Vermenton and the Canal de Nivernais.
On Saturday 9 June we walked around Auxerre in the morning. It was a very lively scene with a jazz orchestra playing in one square and a marching band in another. All kinds of art and handicrafts were on sale at street stalls as well as in the shops. About midday we four all returned to Francois’ house where we crammed into his Subaru Impressa and headed out to Vermenton. We delivered all the bags and gear to our next boat, the ‘Madame Ashley’, which is almost identical to ‘Winifred’, then said farewell to Francois and started unpacking. At 15:00 the local supermarket opened and within an hour all its stock had been transferred to the Madame Ashley! After putting all that away, and a checkout with Chris from France Fluviale (France Afloat), we finally got under way at 17:45. After 1 lock and about 1 km we moored for the night at Accolay, a small village with power and water on the quay. There was a highly recommended restaurant in the area but we fired up the BBQ and had a very nice dinner of pork chops and all the trimmings. Weather warm, sunny and calm all day.

Location for Vermenton. N47º39.750’ E003º43.632’ Altitude 118 metres.
Location for Accolay. N47º39.717’ E003º42.613’ Altitude 120 metres.
Note. We had actually dropped 2.2metres from Vermenton to Accolay!

Sunday 10 June 2007. Up making coffee at 7:30. Topped up the water and under way at 9:00. Weather warm, sunny and calm. After the first lock we turned south into the Yonne river to start the Canal du Nivernais. After 5 more locks and 10 km of very picturesque river and canal scenery we stopped for lunch at Mailly-la- Ville. With 2 umbrellas shading the table on the after deck it was very pleasant. As soon as the locks started after 13:00 we got under way and continued south past the limestone cliffs of Rochers du Saussois where rock climbers were doing their thing, mooring up for the night at Chatel-Censoir. Total distance for the day 24 km and 12 locks. The canal merged frequently with the beautiful river Yonne with water lilies, swans and even naked bathers! Late in the afternoon thunder clouds built up over the hills bringing a rain shower just as we moored, then again just as we completed our BBQ cooking. The rain cleared the air and left a beautiful calm and quite evening.

Location for Chatel Censoir. N47º31.930’ E003º37.807’ Altitude 139 metres.

Monday 11 June. Morning overcast but calm and not cold. Coffee at 7:00. Terry fetched bread and Judy phoned home. Under way at 9:00 and completed 9km and 5 locks, the last few in heavy rain, mooring at Coulange-sur-Yonne at 11:30 where we retired below to dry out and have lunch. The rain eased and we were under way again at 13:10 for a smooth run to Clamecy. After a further 8.5km and 5 locks we passed under the famous statue of the Flotteur on the bridge and turned hard right to a safe mooring in the small town basin at 15:00. Clamecy was the centre for the trade supplying firewood to Paris by floating rafts of logs down the Yonne to the Seine which persisted until the 1920s. This dangerous work was carried out by the Flotteurs. We located a laundry to do our washing and had a BBQ meal on deck at the end of an eventful day.

Location for Clamecy. N47º27.467’ E003º31.334’ Altitude 168 metres.

Tuesday 12 June. Morning overcast but calm and warm. We watered up and paid €6 for mooring, water and power. Under way at 9:00, beautiful cruising in company with “Modestine” (English couple), covering 14km and 7 locks in 3.5 hours. Stopped for lunch at Asnois at 12:30 while Modestine went on. Under way again at 14:30, weather getting hot! Caught up with Modestine again at Cuzy waiting for and engineer to repair his bow-thruster, what a wimp! Very nice countryside with herds of white Nivernais cattle with calves lying in the long grass. We also saw many delta-jet aircraft, probably French Mirages, flying around at low altitude. Stopped for the night at Monceaux-le-Comte at 16:30. Good mooring with water, but next to large yard with stacks of logs being kept wet with irrigation sprays. There was also a saw-mill a little further down the canal processing oak and elm. A sign said that the water spray prevented damage to the timber by insects and I wondered if this was Dutch elm disease. We checked the nearby village, found the restaurant “Auberge du Centre” and made a reservation. The rest of the village seemed to be dying. On returning to the Madame Ashley we found a young French couple from Paris with a charming 3 year old daughter had moored nearby. We later adjourned to the Auberge du Centre for an excellent meal. The restaurant was very busy and the clients included the Parisians (he in shorts and singlet!). They said later that they would not have expected such a good restaurant this side of Lyon.

Location for Monceaux-le-Compte. N47º19.693’ E003º39.298’ Altitude 183 metres.

