Adventures with Bertie

Where did the winter go? Catching up with friends, piling logs onto the roof and generally settling into 'winter mode'. And of course, taking part in the Saint Nicholas Parade - we still don't know who or what we are supposed to be - but it's great fun and the children of SJDL love it.

Before we knew it, it was time to head south to spend Christmas with Les and Jude and Ellie, their 'new' dog. 

But also to set about another adventure - to find a suitable motor home and become 'camping caristes' as the French call them. We'd had little luck with the few dealerships in Burgundy. So armed with lots of useful information from Neil and Angela, who even drove out to Burgundy to share their motor home experiences with us (it was great to spend time with them again), we had a number of dealerships to visit in the south that Les and Jude had already researched. 

Crossing the Millau Viaduct - Norman Foster design

We found Bertie the Burstner at a very good dealership near Avignon and Les and Jude also found their ideal van - also a Burstner, 'Bettie' - result!

Spent a lovely Christmas with Les and Jude and returned to Saint Jean de Losne in time for the New Year's Eve Party. 

This year it was held at the Boating Museum - lots of fun, good atmosphere and a great time had by all.

 

A flying visit middle of January by train back south to pick up Bertie. 
Then the fun began. A whole new set of challenges... 

Fitted the gas bottles, went for a 'shakedown' trip for a couple of nights, helped organise the Valentine's Day party - once again at the Museum, renamed 'Fat Sam's Speakeasy' for the night and had a wonderful time being Mobsters and Molls for the night. 

The following Sunday set off south once again and adventures with Bertie were 
about  to begin....

Back in Saint Jean-de-Losne

We left the friendly port of Decize and locked onto the Canal latéral à la Loire heading for Digoin.

We enjoyed a couple of secluded (and free) overnight stops  before arriving at Paray-le-Monial on the Canal du Centre. The basilica there is really lovely - a miniature version of Cluny, but it also combines seamlessly some beautiful modern ironwork and stained glass.

Joli Roger was moored ahead of us and we took the opportunity to catch up with Chris and Jac and of course,  Roger the dog.

A couple of wet days and a quiet overnight at Génélard, then onto Montceau-les-Mines where we were able to secure a pontoon in the port. Stayed  couple of days, taking advantage of the shops and waiting for the rain to clear. 

Stormy skies in Monceau

Montceau is trying very hard to soften its recent industrial history and become more tourist friendly, but we did think the use of baby pink and blue paint on the bridges was going just a bit too far….

An overnight stop at St Julien-sur-Dheune then onto St-Léger-sur-Dheune - very pretty and sunshine too - so a good place to catch up on washing. 

You never know what you're going to see from the window

The landscape had changed again and we were glad to be back in wine regions with the vine covered hillsides. Our next stop was Chagny where a white duck had decided he really did want to be a pet and made a terrific noise if he wasn't petted often enough. 

Needless to say, our budget did not stretch to dining at the Maison Lameloise a 3 star michelin restaurant.

A quiet mooring at Rully and a long walk to buy local wine….

spoilt for choice….

Then onto Fragnes - a great mooring with a Boulangerie, hairdresser, a very helpful port captain and a great (affordable) restaurant. We ordered some local wine from the capitainerie - which was duly delivered to our boat later that evening by the supplier (his day job was an anaethetist at the hospital in Chalon-sur-Sâone!). Steve and Helen drove down to see us at Fragnes and we enjoyed a great meal at the restaurant and catching-up with all their news.

Through the guillotine lock onto the river Sâone - an overnight in Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, then onto Seurre before entering the canal de Bourgogne at Saint Jean-de-Losne - a full circle!

Verdun-sur-le-Doubs

We felt that we had come into the marina and our winter berth a bit early last year, so playing it safe and not wanting to risk the river flowing too fast as a result of heavy rainfall, we planned to cruise up the Bourgogne maybe as far as Pont d'Ouche for 2-3 weeks. However we first enjoyed a wonderful evening with some very good friends and also a train journey back to Decize to collect the car.

The weather wasn't great and we had also managed to pick up a lot of weed which had immobilised our bow-thruster, so when we arrived in Dijon, were directed to a finger pontoon with free water and electric, it wasn't a hard decision to decide to stay put for a couple of weeks. The port is walking distance from the town and we had a wonderful time being tourists, using the trams, visiting the fabulous market and really being able to discover the town at our leisure.

Market entertainment

Botanical Gardens

Zena was flying out for Half term week at the end of October, so with the weather turning cooler it was back to our winter berth in Saint Jean-de-Losne to repair a couple of leaking ventilators, order logs and generally prepare for winter.

Having advised Zena to bring warm clothes, it turned out to be a lovely sunny week! We were able to visit Dole and Dijon a couple of times and enjoy some leisurely walks along the river and canal. A great week - she took the last but one Ryanair flight out of Dole. That service is so convenient - fingers crossed it continues next year.

Darcy Parc

We are now looking forward to meeting up with old friends in SJDL, and of course meeting new ones.

à bientôt

Nivernais and Friends

Les rochers du Saussois

The Nivernais was a great experience. The canal is beautiful and meanders through fantastic countryside and interesting towns. But for us, we loved the way the canal rejoins the River Yonne where it is navigable. Every so often you round a bend or come through a lock and the whole waterway opens out with weeping willows and sparkling weirs.

 

'Touring in style' - spotted in Auxerre

Matching accessories

Mal and John joined us for a week and we enjoyed a leisurely cruise from Vermenton to Clamecy. The weather was great and we stopped at Mailly-la-Ville and Châtel-Censoir, both great places to spend a night or two. 

Châtel-Censoir

Mal & John getting some exercise en route...

