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| 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
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
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
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
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
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
area for kids and there were lots of them there with
their parents enjoying the sunshine.
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| Port-sur-Saône |
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| Waiting for a fish dinner |
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| Industry! and working too Foundry at Scey-sur-Saône |
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| St Albin tunnel |
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| Panic button in St Albin tunnel |
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| Chains along right hand wall in tunnel |
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| Chateau at Rupt-sur-Saône |
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