Wednesday 13 June. Morning foggy and calm. Under way 9:00. Fog cleared to sunny hot weather. Stopped for lunch at Chitry-les-Mines, a good mooring with a chandlery and café catering to the tour bus trade. After lunch we expected to stop at the Burgundy Cruisers (France Fluvial) base at Marigny-sur-Yonne to report a couple of minor issues with Madame Ashley, but Steve the local rep said he was on his days off and could not do anything for 2 days, a bit disappointing. We pressed on to Sardy-les-Epiry for the night. Nothing much of note at Sardy, with no power, water or shop as described in the guide.

Location for Sardy-les-Epiry. N47º11.769’ E003º41.569’ Altitude 216 metres.

Thursday 14 June. Heavy rain and thunder in early morning. Under way at 9:25 to traverse the famous Sardy lock staircase, 16 locks in 3.2 km. We waited at the first lock, No 16, till 10:35 for a boat coming down the staircase; it must have spent the night at the half way point. We stopped for lunch in lock No 10 at 12:00. Weather misty and wet but not cold. Thick forest all around giving an eerie feeling. Under way again at 13:00, rain increasing constantly until we completed the lock staircase and entered the very narrow and overgrown cutting leading to the 3 tunnels: 212 metres, 268 metres and 758 metres respectively. The tunnels were very misty inside with water pouring down through several ventilation shafts. We finally emerged at the village of Baye and moored at the base of the “Aqua Fluvial” company with power and water. The proprietor made a dinner booking for us at a B&B in the village, with transport laid on. We had a very nice meal with a very hospitable retired couple from Paris. As they had very little English Judy had to translate everything. A great night for only €15 per head including aperitifs and wine!

Location for Baye. N47º1.132’ E003º37.350’ Altitude 260 metres.
Note. This is the highest point on the Canal du Nivernais. There are large lakes here to supply the water required by the operation of the canal locks.

Friday 15 June. Morning calm and overcast. Under way at 9:30. Waited at first lock in down direction, then a further wait at the 2 locks in Bazolles. Arrived at the Chavance locks, a triple staircase followed by a double, in time for lunch at 11:50. The lock keepers will not normally let you in unless you can complete the locks before the official lunch time, 12:00 to 13:00 on the Nivernais. The country was changing with some sheep as well as cattle and and some wheat fields as well. The farms all had large stone barns and farm houses with red tile roofs, the dung piles outside the barns indicating that the cattle were kept indoors during the winter. Under way again at 13:00 and moored at Chatillon-en-Bazois at 16:30. Entering the village there was a stunning view of an old castle tower, part of a large chateau which overlooks the port. Just by the tower the canal took a very sharp turn to the right under a narrow bridge for entry into the lock and then the port. Run for the day, 16km and 14 locks. Shopped for supplies at a good super market.

Location for Chatillon-en-Bazois. N47º02.886’ E003º39.060’ Altitude 242 metres.

Saturday 16 June. Morning clear and sunny. We had a sleep-in till after 8:00, exploring the village and updating the blog from a good cyber-café. (2 postings taking the story as far as Auxerre, €1.00 for 1 hour.) Under way at 13:00, stopping in the first lock to pick up some water, thanks to Ann chatting up the lock keeper and the garrulous Kiwi who was assisting him. The afternoon run was 13.5 km and 6 locks, in fine warm weather. The canal was very twisty and Madame Ashley was difficult to handle at times, especially in the shallow spots, so we had to slow down. We moored for the night just below the lock at Fleury at 16:00. Chatted up an English couple, Roger and Wendy, on the 100 tonne barge Izula which we had seen at Chatillon. They had taken 7 hours to do the trip we had done in 3 hours. (How they had got through the Sady staircase and tunnels I don’t know.) Excellent BBQ pork chops for dinner.

Location for Fleury. N46º59.777’ E003º40.862’ Altitude 227 metres.

Sunday 17 June. Morning fine and sunny but storms forecast for later in afternoon. Under way 8:50 to make a run for Cercy-la-Tour and beat the weather. Stopped for lunch at lock Isenay at 12:20 and under way again at 13:00. Berthed above Cercy lock at 14:20, but later moved down to unoccupied pontoon below the lock. (The other pontoon with power and water was fully occupied.) The rain moved in as predicted but as drizzle rather than a storm. Judy and Denis went exploring and saw the local officials at the Mairie counting the votes in the final elections and also saw the nearby 12th century church and the viewing terrace on the remains of the Tour (tower). On the other side of the canal and the river L’Aron we noted the only signs of life were at the church hall where there were many cars parked. What initially sounded like a sermon turned out to be…Bingo! Run for the day, 22km and 9 locks.

