Auxonne

Blissful barging down the River Saone to Auxonne today. Free central mooring at the foot of the old town walls. 

Escape from the canal

Grey clouds hung over us as we left our mooring. In the last few days the canal has held us tightly in its dense tree-lined grip and awarded us with only brief glimpses of the world outside. The sky has been grey and the wind cold. Villages deserted and sign of life lacking. We are now officially canal-crazy and desperate to escape.

At 1pm we left the last lock on the canal and gleefully headed out onto the wide and welcoming River Saone. Everyone’s spirits lifted. Other barges came into view and their crews waved; the river banks seemed so far away and the trees did not try to suffocate us. Even Lobelia seemed happier. She had wide deep water and her speed increased and the drone of her engine changed to a new brighter tone.

Arrived in Pontailler sur Saone and moored alongside a barge owned by a friendly Australian couple. And, after a spot of car repatriation we invited our new neighbours to join us for a celebratory glass of champagne.

Buoyed with bubbles, relief at being on the river and delight at defeating the mosquitoes - we went out for a meal.

Oisilly pots

Notched up 11 locks today and the sun returned as we approached the impressive Oisilly viaduct.

Moored up on an old silo quay near a garden pot shop. The Tucker grandparents disappeared into the shop (which is the only shop for miles) for quite some time and did a massive amount of Christmas shopping!

Revenge of the bitten

The mosquito attacks are on the up and we are now at war. Stocked up on plug-in anti-mossie devices and installed them all over the barge. 

Mosquito Attack

Can’t believe it! Despite the cold weather we are now under attack from mosquitoes. Poor Mum and Dad have been bitten badly. And it’s meant to be a holiday!

But camera in hand, they have walked along the towpath and captured some great snaps of Lobelia en route.

And had a go at driving her too!

Scotch on the locks

Autumn is definitely here and it is damp and a bit cold and a real shock to the system. But the low bridge heights mean that we still have to take the wheelhouse down.

We gambled the weather and opted to travel without our rain cover. It was not a good choice! Our log book entries for the trip said it all. Seven locks with weather notation : drizzle; heavy rain; really rather wet and windy; serious wind – Lobelia pushed sideways onto bank and unable to get into lock.

During brief respites in rain the Tucker grandparents got off the boat and gamely exercised the boys along the towpath. We could hear them all chanting their times tables as they marched alongside us. Grandparents were rewarded for their resilience to the cold and times tables with scotch at the locks.

We moored at Cusey and things improved. The rain and wind had gone and we now had free electricity and water. Better still, (in the boys’ eyes) there was a pizza/kebab van in the car park. With euros in hand they ordered their own food and befriended a 7 year old french boy with whom they chatted and played until dark.

Now we are six

The Lobelia passenger list dropped from 8 to 6 today. Andy’s parents, Dave and Wendy, departed their Lobelia cruise this morning and headed back to the UK in heavy rain. They found the sunshine further north – unfortunately the rain stayed with us at the barge.

It was not a good day for moving the boat, so we explored the area by car and ended up at a goat farm and shop. It was in the middle of nowhere, yet unlike the rest of France, it opened every day for a few hours.

The shop was tiny and the lady who ran it made us wait outside the open door for ten minutes until the official opening time at 4.30pm.

We stocked up with a wide variety of delicious goat cheeses and honey from heaven.

Before leaving we crept into the adjoining barn to admire the goats and praise them for being so generous with their milk : and sneakily they stole Dad’s de Gaulle hat!

More grandparents!

The Tucker grandparents are now onboard and we have a full set for the boys to entertain... or is it the other way around?

Deeper locks downhill

We are now free of lock-keepers. The downhill locks are automatic and operated by sensors. But they are deeper and a little harder to drive into. Andy, at the helm, loses sight of the lock long before the barge enters it. We suddenly felt like novices again as we tried to learn the best way to approach the lock, tie up, jump the ropes down and keep clear of the gates and lock sill. There just isn't room for error. And we experienced a few bumps before we were truly comfortable.

Balesmes Tunnel

Another tunnel. 5km long, narrow and dark with occasional rain! Andy was brilliant (as always) and his parents stuck it out in the wheelhouse too.

