France To London

France To UK

Through France from south to north by river and canal in 2008

Summary - Barcelona to London

2 May Departed Barcelona, Spain
4 May Arrived at Port Saint Louis du Rhone, France
7 May Demasted at Navy Service
10 May Departed marina and through lock into River Rhone
18 May Entered River Saone at Lyon
24 May Entered Canal du Centre
13 June Left canal system and entered River Seine at Saint Mammes
18 June Into Paris Arsenal Marina until 4 July
5 July Entered River Oise at Compeigne
6 July Entered Canal Lateral a L'Oise
10 July Enforced stay at Epenancourt until 17 July due to broken transmission
19 July Arrival at Halte Nautique Calais
22 July Left canal system for stay in Calais Marina until 28 July
24 July Mast put on by Calais Nautique
28 July Departed Calais for Ramsgate Marina, UK
30 July Around Kent coast to Queenborough on River Medway
31 July Up River Thames and into St Katharine Haven Marina London

Time taken Barcelona to London: 91 days, of these 48 were travelling
Distance covered from Port Saint Louis to Calais Marina: 1372km
Number of locks travelled through: 212
Number of tunnels travelled through: 2

First the rivers Rhone and the Saone, followed by:
Canal Route 1: From Chalon-sur-Saone to St Mammes, Canal du Centre, Canal Lateral a la Loire, Canal de Briare, Canal de Loing Then the river Seine, followed by:
Canal Route 2: From Janville to Calais, Canal Lateral a l'Oise,Canal du Nord,Dunkerque-Escaut Waterway,Aa, Canal de Calais

Preparations and expectations

As is our wont we had consulted as many people as possible about our forthcoming trip through France: should we carry our mast or have it transported, how long would it take, which canals should we go through, what preparations should we make? Of course we had lots of advice and people's views differed greatly, depending on the direction they had travelled and the time of year. We had been warned of the strong mistral from the north and the current we would be fighting against, and advised to have as many fenders as possible and fender boards on both sides. As well as purchasing several books on the canals of France, we were kindly lent, by Rae and Frida on MV "Arabelle", all the Navicarte booklets that we might need. These were indispensable though we found, as many others have done before us, that they are frequently out of date or just plain wrong!

We decided to have our mast transported and did not regret that decision though the cost, at Euro 50 per metre, was not inconsiderable. Our decision was reinforced by meeting one unfortunate sailor in Port St Louis who was waiting for a new mast since his had fallen off his deck into the River Rhone (along with his bicycle). The removal (by Navy Service) and putting back on (by Calais Nautique) of our mast by crane was done quite quickly; the preparation of the mast for transport, removing fragile lights and antenna etc. took rather longer, as well as later re-attaching all the stays in the correct places, refitting sails etc.

As it happened we had a pleasant southerly wind instead of the dreaded Mistral as we went up the Rhone and Saone, and the current was not strong except for one or two short stretches where it reached 3 knots, so we made good progress. Later, going through the canals in mid-France we had torrential rain: though this did not affect our route it caused consternation to some others as the Loire was in flood and access to the Nivernais canal was banned. We also heard of a closure on the Canal de la Marne (possibly due to a damaged lock gate) so were glad we had decided against that route! The VNF (Voies Navigable de France) has a website to check closures but it is advisable to ask about your proposed jouney when you purchase your vignette (permit) - we met several couples who had had to change their plans because of various problems with the canals on their original route.

The main problem we encountered, as anticipated with our draft of about 1.7metres, was finding somewhere to stop for lunch or for the night. The movement of laden commercial barges keeps the middle of the canals at the stated depth of 1.8 metres but silting up nearer the banks makes mooring impossible for a boat with our draft, and in some areas marinas with depth are few and far between. Our solutions included tying up alongside other (shallower draft) vessels (with the owners permission of course), on old stone quays in some towns, and at lock waiting pontoons if it was late in the day. For the duration of one lunch time the lockkeeper let us stay in the lock!

We thought the barge traffic might cause us problems if the canals were narrow and we might get stuck in the mud trying to keep out of their way but the traffic was less than expected and, with only a few exceptions, the bargees were very considerate and friendly. Generally it was safest for us to move towards the side but to maintain steerage way. Only a couple of times did we have to move right into the mud and it was easy enough to reverse out after other craft had passed. We never got really stuck and only twice, for short distances, did we find the depth in the centre of the canal less than our 1.7 metres so that we had to increase engine revs and plough slowly through the soft mud.

