After we left Rully we stopped at Chagny for a couple of hours to visit the market and there was a Brocante as well. Brocante’s vary in quality – they are basically a boot fair or flea market but this one was particularly good. After lunch we moved on to a wild-camp just after a small village called Remigny. Our mooring overlooked the Premier Cru vineyards of Santenay and up to the Montagne des Trois-Croix. The view was spectacular!

On 27^th we moved on to St Leger and decided to spend a few days there so we could get the scooter off and explore a bit more of this region. We got in touch with friends of ours, Sheila and Alan, who were coming along the canal in the opposite direction and it seemed we might meet in St Leger, which turned out to be the case when they arrived the following day. It was lovely to catch up and we had a couple of very competitive games of Petanque (Boules) on the quay next to the boat as well a nice, very French, meal in a canal side restaurant.

On Thursday we went our separate ways as they headed on towards their winter berth in the Soane and we continued our climb to the final summit of our journey this year. On route we stopped in St Julien sur Dheune.

We are really enjoying this final leg of our trip – we are finding this canal to be the nicest we have been on so far. There are numerous places to stop and the countryside is very pretty. Even if there is no actual halte the canal side is being looked after so going alongside is possible almost anywhere.

Today we left St Julien and having passed through the last lock taking us upwards we arrived in Montchanin. There is a basic halte here with bollards but no services. It’s not a problem for us, we filled up with water at St Leger and with the solar panels we can do without electricity for several days. If we get low on power we can fire up the generator to charge the batteries.

Having secured the boat we headed into the village to walk the boys and stumbled across a pizzeria where we had a lovely lunch and booked a table for tomorrow night. After, we headed over the canal to the park so the boys could swim and we took a little trip down memory lane to 16 years ago when we arrived here on our way to the Med with our first motor cruiser, Armanda.

We have approximately 70kms and 30 locks to go before we arrive at our final destination this year. We are hoping the weather improves a little – it hasn’t rained but has definitely cooled down to a more Autumnal feel but it looks like it’s warming up over the next few days. Hope so – don’t want this summer to end.

Having had such an early start to get off the Saône we decided to finish our day at lunchtime, which meant just 9 locks and 15 kms along the canal. The lock keeper advised there was a nice halte in a small place called Rully so we took her advice and stopped.

What luck that we were right opposite a Vin Cave advertising degustation (tasting) of their wines and rum. Rum? The French don’t make rum! The owner of this cave does. Well, not strictly true, he buys white rum in Martinique and brings it back to while away several years, if not decades, in wine casks to give it depth of colour and taste, then he adds all sorts of spices and flavours to create a wonderful variety of white (Chardonnay casks) and dark (Pinot Noir casks) rums.

Having tasted most of the red wines on offer and 3 of the different rums we came away with 2 bottles of Rully Pinot Noir and a bottle of Flibustier Rhum, flavoured with ginger, orange, star anise and vanilla, among other delights.

Our host was Matil, a very knowledgable young lady who has chosen this for her career and is hoping to go to Bordeaux next year to learn about that particular wine region. We had a very enjoyable hour and a half and had a little snooze when we got back to the boat!

We left Auxonne on Monday 20th August and made our way to St Jean de Losne.  Both ports are run by a private company, H2O, but they couldn’t be more different.  Auxonne is clean, well run, inviting and friendly.  St Jean is none of the above, so we stayed on the public quay, which was lovely. It meant we were right on the river so we could watch boats heading up and down, and swim from Thirza whenever the mood took us.

Our stop after Foulain was just as nice – Rolampont provided space for 2 boats outside the main village with electric and water for free. It was a perfect spot for the boys as they had the freedom to be off the lead and roam at liberty. That was until Brody spotted the cows in the field behind us and started barking like crazy. Cows are wonderful animals. Instead of being spooked and running away they came closer to inspect this tiny creature that was making all the racket – which made Brody bark even more until Bosun joined in. Daft dogs – they briefly lost their freedom until the cows lost their interest and headed over the hill to the other side of their field.

We moved on to the lovely fortified town of Langres the following day: and stayed for 2 nights. Again, free electricity and water but the electric was only available between 07:00 and 08:00 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 1900 and 20:00. Pretty useless really so we didn’t use it – didn’t need to. I put the generator on to bring the washing up to date and due to the fair weather it was all washed, dried and back in the wardrobe by midday.