Many 'écluse fleurie' to be found along the canal

We were able to 'leapfrog' our car fairly easily using the local trains which meant we could visit some places further afield. Sheena and Pete on the Hotel barge, 'Elisabeth' had recommended that we visit the Saturday morning market at Toucy, the chateau building project at Guédelon and the town of Vézelay - thank you both - we all enjoyed those trips immensely.

Vézelay

Guédelon

Nick and Val joined us in Clamecy. We continued climbing towards the summit - including the long, hot, flight of locks at Sardy. Nick became pretty proficient at steering Slo-Mo into the locks (there was plenty of practise) 

Nick was pretty good operating the lifting bridges too

It's difficult to describe to people what this cruising life is like but Chris off 'Joli Roger' says it's like going through the back of the 'wardrobe' and coming out the other side - and this IS the other side. Wish we had thought of this description, it captures it exactly. Passing through the three tunnels on the final ascent to Baye epitomises this concept. 

'through the wardrobe'

The mooring alongside the Etang de Baye, although no facilities, was wonderful. We were able to watch the sailing, the birdlife and simply enjoy the wide expanse of water and countryside. We'd been looking forward to hiring a small sailing catamaran for the day but unfortunately there was no wind, so we would have been better off in a canoe - however Pete maintains that he and canoes do not mix - he always ends up inverted!

Étang de Baye

Nick and Val left us at Châtillon-en-Bazois, having first taken our car to Decize (the trains get more complicated after Clamecy). 

Between Panneçot and Cercy-la-Tour we spotted storks - they're the black and white blobs in the picture (honest).

Storks

We hadn't been that enamoured by Decize when arriving by car, but as so often is the case, arriving by boat was totally different. We moored up in the Port having 'shrunk' by just over a metre to comply with the length restrictions. 

Port Decize

It's a great mooring - an imaginatively designed complex and very friendly and well maintained. The willow tree in front of our mooring had a resident heron and a ragondin - so hours of entertainment for us. 

Pauline and Richard on Klaas Jan arrived in the marina on their way to the Nivernais - we enjoyed catching up with them and to hear about their adventures.  Richard's birthday gave us a perfect excuse to have a meal at the Port Hotel - really good. 

Klaas Jan setting off for the Nivernais

When visiting the Saturday market in Decize we noticed some further activity further along the quayside under the trees - some sort of local animal market we thought. We revised our opinion when we came across a display of 4 brand new (very expensive) BMW cars . It turned out to be the annual Decize Horse Sale - world renowned. 

Then we felt as if it were "Apocalypse Now" - we were under the flight path of the air ambulance that came into land at the nearby hospital!

Saturday Mike and Tonia arrived by train from Paris. We picked them up in Nevers - we had been planning to take Slo-Mo up to Nevers and cruise with them back to Decize but the weather had turned very wet and cold and Pauline and Richard had said that that section of the Canal Lateral à La Loire was not exactly inspiring. 

So Sunday, a trip by car to Moulins to enjoy wandering around the town and then a visit to the 'Circus Exhibition' at the Costume Museum where we also had lunch. It was brilliant - would highly recommend it. In fact any exhibition at the museum would be well worth seeing.

Glen & Mike in Moulins

The weather picked up enough for a day cruise back up the Nivernais and the next day another trip to Moulins by car, and in the evening another meal in the Port Hotel - again delicious. 

It was disappointing that we couldn't do more cruising but the time flew by.

Very grand café in Moulins

So the 'Nivernais and Friends' … we've enjoyed so much sharing our 'other side of the wardrobe' life.

Tournesols

July

Back to Migennes where we started our French adventure a year ago - a good spot for washing clothes and the boat and generally tidying up ready for our trip to the UK.

Night Fishing

We were going  back for Paddy and Hannah's wedding but also took the opportunity to have the car serviced, visit the opticians, and doctors too for our MOT's!  We left Slo-Motion at Evans Marine and travelled to Calais via an overnight stop at Amiens. We'd booked a town centre hotel and were able to walk to the cathedral and see the best parts of this lovely city. The highlight was seeing the front of the cathedral 'mapped' in coloured light to show how it would have originally looked when the exterior was painted - truly amazing.

In the UK we spent time with Nick and Val and with Mal and John - thank you all for your kind hospitality and much valued friendship.

The wedding was fantastic  - a beautiful sunny day and a lovely couple who just radiated happiness. The reception in a nearby village was creatively themed and the food was to die for - we're sure everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did - thank you, Paddy & Hannah.

Bridal Limo

We returned to France and rescued Slo-Mo from a very hot and dusty boatyard - complete with new alternator. Then spent a few more days in the basin washing the dust off, stowing all our UK purchased and socialising with some new friends, Pete and Sheena on the hotel boat 'Elizabeth'.

Leaving Migennes, we headed upstream to Auxerre, stopping overnight on a restaurant pontoon at Moneteau, where we enjoyed a hearty meal and bottle of cold Chablis. Just missed their musical evening, which sounded great fun. 

A couple of snacks!

Auxerre quayside was noisy and dusty with construction work, so we moored for the night in the very pretty park just through the first lock on the Nivernais.

Now in Vermenton, a delightful town with good moorings. 

Well used mooring

We have our own trees just outside the boat - the shade has been a godsend during the last week with temperatures in the mid 30's.

 This is the centre of the 'Flotteurs'. In the 16th Century wood was cut from the forests of the Morvan, assembled into rafts and then a crew made the hazardous 10 day journey on the rivers to Paris where the rafts were disassembled and the logs cleaned before being sold to provide firewood for heating. It was not until the early 20th Century that this activity disappeared with the arrival of coal.

Replica log raft

Tomorrow Mal and John arrive and we will continue our journey south.