Wednesday 25th April 2018 Conflandey to Soing 32.9kms 7 locks

Below the lock and weir at Conflandey

9.4ºC Sunny with big clouds, sometimes black but no rain and a very cold wind. The DB we'd shared the mooring with overnight went past at 9.30am as we were untying – they turned the pole for us to activate lock 4 Conflandey. It was already full so the gates opened and we went down 2.1m. 8kms to the next lock. Beautiful countryside. Into Port-sur-Saône with a busy road running alongside the navigation on our left. Through a set of single flood gates into a canal section. A small DB painted black and

Port-sur-Saône

yellow, was moored on the town quay, they charge to moor there and also in the offline basin on the right called Franche-Comté Navigation, which was filled with cruisers and DBs. Opposite the basin is a VNF workshop. The wind was shredding the seeds off the plane trees and we were getting them right in our faces, glad when we’d passed the trees. A hireboat came up lock 5 Port-sur-Saône, VNF were cutting the grass by the lock. Down another 1.7m and back on to the river – 4kms to the next lock, passing

Waiting for a fish dinner

through forest and into lock 6 Chemilly. A group of people out walking paused by the lock to watch as we were leaving the chamber. Another 4kms reach. Turned left into another length of canal. We passed a Locaboat hireboat going uphill as we passed the working foundry near Scey. The Loca hirebase was in another offline basin. Down another 1.5m in lock 7 Scey. We had a red light for the St Albin tunnel – lock and tunnel keeper at lunch until 1.30pm. We tied to the dolphins below the lock and

Industry! and working too
Foundry at Scey-sur-Saône

had some lunch while we waited. The green light came on at 1.30pm and we untied and set off. A sharp right into the cutting leading to the tunnel. This one is 681m long, lit by sodium lights, has no towpath and has SOS emergency panic buttons set into the right hand wall every 50m. The walls were rough rock with parts built up with stone blocks. There was a long length of cutting the same width as the tunnel, 6.65m wide according to the map. The keeper had the lock ready No 8 Rupt and was very pleasant, chatting about the weather he assured us

St Albin tunnel

we wouldn’t have any showers today – and he was right. Down a further 2.9m with a dry-dock for sand barges alongside the lock. 3kms of river and a short length of canal took us past the scenic town of Rupt-sur-Saône with its medieval chateau tower, and into lock 9 Chantes. A large cruiser went past heading uphill – the fourth boat of the day, things are getting busy! Down another 1.9m and

Panic button in St Albin tunnel

back on to the river. 8.2kms to the next lock, mostly river except for one short canal section through a flood lock with a floating pontoon in it at Cubry-les-Soing, which cut off some loops of the river. Down lock 10 Soing and we turned left heading uphill on the weirstream with a steep sloping forested hill to our right, sheltered from the cold wind for a while. The wooden staging by the weir was empty – all ours. We moored at the upstream end at 4.50pm. A notice pinned to a tree stated that all boats should be moored end on to the staging. How this could be achieved satisfactorily and safely with an eighteen metre long narrowboat on a flowing river we didn't know. We tied up parallel to the staging. The large grassy area by the mooring was a big play

Chains along right hand wall in tunnel

area for kids and there were lots of them there with their parents enjoying the sunshine. 

Chateau at Rupt-sur-Saône

Tuesday 24th April 2018 Corre to Conflandey 30.5kms 4 locks

Below the lock at Corre on the River Saône

11.2ºC Grey overcast start, sunny and warmer later. No signs of life at the lock at 9.30am so Mike went for a walk down to see the keeper He was in the cabin with a lady VNF operative, but hadn’t put the lock lights on. Untied the boat and went down to lock (still no lights on) gave  the zapper to the keeper and noted that there was a slot cut in the refurbished lock wall with a sealed pipe above it ready for new automatics – so his job’s days as a lock keeper were numbered. Below the lock, upstream on the Saône, Fluvial Loisir had a base where boats