Location for Cercy-la-Tour. N46º52.130’ E003º38.880’ Altitude 201 metres.

Monday 18 June. Morning fine at first but a couple of heavy showers quenched our hopes. However by 9:00 the weather had cleared and we moved up to a space on the pontoon vacated by the barge “Jake” to take on water; under way again at 9:45. Smooth running through beautiful countryside, plenty of trees and hedge-rows with paddocks of cows, sheep and fields of wheat, large barns and farm-houses Weather fine and sunny. Lock-keepers warned that the Loire was closed at Decize and we would have to wait at St Leger-des-Vignes. We stopped for lunch at Champvert, 5km from Decize and spoke to a couple of skippers who were waiting there as they thought there would be many boats at St Leger and good berths would not be available. However we then heard that the Loire had reopened during the morning, and a couple of boats arrived which had come through Decize and they advised that conditions were good, so we got under way at 13:15 and moored up in the old town of Decize on the “Vielle Loire”, a dead branch of the river, with power and water and only a local tour boat for company. The weather was fine and very warm as we settled in for a couple of days rest.

Location for Decize. N46º49.860’ E003º27.768’ Altitude 204 metres.
This marks the end of our traverse of the Canal du Nivernais until we rejoin it at Auxerre on our return trip to Vermenton.

Normandy and Auxerre

Caen, like St Malo, was badly destroyed during the liberation in 1944 but the main historical buildings were restored (apart from a couple which were retained as memorials) and the rest of the city rebuilt in 1950s concrete. The city has an excellent tram and bus service and numerous cafes, bars and restaurants. We stayed at the Hotel Bristol, which seemed to be home base for Americans in town to visit the D-Day beaches. On Tuesday we took the train to Bayeux to view the famous tapestry. This is 70 metres long and 50cm high and is kept behind glass in very low light in a special U shaped room. The visit includes an excellent introductory film and “audio-guide” (‘automatic’, meaning that you had to keep walking, gazing at specific details of the tapestry as you went). We went through the viewing hall twice it was so interesting: William the Conqueror starring in his own blockbuster action adventure/propaganda movie.

On Wednesday, 6 June we took the bus out to the Caen Memorial where we met the driver/guide who took us to a selection of the D-Day beaches. Our fellow minibus passengers were 6 Americans. The weather was cool and misty with a fresh wind blowing in from the Atlantic, kind of appropriate for this event. We could just make out the remains of the “Mulbury” artificial harbour off Arromanches which had been in the British sector. We then visited a German gun battery at Longues where the 4 x 152mm Skoda guns were still in place although very rusted and battered by the bombardment they sustained during the battle.

We arrived at the American war memorial and cemetery by Omaha beach, just as Robert Gates, the US Secretary of Defense was starting his speech, followed by the French and US national anthems. Very moving to hear while surrounded by over 9,300 tombstones. We then visited Omaha beach itself, which would have been nice if the weather had been better, and another German battery at Pointe du Hoc, where 250 US rangers scaled 100 foot cliffs under machine gun fire to silence the guns, only to find that the guns were just wooden telephone poles. Only 90 men survived. Kind of underlined the tragedy of it all. Back at the Caen Memorial we decided to skip the museum tour and headed back into town for lunch and a walk around viewing the Abbaye aux Dames, Chateau de Caen and Abbaye aux Hommes, where William the Conqueror is buried, or at least a thigh bone which could have been his!

The next day we caught a bus which took us on a very interesting tour through the countryside and resort towns such as Houlgate, and Deauville, arriving finally at Honfleur. Honfleur is a very picturesque old port on the south side of the entrance to the Seine. (Le Havre is on the north side.) The basin connects to the sea with a lock and is surrounded by 17^th and 18^th century stone houses which are now mostly cafes, with a few art galleries, antique shops and real estate agents. We trundled our bags over the cobbles to the very nice Hotel Le Cheval Blanc and then explored the town. It was hard to see how all the cafes and restaurants could survive, but apparently Honfleur is a very popular weekend destination for Parisiens. We blundered into a very interesting museum devoted to Eric Sati, the composer, pianist, writer and general eccentric who was born and lived in Honfleur. The museum, located in the house where he was born, is a multi-media experience and quite unique.

Friday, 8 June, we had an early start for our journey to Auxerre which Judy had planned and which tested the French public transport system to the maximum:

Hotel to Honfleur bus terminal by taxi.