Moored up in Heuilly Cotton at the top of the hill. From now on we will be travelling downhill - heading for the River Saone.

Frosty!

A thick frost coated Lobelia this morning, but within hours we were basking in sunshine. Both boys walked with their grandparents along the towpath as we made our way along the canal. Dan took some great photos of the barge en route.

Moored up at a beautiful spot in gorgeous sunshine and visited the nearby lake where the boys went for a swim. Could have sworn it was frosty this morning!

Lovely Langres

Took the day off today and headed for the walled citadel of Langres perched high up on a hill.

We walked the ramparts and enjoyed far-reaching views across the hills. Visited the tower of Navarre and the boys rather liked the rude gargoyles!

Returned to Langres in the evening for a fabulous fireworks display with effects which made the medieval walls look as if they were on fire or under attack from cannon and then later, machine gunfire. 

New Crew

Finally left Chaumont today having moored for free on a commercial mooring for two weeks. Bailey grandparents on board and working hard! 

We linked up with a very jolly lock-keeper who chatted to us in excellent English. The boys loved helping him work the locks and also enjoyed walking with their Grandad along the towpath between the locks.

Travelled 14km; 8 locks and 1 lifting bridge.

The recent rains have returned the countryside to a lush green and the fields are filled with rather sweet looking brown cows with teddy-bear ears.

Reached our mooring at Foulain in sunshine.

Visitors

It is always wonderful to have visitors on Lobelia and it really boosts the boys’ spirits because they love to have a fresh audience for their repertoire of jokes, silly stories, plays and anecdotes. So they were absolutely thrilled when Ann and Christopher stopped off for lunch with us on their way to Macon.

And, an hour after they had departed and Andy’s parents arrived for a nine day stay.  The boys’ eyes lit up as they watched the car being unloaded with treats and items for the boat’s larder.

Three cheers for Daddy

Andy returned to a hero's welcome and even brought the sunshine back with him. He had had a busy week filming on Merlin and was glad to unwind in the hot tub!
Luckily he didn't get long to unwind because we presented him with a long list of things we had broken whilst he was away and which now needed fixing. Once he had done all that, Andy retreated to the engine room and soon found another list of things to fix!

No more school trips thank you!

Well, whilst Andy was away, the boys and I cracked on with school work and got a fair bit done. The weather was not great so we searched for interesting places to visit – and somehow ended up in the cutlery museum at Nogent! Not an experience worth repeating. The rain was grey, the town was grey and by the end of our visit we looked a bit grey too!

On our way home the car broke down. In the middle of nowhere. Our school outing was going downhill fast. No breakdown cover. No Andy. Not much hope. But, with the help of some magical WD40 we resurrected the car, drove home and vowed to take all future trips on foot.

Chez Chaumont

This week we are staying put in Chaumont. Andy is away filming on Merlin for a few days and the boys are knuckling down to some schoolwork. Due to move again next Thursday when Andy's parents come to join us as we continue south.

Back to School

We are thinking of all our friends as they prepare to start a new school year. Best of luck to everyone starting at a new school - we are sure you will enjoy it. We are due to come back to the UK in October for a short visit and hope to catch up with lots of you then and hear about what you have been doing.
Floating school resumes tomorrow! This term's project is about space and the universe.
Last of all, we hope that Caroline, the best school cook in the world, has a gleaming new kitchen and hatch to match.

Chaumont

Took the day off today and drove into Chaumont. Meandered around the quaint streets and dutifully obeyed the Tourist Information Office by marvelling at the curve of the corbelling on the numerous towers in the town.

 

Visited a tower with a special purpose too…

And then drove out of town to look at the magnificent viaduct.

Shimmy into Chaumont

Blue skies and gorgeous sunshine accompanied us on our short hop to Chaumont today along a beautiful and varied stretch of the canal. The expertise of the 19^th century canal engineers is distilled in a mere kilometre in the form of a lock, a two-way tunnel, a canal bridge over the River Marne and a swing bridge. Lobelia passed the agility test with honours and most of her paintwork still intact.

By midday we moored on the outskirts of Chaumont as near as possible to the port.