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| First lock, No 34 in Fragnes |
13.1ºC Sunny and hot. Set off just after the
lock light came on at 9am. We have a flight of eleven locks to do, all of them
automatic and linked. Five of them are double the usual depth as modernisation
(many years ago) removed six of the original locks from what was a flight of
seventeen. Lock 34 was a shallow one at 2.2m. No rods on these, blue ropes to
tug instead. Typical, the first one wouldn’t work. Mike backed the boat out to
re-activate the sensor for incoming boats just as our man
in a VNF van arrived.
Chatty and informative, he set the lock working for us and told us we need to
wait for one minute before yanking the rope – yes, we’d forgotten that and
there is nothing to tell you that on any of the notices! A short distance to
33, which was the first of the normal depth ones (3.17m). No ladders except for by
the gates at each end and the rope to pull was right at the front. Our mobile
keeper obliged. He told us that there were floaters in the deep
ones, all on the right hand side going up. 32, the only one named, Fontaines,
was 5.12m deep. Right up to the cill at the top end and I waited 1 minute then
pulled on the slimy rope, slow electric as we waited for the gates to close,
Mike backed the boat down the chamber and I put our centre rope on the rearmost
floater (there are two in each wall, designed for péniches of course) on these
deep ones incoming water bubbles up between the boat and the right hand wall
shoving the boat to the left, so I just let out the rope and the boat rose sitting next
to the left wall. On to the longest pound in the flight, 2.4 kms. Our keeper was
shepherding a large cruiser coming downhill. He waved. Made a cuppa. Lock 31 was
a mere 2.5m easy, 30 was 2.6m and 29 just 2.4m. The cycle path alongside the
canal was well used and we saw a novel form of transport – a two person
side-by-side tricycle – we want one! But where would we put it!! Two more deep
ones, both 28 and 27
were 5.2m lift. Above 28 a large hireboat came past
heading downhill, crew chatting to us in English as we passed. A lady and a
small boy out walking the towpath stopped to chat as we came up in 27. Lock 26
was another original at 2.6m lift, a couple on bicycles stopped to watch and
chat when we got close enough to hear them. Two more locks, 25 and 24 and both
were 5.20m lift. Our man in a van arrived and did the last lock for us from the
cabin. He congratulated us as he said that normally small boats cause the locks
to
go en panne – and we did them all without him having to reset any one of them (apart from the first
one and he was already there). He told us there was a hotel boat setting out
from Chagny. We asked about mooring. Yes, boaters have to pay at the new
moorings in the basin, but on the left is free. OK. We said thanks again and
bid him a good weekend. We saw Adrienne coming through the narrow cutting
leading into Chagny, so we held back and waited for the converted péniche
to
arrive in the wider canal before passing. Looked like the staff (all
youngsters) were enjoying the sunshine so there weren’t any passengers on
board. There was a line of moored DBs on the way into Chagny, some looked lived
on. Nothing was moored in the basin where they had added small finger moorings plus water and electricity posts.
The left hand side (by the restaurant) was also full of DBs. We gave up, no
space unless we pay so we carried on, across the railway, pausing to take a photo. The hire base
Escarg’eau was stacked out with moored boats
both sides. Had a go at mooring by
the towpath in Remigny, too shallow. The first mooring with bollards was at
Santenay – no satellite TV - trees too tall. We carried on to les Maranges
where there was a wooden faced quay with bollards and picnic tables. It was
getting really hot. Glad to stop. It was 3.10pm – we’d done an extra two hours
above what we’d originally planned. The timber fend-off was alive with huge
black ants, so I got the ant spray out and coated the fenders and mooring lines
to keep the little blighters off the boat. Lots
of passing cyclists and the
road opposite, D974, was also busy. Several boats went past heading downhill
after we tied up, two went past just before 7 pm. Had a very late lunch at 3.30 pm and settled in for the rest of the weekend.
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| Derelict chapel in Fragnes |
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| Lorry powered peniche doing piling work |
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| Pulling the rope in Lk 32 and getting a free shower |
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| Lock opening/closing mechanism - what would UK Health & Safety do with this? |
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| Remains of one of the old locks |
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| Hotel boat Adrienne heading downhill nr Chagny |
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| Adrienne stiring up the mud |
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| Renovated moorings in Chagny basin |
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| View from the canal of the railway station in Chagny |
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| Veiw from the canal across the Dheune valley at Santenay |
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| Moored by the cycle piste in Les Maranges |
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