Boats moored at Corre on the Saône

were moored and a few campervans were parked next to water and electricity posts. Out on to the river Saône heading downstream, narrow with lots of bends in its upper reaches. Cattle or sheep grazing the riverside meadows. Mike reckoned the flow on the river was minimal – about 0.8kph. After 2.5kms of river we went into the first canal section at KP404 (distance to Lyon where the Saône joins the Rhône), noting there was no longer any sort of path along the bank. On through single flood gates past the village of Ormoy

Church at Ormoy

which sported two ancient lavoirs (places where women used to wash their laundry before piped water and washing machines were invented) and a church with beautiful Burgudy tiles. Hills in the distance! First river lock 1 Ormoy – twist the hanging pole to activate the automatics, then lift the blue rod as usual. The lock house was shuttered, not lived in. 3.3m lower we set off on the river again. 6.4kms of winding river down to lock 2 Cendrecourt. The sun came out, at last! A cruiser was moored at the landing stage in Cendrecourt. The lock house had been turned into a VNF workshop and there were several cars and VNF vans there. Down another 3.8m and continued downstream, passing the junction with the un-navigable tributary called the Amance. A German cruiser went past heading uphill without a smile or a wave – only the third boat to pass us heading in the opposite direction since we left Condé! Fields of bright yellow colza on both banks. We had lunch on the move. Two moored boats filled the 20m landing stage at Montureux. Into lock 3 Montureux-les-Baulay. House lived in, car parked outside. The lock had walls 2m higher than the water level in the lock – I had to climb the ladder to lift the

Lavoir at Ormoy

rod. Down another 2m and Mike had a little problem – the ball fender by the stern rolled up onto the gunwale and distracted him – then the rope twisted and jammed and in seconds the stern end was suspended, not by much beacause he quickly grabbed a sharp knife from the engine room and cut the rope. We haven’t done a daft thing like that since our first trip down Ronquieres! That time it was my fore end rope and I hadn’t realised that the water level in the tank would change when we

Crumbling house at Ormoy

reached the bottom. He trimmed the rope and re-spliced the loop. Slightly shorter but still serviceable. Made him a cup of tea to get over the shock and I made myself a café latte. Watched a coypu swimming along the river's edge under the overhanging trees keeping pace with us for several minutes before disappearing into a stream. Amazed there was someone else moored at Conflandey above the lock, a masted DB. Just enough of room for us on the end.

Mooring above lock 4 Conflandey

Lock 2 Cendrecourt

Lock 1 Ormoy

Monday 23rd April 2018 Fontenoy-le-Chateau to Corre 21.3kms 11 locks

Waiting for lock 35 Fontenoy in pouring rain

9.5ºC Showers predicted, but it rained (quite heavily at times) all day until just before we stopped. Set off at 9.45am in pouring rain. A short wait for the lock to fill, then round the sharp bend into lock 35 Fontenoy, which is in a rock cutting. Rods swapped to the right. Lock 36 Montmotier had no lock house. Rods were on the left again. Below the lock the surface of the canal was yellow from all the tree pollen. Pieces of floating branches were completely bare of bark – eaten by beaver. Took photos of the large lake formed by the river Coney and the church tower of

Lock 35  Mike under the trusty fisherman's brolly

Ambiévillers. Down lock 37 Gros Moulin, rain still pouring. Into lock 38 Ambiévillers which had a lived in lock house surrounded by kids’ toys. Mike took photos of Freland Chateau, shuttered and abandoned. Paused at the VNF mooring place above lock 39 Pont du Bois, intending to dump rubbish and top up the water tank – no bins and the tap didn’t work. Mike started to reverse back to the zapper post when someone came out of the VNF office. Mike said we wanted water but the tap didn’t work – we got called over to the bank and a large hose handed over to fill the tank, which was very nice