Bus to Le Havre over the amazing Pont Normandie suspension bridge.

Train to Rouen, change, train to Paris Gare St Lazare Grandes Lignes

Metro line 14 from Gare St Lazare Metro to Gare de Lyon Metro

Train from Paris Gare de Lyon Grandes Lignes to Laroche-Migennes, change, train to Auxerre

Bus from Auxerre station to centre ville.

All this worked perfectly and we arrived ahead of schedule at about 2:15pm and had lunch at a nice café before we met up with our friend Sylvie around 4:30pm. Terry and Ann arrived an hour or so later, having already unloaded the boating equipment we’d bought (including bike and BBQ) and most of their heavy luggage at the Vermenton base of France Afloat. Soon Francois also arrived home and an animated conversation ensued over aperitifs in their small back yard garden. Sylvie then served a delicious dinner and after a lovely meal and good conversation we all crashed off to bed. Sylvie and Francois’s home is right in downtown Auxerre within a minute’s walk of the medieval streets where the restaurants, art galleries and dress shops are located.

Moissac and Brittany.

We spent a couple of days in Moissac before we handed “Winifred” back to France Fluviale. On the afternoon of our arrival we watched the preparations for a funeral at the Abbaye St Pierre, with 200 or so locals including the Gendarme in full dress uniform and the local cops. The Abbaye dates from 1130 and has a striking tympanum at the entrance. It also has a famous cloister but we never did get to see this.

Another day we followed a walking path from the back of the Abbaye up a hill to an old convent and lookout point with a statue of the Virgin and a great view over the valley of the Tarn and the canal. A little below Moissac the Tarn merges with the Garonne. We almost got lost on this walk but eventually came out at the right spot near the station. The Moissac tourist information office near St Pierre provided a good Internet connection and we were able to bring the Blog up to date.

Eventually on Friday morning, 1 June, we said goodbye to “Winifred” and took the train: first to Argen, then via Bordeaux to Nantes and finally to Rennes. This was a long but interesting trip covering a wide range of geographic regions. At Rennes we stayed at a Kyriad hotel near the station, clean and comfortable with good Internet access via a WiFi access point provided by Orange.

From Rennes we visited St Malo by train the next day. This was a great day trip. St Malo was the centre of the Corsairs, pirates and privateers who for centuries menaced shipping in the English Channel and further afield. It was 80% destroyed during WW2, by the Germans or by the allies, depending on who is telling the story. Lots of tourists, souvenir shops, cafes, museums etc. We walked the ramparts and visited the Fort National which is only accessible at low tide. A large number of ferries service the Channel Islands and the UK from St Malo, with long link-spans to cope with the very large tides. There are also large basins connected to the sea by a lock to service the yachts, fishing boats and cargo vessels.

From Rennes we traveled on Sunday to Mont St Michel, taking a bus from Rennes directly to the Mont itself, traveling along the digue (dyke) at the end. Our hotel, the Mere Poulard, was very close to the city gate so it was easy to get our bags as far as reception where we left them until check-in time and went for lunch and a walk on the ramparts. The tide was so far out the sea was not visible at all, even from the elevation of the high ramparts, and the sand seemed to stretch to the distant headland. Back at the hotel we found that the bags had been moved to the 2^nd floor but we had to get them to the 5^th floor up very narrow stairs. The room was very nice with great views over the digue and the surrounding wetlands. After moving in we continued our exploration of the ramparts, alleys, gardens and belvederes which surround the great abbey itself. We watched the tourists taking guided walks on the sand and mud and a guide demonstrating the effect of the quicksand. We felt we had plenty of experience slopping about in estuaries so we kept our feet dry. Then from the ramparts we watched the tide come in, slowly covering the distant sand banks and then rapidly moving up the channels and over the mud at the foot of the walls. Birds came to feed in the shallows and eels were visible. Back at the hotel we ate sparingly at Mother Poulard’s restaurant where the prices were eye-watering and finished off with a Calvados in the lounge bar. The restaurant and bar are decorated with autographs and endorsements from various famous people who have stayed there in the past, interesting but in the end rather self-serving.

The next morning we took the first tour of the abbey with excellent “audio-guides”. The buildings are truly amazing in scale and complexity, the result of a series of structural failures and re-building over the centuries. We just had time after that to check out of the hotel before catching one of the few buses back to Portorson where we had lunch at a small café with normal prices and waited for several hours for the second train of the day (at 5.50pm) to Caen in Normandy.