one word expelled on a sigh – locks. There are 189 of them over a distance of 242 km. It is, perhaps, a canal you travel only once, although lots of people regularly make the 30km trip   from St Jean de Losne to Dijon and back despite it being a dead straight and fairly uninteresting stretch (with   21 locks each way). That is because Dijon is a fascinating city and, with its TGV station, a convenient place to pick up or drop off visitors. There is no commercial traffic at all other than several hotel boats. Of course, if you are a (high) paying guest you are perfectly entitled to sit back with your wine and gourmet food, enjoy the beautiful countryside and watch others do the hard work at the locks. Eclusier at work Lock Cottage on Canal de Bourgogne Sharing a lock on Canal de Bourgogne - Eclus...