Swingbridge in Selles

of them. Chatted while the tank filled. Seems they empty locks as a matter of safety (?whose?) and they leak. After an uphill boat the lock will remain full for an hour and if nothing comes downhill then it will empty. We asked how long the lock will sit waiting for a boat to go in – fifteen minutes, then it will shut the gates. Useful to know. Down 39, then 40 Bois du Selles, 41 Carrières du Selles and through the manual swingbridge in Selles, operated for us by a friendly young lady. Down 42 Village de Selles, which had an empty lock house – the front door was open. A long pound

Contrasting trees, Selles

nearly 4kms to Basse Vaivre lock 43 so I made a quiche for later. Into Demangevelle and down lock 44. Terraced houses at Les Cités surrounded the lock, each block with a letter - H & I by the canal, most were empty and dilapidated, but some were lived in – according to Mr McKnight they were houses built before WW1 to house cotton workers. Down lock 45 Vougecourt, last lock for today, it had a lived in lock house behind which was a busy sawmill and woodyard including a huge charcoal maker. On into Corre. There were two boats

Chateau de Freland

moored before the road bridge, a cruiser and a DB called Coney. There is no longer a hire base  in the offline basin and it now calls itself the Port de Corre and notices said all moorings are “payant”. There were six permanent boats there including DB Lara The African Queen. The keeper was getting the lock on to the river ready. Mike tried waving, so did I, he also tried calling on VHF radio as the lock lights went to red/green. We tied to the bank by the noisy rookery and the light went back to red. Moored with a chain through a

Old lock house at 41 Carrieres de Selles

hole in a pile for the bow and Mike put a mooring pin behind the piling for the stern end – the steep bank was covered in thick wet herbage. It was 4.15pm and the rain had finally stopped.

Mike called these former cotton worker's houses
Cell Block H - anybody remember that?

Saturday 21st April 2018 Pont Tremblant to Fontenoy-le-Chateau 13.5kms 14 locks

Above lock 23 Usine de Thunimont

5.9ºC Sunny and hot with a little breeze. The Dutchman must have walked back to the zapper post as he untied his boat at 9am and went straight into the lock. We did likewise at 9.35am. Still lots of fishermen about. All the pounds between locks were about a kilometre in length, getting longer just before we stopped. Down lock 21 Pont-Tremblant. The house by the lock was lived in with several cars parked outside. Into the forest, trees starting to turn green with new leaf. Lock 22 Thunimont  still had a house, but

Old factory at lock 23 Usine de Thunimont

no one had lived in it for years. The old factories were still standing at 23 Usine de Thunimont, most of the windows now looked smashed. The lock house was bricked up. Below the lock there is a swingbridge, operated by a VNF man in a cabin. More rocks had been placed along the canal banks towards lock 24 Harsault to prevent errosion. 24’s lock house was rather posh. A large cruiser was moored at the picnic area above lock 25 La Colosse, the skipper very kindly zapped the post for us which was close to his boat. 25 had no house. Down 26 Forge

Swingbridge at Thunimont

Quenot and 27 Basse Pommier, both had decent but empty houses. No house at all at 28 Basse Jean Melin, the lock had been refurbished, good concrete walls and metal edging. A group of very smart houses close to the little town of Bains-les-Bains occupied the canalside above lock 29 Pont de Coney, another empty lock house. The bottom end lock gates on 29 didn’t open fully – weed and twigs behind one of them – soon after we left the chamber the second red light came on – another one to fix for the VNF. Lock 30 Montroche’s poor house

Swingbridge at Thunimont

was bricked up – not worth saving? There was a strong smell of hot pine resin as we went through the forest to lock 31 Manufacture de Bains, another empty house. Through a stone lined cutting with high walls round sharp bends (péniches must have loved this section) another old derelict factory was atop the end of the wall. A spider with bright green legs came to visit Mike – he put it on the lockside at 32 Gurupt – which had a lived in VNF house with extensive workshops, quiet as it’s Saturday. A car stopped by the lock and a couple walked their dog down the towpath. Lock 33

Swingbridge at Thunimont

La Pipée was by some old mill buildings and it also had an inhabited lock house. The rods were on the opposite side now (our right hand side – they’d been on the left all day) Down the last lock of the day 34 Amont Fontenoy - another lived in lock house with an ancient tractor parked by it. The pound below had new bank protection, huge great rocks almost all the way along the pound into Fontenoy. We winded (to have the side doors on the wet side) and moored opposite the Le Boat hire base – seventeen cruisers waiting to be hired and three moored cruisers. It was 2.45pm. As we tied up the trip boat set off down lock 35.

