2000

BACK TO CALENDAR 2000

 

 

 

Sept 4                                         Monday
St Dizier to Chevillon (le Moulin Rouge restaurant). (Canal de la Marne à la Sôane)
Parked foxy chick type car in boat park.
Hit first lock on time - an early 11.30 - , then moored up outside VNF office - 800 metres further on and announced long pause for shopping to moustachioed organiser type woman who tried to find our vignette (first time since 18 months ago) to check it. It was, of course, on the other, or canal side of the boat. Felt this was personal problem - hers.
Hit town with rucksacks, M.D., and Bromptons looking for bread and booze.
Unfortunately, Monday is a bad shopping day - everything is open on Sundays, and Mondays is day off - closed, fermé. (Direction of accent on "e" confirmed by Jules who got 16% in her "o" levels).
Found a Liddel (Kwiksave type S.M.) and another unknown one for bread.
Left St Dizier full of booze, bread, water, and people, and incapacity to take things too seriously.
Southwards down Canal de la Marne a la Sôane. Immediately caught in toils of travelling L.K.’s incessant demands on information on future intentions.
Since we don’t know, how can we tell them?
Regrettably, this sort of thing does lead to a certain amount of stress - we don’t want to give them a hard time, after all they are helping us, but at the same time, it is difficult not to be harassed into stopping and starting at times and places inconvenient to us, but permitting the L.K. to knock off early, or do the minimum of work. Favourite, of course, is for them to try and arrange it all when boat is rising in lock, when we are busy concentrating, and can’t hear anyway.
The run was fun - typically French, with rural, villages and small factories mixed to-gether, without one spoiling the other.
Strange effect of feeling that we are climbing into the mountains, although, when added to-gether - the actual gain in altitude is probably a hundred metres or so.
 
Sept 5                                             Tuesday
Chevillon (le Moulin Rouge restaurant) to Rouvroy/Dongeur. (Canal de la Marne à la Sôane)
Very autumnally cold in morning - plenty rain in the night.
2 empty peniches passed us first thing, second one breaking a mooring line (one of ours). He was going much too fast, but we were not well moored, with only 2 ropes and no springs.
The mixture as before - pleasant and interesting run (very French) through valley of the upper R. Marne - now sizewise very much more like an English River - not a rush-Albert-downstream-sideways type of river.
We, of course, are not on the River Marne - it runs through the valley beside us.
Countryside becoming "smaller" - smaller fields, all fenced in now, small villages, and generally "green and pleasant land". All running up to the forest boundary.
Superb barbecue in the evening, after several explorations by all parties to the 2 local villages.
It is almost automatic, by now, that on stopping the bikes are unloaded onto the towing path and unfolded ready for instant use - and instantly used they are.
 
Sept 6                                         Wednesday
Rouvroy/Dongeur to Bologne (Canal de la Marne a la Sôane)
Gentle motoring day - except for a few moments of total terror when driving taken over by guests.
Took bikes off in evening for exploratory run round villages - very nice, including 2 communal washing houses.
 
Sept 7                                            Thursday
Bologne - Chaumant (Canal de la Marne a la Sôane)
Comfortably off to usual 10.00 meeting with L.K. at first lock.
A lot of the morning was taken up with planning Jules and Roch back to car, and then back to us, then back to England! Very complicated!
The day’s run was through some of the best country yet - lovely vistas of forest bordering agricultural land with pretty villages and towns.
Feature of this canal is the way it appears to be slightly above surrounding land level, and the sides have not tumbled down to bush, so the countryside is visible to be enjoyed, and unusually, a good view of the countryside can be had from the boat itself.
Arrived on P. de P. at Chaumant, but rather unimpressed, short line of good moorings with water and electricity and white pea gravel.
Moored up half in and half out - usual situation, at least half the moorings taken up with permanently moored boats.
The half of us that was out was on a continuation of piling revets from the canal, level land, slightly grubby and unkempt, but perfectly satisfactory. Price in the P. de P. was fr 50 + fr 10 for electricity. Since we couldn’t get electricity (the nearest point was fully occupied) we felt that to be charged anything for our mooring was not on.
Jules did rush-off-on-Brompton-job to le Klerk S.M. (500 m) for bread and some goodies for lunch.
After lunch family party to le Klerk for major shopping - J. and M. for booze, us for food and fuel.
Nasty shock. No diesel available, and even if it was, jerricans not allowed - not even for boats.
Very little petrol, only unleaded available.
Apparently spin off from French fishermen’s successful protest at cost of fuel. Lorry drivers and farmers are up in arms, and have effectively shut all oil refineries by sealing them off with ring of lorries. Not un-naturally, they want the same conditions as the fishermen!
Apparently this has been going on for the last 3 days, but being us in our isolated private shell, we knew nothing of it.
We have about 28 gallons, or 21 days motoring in the boat. Jules has not enough petrol to get her out of France!
They have gone back to St Dizier to pick up cads car. When they return think there will be lots of "planning"
 
Sept 8                                             Friday
Chaumant to Verbiesles. (Canal de la Marne a la Sôane)
Delayed start, learnt from here on L.K.s on this canal do work on Sundays, although all literature and guides say they don’t!
Section between Chaumant and Vitry - they don’t. Only canal left in France that don’t.
Petrol for cads car obtained by early morning queuing.
J&R left latish for trip ahead back to UK - sob, sob, sob!
Back to S.M. again - the young move far too fast for us, and we forget things, or get muddled!
Left moorings at 1400.
Superb day, canal quite beautiful.
Usual trouble with L.K. trying to unload us in unsuitable pounds at the start of their shift, but eventually got a reasonable lad, who introduced us to a nice bush mooring on piling revets.
Fell when mooring and landed on tar track onto finger tips - sore!
Typing a burden!
 
Sept 9                                             Saturday
Verbiesles to Rolampont. (Canal de la Marne a la Sôane).
Still best weather of summer.
Scenery best yet, farms bigger by the looks of things, mixed farming, and most of the stubble has either been, or is being, ploughed - autumn!
Went slow to conserve diesel.
Arrived in "town", but tiny P. de P. with very high jetty full (2 boats)
Found a nice bush mooring 1 km back up the canal on revets, but only achieved after 4 or 5 failed trials in and around town, and opposite recognised moorings.
Lovely, quiet and peaceful - then the wind changed and we could hear the traffic on the road.
 
Sept 10                                             Sunday
Rolampont to Langres. (Canal de la Marne a la Sôane).
Still v. slow and stately. Diesel.
Into Langres for lunch, quite nice P. de P. with some young trees for shade, electric and water.
1 other small boat, otherwise empty.
Pretty girl for L.K. (student).
Used mains electricity to do a clothes wash.
Up to Langres in evening on bikes. Langres is an old fortified town on the top of a steep and extensive hill.
Superb adventure, Langres is quite lovely and very historical - major 3 km climb up to top pushing Bromptons most of the way, quick and inadequate exploration of town, shandies at pavement café then onset of dusk forced departure downhill all the way to the boat. "smoking break blocks"!
We would like to have stayed here, and explored some more, but once again commitment to starting time had to be fulfilled, and we are booked through the tunnel to-morrow at 10.00.