DATE: Thursday 27 July, 1995
PLACE: Verdun sur Ie Doubs to Chagny
WEATHER: Cool but warming
REMARKS: The night's rain has reduced the temperatures -
indeed I resort to a jersey while on the river!
We leave at 0830 and retrace our steps for a few kilometres
until we enter the Canal du Centre. The morning is cool and
cloudy, and we even encounter a brief shower of rain which
drives us inside.
Immediately we enter the Canal we encounter the first Lock
- the first of 10 which will lift us anywhere between 3.19m
and 5.20m at a time.
After the first one or two, Dave gets me to take over and
negotiate the lock entry - of course we hit the side once
or (more likely) several times, and hard words are uttered
about positioning for tying up.
From then on he 'abandons ship' and rides and walks from
lock to lock. They are close together - only 250 or 300 metres
apart in a couple of cases. Driving into the locks is a little
intimidating, but four pairs of hands makes a difference to
tying up, and my confidence grows.
We lunch briefly en route, and then continue our leisurely
pace, into an increasingly hot afternoon, reaching Chagny
in time to shop, pause at a bar, and depart for a quiet mooring.
We even have the strange sensation of traveling over a railway
line, on which the TGV passes.
This is achieved on a quiet stretch opposite Santenay -
a beautiful, picturesque village backed by vineyards on the
hill-slopes.
Much of the day has been spent following a contour of the
land, which has meant we have a view as the canal passes up-slope.
We have returned to arable lands, and magnificent sun-flower
fields line the canal-side. Many of the trees have clumps
of mistletoe, some of which I liberate at lunch-time.
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