Above lock 34 Amont de Fontenoy

Moored at Fontenoy le Chateau

Friday 20th April 2018 Girancourt to Pont-Tremblant 13.2kms 9 locks

"Berlin Wall" at lock 5

5.6ºC Sunny and hot. Set off at 9.40am. Lock 2 Girancourt was slow to fill. Mike put our sunshade up as it was already getting hot. A lady walker went past, waving and calling bonjour as we trundled down to lock 3 Barbonfoing. All pounds were short ones, less than 1k and most of the lock houses had either gone or were empty and dilapidated. Down lock 4 Launois. There were few cycles passing now, although the towpath was still metalled. Quiet through the woods except for the birdsong. Lock 5 was the start of the Void

Lock 5 - broken breeze blocks in lock wall

de Girancourt flight. I think that the wall

next the lock must have been in danger of falling down so VNF had erected a “Berlin Wall” L-shaped concrete supports. The lock chamber wall had many broken breeze blocks. The first VNF van of the day went past as we went down lock 6. Mike started timing our passage through the locks, 14.5 minutes for lock 5, 12.5 minutes for lock 6. A second man in a van set lock 7 for us, so it was ready when we got there, useful as the zapper post was on the far side of a wide section. He’d set the next too, but it had timed out and the gates had just closed so we just had to zap it and the gates reopened. There was a nice lived in house below lock 8. Lock 9 was linked to the next three, so no zapping needed. A black kite flew low over the boat, checking for dead fish, too fast to get a photo. In lock 10 Mike rescued a toad which was hanging on to the vegetation on the lock wall

Toad hanging on to the wall in lock 10 

as the water level dropped. I let it go free in the next pound. Our man in a van was working lock 11 (must be a fault) from the lock cabin. Two large brown centipedes were running up and down the lock wall as the chamber emptied. Down lock 12 and back to zapping. Lock 13 Thielouze was empty so we had a short wait. As I lifted the rod a cyclist stopped to chat, a Swiss man on a two week cycling holiday and a big fan of narrowboats. Lock 14 Port de Thielouze had two lock houses – a very old one with no roof and a newer one which was empty. Lock 15 Thillots filled, but there was no green light, so we reckon it needed a new bulb. Mike was visited briefly by a brilliant ruby-tailed wasp, a beautiful insect, half bright red, half brilliant blue. Down 16 Melomenil. Mike saw a pine marten watching from the non-towpath side, standing on its hind legs like a meerkat, again gone to fast for a photo and I missed it. Down 17 Reblangotte and Mike spotted a new style level sensor so he took some photos. Our man in a van was chatting with a cyclist at lock 18 Uzemain as I got off with our bags of rubbish and a ripped up fender, I 

Very old house at lock 14 Port de Thielouze

said I’d spotted the VNF bin and he said they were rare and I agreed with him. Mike picked up a green bug – a shield bug nymph - once identified he put it back on the grass as the lock emptied. Down lock 19 Chamois l’Orgueilleux, passing a newly refurbished mooring along the edge of a “wide” (shallow, so marked with floating bollards) no good for us as it was surrounded by forest, there would be no satellite TV reception there. There had been no phone signals for quite some distance, which shows how remote the valley is. Down lock