We got the scooter off and visited Langres, way up on the very top of the Plateau de Langres and looked out over the panoramic views back the way we had come, over the Lac de Liez and towards the dreaded 4820m tunnel. The lake looked inviting so we headed over for a wonderful, refreshing swim. It was sooooo nice! And followed by a glass of wine in one for the lakeside bars………ok, the only lakeside bar!

The tunnel approach is very spooky – the canal narrows down to the width of the tunnel walls, 8m, and the trees on the steep slopes close in on the cutting. It is a one-way system and you definitely don’t ignore a red light but we pressed our remote control and were almost instantly rewarded with a green light to continue. There are 10-meter markers the entire length of the tunnel so you always know exactly where you are in the event of an emergency. The tunnel lights up automatically as you enter and it is 1.5kms before you can start to see the pinprick of light at the other end. As you complete each 500m section the lights turn out behind you and you can look back at the disappearing light of the tunnel entrance.

Thankfully, we passed through without a hitch, although we were cold by the time we emerged back into the sunlight. It is a relief to have the last tunnel of the journey behind us as we enter the next staircase of 8 locks that mark our arrival at the descent to the Soane. Just 43 locks and 64kms to go before we re-enter civilization.

We had been told by fellow boaters that there were very few stopping places after the tunnel. We thought they were exaggerating – they weren’t! We ended up just spending 3 more nights on Le Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne. All on our own and all in beautiful settings: Villegusien-le-Lac, a wild mooring on the canal bank; Cusey, a very nicely kept quay that was empty except for us; and the most beautiful of all, Oisilly. Having passed the point where the book told us the halte at Oisilly was situated we had given up hope of finding somewhere decent to stop when a small concrete quay with 2 large concrete bollards came into view, situated perfectly in the countryside with fields full of horses either side of the canal. It was a long way off the main road and apart from a man who came to tend his horses on the opposite canal bank during the evening we didn’t see another soul. It was magical. When night fell the sky was crystal clear and full of stars. With no artificial light to spoil things it reminded us of Diou.

So, today we are set to leave the canal and enter the River. We’re not sure exactly where we’ll stop tonight but hopefully we will be in the lovely clean flowing water of the River Soane and we’ll all be able to swim and have some fun. We’ll also be able to re-stock the boat as we haven’t even found a boulongerie on this side of the tunnel…..not one single village has one. I thought that was illegal in France!!! Fortunately, with a good-sized fridge and freezer on board we could go another 3-4 days without a shop if necessary. Especially as I found ½ a bottle of whiskey in the back of the cupboard yesterday – just as I thought things were getting desperate!

We haven’t downloaded our pictures from the camera for a good few days having been constantly on the move but I’ll get some pics up when we are settled and no doubt the boys will have a tail or 2 to tell.

We ended up pushing on to Chaumont and stayed one night.  The local drug dealers set up camp next to our boat at 1am and didn’t leave until 4am so instead the 3-day stop we’d intended, we left the next day and moved on to Foulain.  What a difference!  A pontoon to ourselves next to a great big grassy area far enough away from the road to give the boys their freedom.  It was pitch black at night with no street lights at all – and you could’ve heard a pin drop, it was that quiet.  Much more our style.  We woke this morning feeling fresh and rested.

So, we’ve heard about the storms and flooding across France and want to report  that we’ve had a couple of storms and heavy downpours of rain but nothing that has caused us any problem.

We’re aiming for Rolamont today, but who knows where we’ll end up.

We had a lovely time in Chalon and enjoyed the company of Haans, Erica and Danai (the correct spelling I think!).  Chalon is a surprise in the sense that you expect it to be something really special but it just doesn’t quite live up to it.  There is a lot of poverty, people living on the streets, a drug culture, alcoholics and an undercurrent of threat that never really goes away. You’re on your guard in Chalon – even walking the dogs first thing in the morning.  Alongside this moody element is the most fantastic park for everyone to enjoy.  Dead-flat football pitches sunk into the ground with solid wooden goal posts and long deep steps to one side creating a stadium effect. A brilliant skateboard/scooter jump and trick area with every imaginable wall, slider, chute and curve to test even the most daring rider.  A great play area with swings, stepping posts and a huge triangular climbing net.  Not to mention the climbing wall, table tennis  tables, tennis court, badminton court,  beach volleyball area and a crazy golf course.  All free.  All there for the community to use and enjoy.  It’s like they cater for the 0-12 year olds then after that you’re on your own.  It’s a shame, because it has the potential to be a superb town.