Old lock house at lock 14

20 Coney (named after the river whose valley we would now follow) As we left lock 20 we noted that the gates didn’t fully open, branch jammed behind one gate. The lights for uphill traffic had gone to double red "en panne" – broken down – another job for our man in a van. He was checking the feed from the river below lock 20. Mike told him we were stopping on the pontoon and moving on in the morning. There were several families fishing before the port. A Dutch registered cruiser was occupying 

New type of sensor lock 17 Reblangotte. Rubber buffer 
instead of a large spring.

almost half the pontoon at Pont Tremblant, we overhung the end of the pontoon. The cruiser looked like it had been left for quite a while and was a nuisance really as we usually moor where he was to be able to get the Astra satellite. Never mind, we have alternatives. Mike put our extension cable out and set up the satellite dish on the bank. Just after 6pm, lock closing time, a Dutch yacht arrived and tagged on alongside the Dutch cruiser in front.

New type of sensor lock 17 Reblangotte

Two red lights - out of order - lock 20 Coney

Moored on the pontoon at Pont-Tremblant

Thursday 19th April 2018 Thaon-les-Vosges to Girandcourt 19kms 20 locks

Church at Chavelot

5.9ºC Sunny and getting hotter. The empty graveller, that moored on the same quay as us the night before, set off around 7am heading downhill. The other two, now loaded, went past heading uphill before we set off at 9am. The Dutch couple were off shopping on their bikes, wished them a good run back to the Netherlands and a good time at their daughter’s wedding. All the rods and ladders were on the left side (easier for us) all the way to the top, except for lock 13. Up lock 19 Usine de Thaon after it emptied. The third graveller had loaded and was below the lock (following us) as we left the top. The top end lock gates seemed to take ages to close behind us. We caught up with the graveller in front of us at lock 18 Chavelot, he was still in the lock going up, so we had a short wait for him to clear and the lock to empty. The gravel boats unload below the next - lock 17, Prairie Gerard. Took photos of Mica being unloaded by a bucket digger. Nice lock house at 17. A converted péniche called Nora, German from Leer, was waiting above to come down. Looked like a load of schoolboys on board, maybe with their teachers. Noted that they didn’t wait for a green light before entering the lock, silly, they paid for it – lock 17 went en panne and VNF had to be called out 

Empty graveller heading downhill below lock 17

to sort it out for them. We went up 16 Le Chavelot (another of the same name as 18) there was a centre commercial alongside named La Pré Droué Chavelot. We could see lock 17 still had two red lights. Up a deep one at 15 Côte Ollie (another nice lock house) with blue plastic gates which were experimental years ago and seemed to be still working OK. Now into the Golbey flight, all the next 14 locks were linked. Passed the VNF workshops at the junction with the Epinal branch and went up lock 14 – its grand house, with a double set of steps

Graveller loading below lock 17

to the front door, was boarded up and covered with graffiti, shame, must have been the boss’s house once. The towpath was still metalled and was in use by a great many walkers, cyclists and skaters, we even saw a recumbent hand-pedalled three wheeler. At lock 13 the rod was on the wrong side, but the wind conveniently blew the bows across, so I lifted the rod from our bows and saved Mike a walk. A pair of lizards played chase down the walls of the empty, but renovated, lock house. Lock 11

Mike testing new gloves

had a derelict house. Lock 10 was en panne, two red lights. It was empty with the gates open so we went in and I phoned VNF. OK someone would be there soon. I threw some chopped pork and frozen veg into the crockpot for dinner later. A pleasant young man arrived about fifteen minutes later and worked the lock from the cabin. Mike asked what the problem was and he showed him on the panel there was a light next to where it said there was insufficient water in the pound

Start of the Golbey flight

below. OK, more than enough depth for us! There was a railway bridge over the top end of the lock and the lock house (nice, but not lived in) was just a bit further on up the towpath. From lock 10 onwards each lock had a big side pound on the left, very reminiscent of the Grand Union flight at Knowle. 10’s house was shuttered and empty. Lock 9 had a lived in house, there was an empty moored péniche called Biarritz on the far side of the big wide pound. Lock 8’s house hadn’t been lived in for a long

Elegant steps - must have been a grand lock house once

time, but despite having a new housing estate at the back of it, there was no vandalising or graffiti. Locks 7, 6 and 5 all had lovely houses, 4 was shuttered and its front door bricked up, 3 had a conservatory extension all along the front with its shutters all down. No 2 had no house and the top lock was lived in (most likely still VNF). It was 1.45pm when we set off on the 11 kms winding scenic summit level. The water level was low by about 25cms. Had sandwiches for lunch on the move with big cold drinks. Took photos going through the

Apple tree by lock 11

summit cutting of the bad state of the walls, crumbling and falling down in places. Here we left the Meuse catchment basin for the Saône and Rhone. Down lock 1 Trusey and moored on the long quay by an open grassy area in Girancourt at 3.45pm. A small yacht and a small DB (lived on – had a fire going, smoking chimney – in this heat!) were moored at the far end almost by lock 2. Mike went off on the moped to move the car from Nomexy to Corre on the Saône at the end of the canal de l’Est. 

Bank protection - VNF watering newly planted reeds

Crumbling walls - summit cutting

Wednesday 18th April 2018 Nomexy to Thaon-les-Vosges 7.25kms 5 locks

Nomexy from lock 24 La heronniere

4.8ºC Sunny and hot, tiny breeze. We went shopping at Carrefour in Jeumexy (close to Epinal) and got stocked up with groceries plus I bought some feed for roses and Mike had a pair of gardening gloves as locking with a rope was making his hands sore. Got two containers of diesel for the boat (80€) Back at 11.45am and I stowed the groceries and Mike put the diesel in the engine room. Set off at 1pm. Up lock 24 La Heronnèire. Lots of dust from lorries from Liebherr concrete

Information post for towpath cyclists

works crossing the tail end bridge. Had a ten minute pause above lock 24 as we had another blockage in the cooling water system, short lengths of straw and reed. Noted that the lock was programmed to empty after up boats. The wind had blown the boat against the bank, which had ancient sloping bricked edges so we listed slightly and had to shove off with boat shafts. Up lock 23 Vaxoncourt. The lock house was lived (probably not VNF). A VNF man with a little digger was loading a small dumper truck with stones ans hardcore rubble. This was the infill for the twin plastic culvert pipes in the bank below the lock. Above the lock there was a brand new run off weir. Up lock 22 Igney whose old lock

Lockhouse 22 Igney

house was empty and the Marinier’s garden decorated with anchors and rudders, etc, was long gone. As we left the lock I took a photo of a house by the canal with a very unusual double pitched roof. On the pound leading to lock 21 Plaine de Thaon there were tree branches stripped completely of bark – only one big rodent does that – more beaver. Lots of people on bikes had stopped to watch the gravel-extraction barge at work lifting big bucket loads of gravel from the old river bed in a lake alongside the canal. On past the

Unusual two pitch roof on house below lock 22

berth for the three specially adapted barges that take the gravel from there up the canal to unload at a wharf below lock 17. There were loads of gongoozlers on the lockside and on the tail end bridge as we went up lock 21. They all started telling us that there was a péniche coming - it was one of the gravel barges coming down the canal to reload, unusual as it is steered from the bows. A woman on the bows was waving a zapper about while the boat was still tens of metres away from the zapper

Gravel-extractor below lock 21 Plaine-de-Thaon

post (most of them you have to be with 3 or 4m for it work). Perhaps because they're commercial they had a more powerful zapper. We've discussed attaching a kilowatt burner to ours but that would probably activate several locks on the canal at the same time. Seriously though, it would be helpful if the zappers were more powerful or the receivers were more sensitive. Up lock 20 Thaon, with more gongoozlers watching. On into Thaon and tied up at the quay by the big boules court just as a DB was also heading for the same mooring from the opposite direction. We tied up bows to bows.

Moored in Thaon-les-Vosges with first plaisance
boat seen on this canal