We left Chalon on Tuesday and found a great stop at La Chaussée sur Marne.  A big grassy area with no traffic at all to worry about with the boys – and across the canal and river bridges a lovely little beach providing the perfect swimming place for us all.  We had a lovely swim among whirlpools and back eddies that pushed and pulled us all over the place.  We all loved it.

The following morning – after a horsefly took an enormous chunk out of the back of my knee, we moved on to Vitry Le Francois.  What a dump.  As we approached we didn’t like the look of it and as we berthed in the port we knew we were only making do because there were supermarkets nearby and we needed to restock some provisions.  We walked the dogs then headed to the nearby L.Eclerc.  When we got back to the boat Frank could see the Capitainerie had returned from lunch and went to pay.  “How much!?” Could be heard in Chalon when he was asked to cough up €20 for the night.  No no, we left and spent a very pleasant evening on the canal bank near Goncourt.

What a surprise it was to wake up list!!!!!

The minute I put my feet on the floor I knew something was wrong.  I walked the length of the boat and up into the wheelhouse to look along the coach roof.  Yep, we were definitely listing to starboard.  I alerted the captain and we got onto the bank to see if we could move Thirza away from the side. No we couldn’t.  She was stuck fast to the canal bed.  Looking at the canal wall under the bridge we reckoned the water was between 100mm and 150mm (4-6in) lower than it had been when we went to bed.

We fired up the engine and between that and the bowthruster she was soon free of the bank and we were underway in no time…….phew!!!!

Just 6kms into our journey we came across a lovely shaded halte and as my insect-bitten leg had become infected (swollen, red and rock solid in the direct area of the bite) we decided to trust the navicarte book that reliably informed us there was a pharmacy in the village of Orconte, just a few hundred metres from the canal.

As we were mooring a German guy from the boat already moored there came to help and I asked him if there was indeed a pharmacy here.  “Nein, hier ist nur ein Bäcker”.  In truth he spoke perfect English and said there was only a bakers in the small village, but he and his wife were going to Vitry le Francois and they could get me something whilst there.  Yes please.

They came back with hydrocortisone cream and within a few hours my leg had returned to normal size and the redness had reduced.   There are a lot of nice people in the world.

The halte also caters for Motorhomes and we were joined by a local Frenchman and his wife during the evening.  They were both teachers and happy to give us an entire history lesson on the towns and villages along this stretch of water.  It was nice to chat with them but eventually the bored student came out in both Frank and I and we brought the evening to an end by walking the dogs.  They come in handy occasionally!!

Not too far really. Having arrived in Sillery we decided it was the perfect spot to visit the vineyards and villages of Grand Cru champagne and to sample some of their offerings.

Nick and Fiona landed as planned with Amelia and Harvey (chocolate Lab). We had a fabulous couple of days and enjoyed many of the sights, smells and tastes of champagne between Sillery and Epernay. They got to visit the house of Laurent-Perrier, their favourite champagne, and took away a couple of souvenirs (we were lucky enough to help them drink one……very nice!).

We also stopped at Le Phare, an old lighthouse perched between Verzenay and Verzy overlooking the vineyards of some of the most famous champagnes. It would have been rude not to, so we purchased a bottle of fine champagne and sat in the comfortable gardens to while away a very present hour.

We had a lovely walk with the dogs in the ancient forest above Verzy, which contains these strange, twisted dwarf trees that are beautiful and intriguing.

We also fixed an air leak on our dinghy and gave our new Tohatsu engine a run out (or run in to be perecise!).

I think it’s fair to say a good time was had by all and the boat felt empty when they left us on Wednesday. We didn’t hang about and after purchasing a few essentials we moved on to Condé sur Marne for one night, then pushed on to Chalon en Champagne, where we will stay for a few days.  We’ve managed to arrive on a festival weekend so there are all sorts of concerts, pop-up bars and activities going on so it should be good fun.

It’s nice, because we have caught up with a Dutch couple we met in Reims, Haans and Erica, on their boat M.S.Joop, with their rescue dog Dhana (I think that’s how you spell it).  She is very nervous but beginning to enjoy tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber’s company (Bosun and Brody, not us!).

Also, the last time we came to Chalon en Champagne was with our good friends Colin and Carol.  We happen to be moored next to a boat and we met “Colin and Carol” who own her.  We did get a text from the real C&C to say “Don’t trust them, they’re imposters!”.

Anyway, for now we are heading off to the concert nearest to us in the Jard Anglais.  With hip flasks filled and a blanket under arm, we should be good for a few hours.