Some highlights of the journey

Our first day on the River Rhone took us to Arles (gateway to the Camargue), an attractive city full of well preserved Roman remains. While there we took a bus one day through the Camargue to the seaside village of Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer: on the way we saw flamingos, white horses and the black bulls bred for the local "courses" (humane bull fights). Though the town was full of tourists we enjoyed listening to a band visiting from nearby Aigues Mortes, whilst watching a "course" in the stadium. The bulls were young and each was only in the arena for 15 minutes while the young men (raseteurs) tried to remove the rosettes tied between their horns. None of the bulls was hurt and it was very funny watching them jumping over the inner wall and chasing the men round the corridor. No rasateurs were hurt either but one or two came very close to harm!

Once the VNF office opened in Arles we obtained our vignette and went on our way to Avignon, another beautiful city. The papal court was here for most of the 14th century and the Pope's Palace and Cathedral form a magnificent group of buildings. We now came to the greatest single step we were to make: the 26 metre rise of the cavernous Bollene lock on the Rhone. From entry to exit the operation took 12 min, astonishingly smooth and efficient in contrast to some of the much smaller locks on the canals later in our journey.

At our next stop, Viviers, we wandered in the evening through cobbled streets and archways up to the delightful fortified high city full of charming Renaissance buildings. The bird life in this area was prolific, with kites wheeling overhead, herons perched on the riverbanks (one every 20m it seemed) and swans feeding in the shallows. Further south we had seen many bee-eaters, and further north whilst passing between high cliffs several peregrine falcons swooped down. Later wildlife sightings along the peaceful River Oise included many voles, a weasel, and a fox on the roof of a farm building.

Before long we were leaving the Rhone and entering the River Saone at Lyon, so we felt there was time to stop for a few days, and see a little of France's second city. In the 12th century Cathedral of St John the Baptist in the old town we enjoyed seeing lovely stained glass windows and the moving figures at the striking of the amazing astronomical clock. At the top of the funicular we visited the contrasting 20th century Basilica of Notre Dame, which has an unusually ornate collection of modern stained glass windows and mosaic scenes on the walls; outside we had a great view of the city. We were sorry to leave this lovely area, but after extensive purchases at the morning fruit and vegetable market on the St Antoine Quay we continued north. The picturesque town of Tournus, our next port of call, provided us with sights of floor mosaics inside the 12th century abbey and conical towers outside, as well as a welcome launderette and the best-tasting apricot tart of our entire stay in France. Next day we were in Chalon-sur-Saone where we spent two days to ready ourselves for leaving the river and heading into the Canal du Centre.

Our entry into the canal system was not exactly propitious: first we motored straight past the turn as it was neither signed, nor obvious. We turned round, turned to starboard into the narrow channel of the Canal du Centre and headed for our first lock. Alas, 10 m from the lock, we ran aground! Having come so far...had we made a big mistake in taking this route? Well, once we were in the lock we spoke to the lockkeeper and he reassured us that if we kept to the centre of the channel we would probably get through! The first lock was managed by the lock-keeper and we were able to tie onto an automatically rising bollard just as we had for all the locks on the rivers. From the next lock onwards however we were faced with ladders to climb and rods to pull to initiate the water-filling, often with no lock keeper in sight. Further on things changed again and we would be assisting the lockkeepers to wind the gates closed and open. There seemed to be something new to see and deal with every day - lovely tiling and brickwork of houses, then in Montceau-les-Mines there were lifting bridges which opened automatically for us; next in Paray-le-Monial a giant commercial peniche (commercial size barge) tied up to us so the people onboard could get to shore across our boat - it was interesting to chat to the bargee and to learn that he was carrying wheat, harvested in the Camargue, to Belgium. Au contraire, near Decize, we could not get to the canalside because of the depth, and we moored alongside a private peniche. We made a short side trip by canal to the historic city of Nevers, famed for its faience pottery (fine tin-glazed pottery) which we admired through the shop windows (too expensive for us): inter alia we visited the Ducal Palace, the Espace Bernadette (full of pilgrims to see the body of the saint in her glass casket) and the Cathedral of St Cyr and Ste Juliette - badly bombed during the war and now sporting wonderful modern stained glass windows. Soon after re-joining the main canal we went along our first pont-canal over a river and later over the longest and most famous one crossing the River Loire at Briare (designed by Gustave Eiffel and 662m long). Soon after this we started descending locks, and after a few more days we were out of the canals and into the Seine. One of the high spots, just before we joined the Seine, was begging a lift in a lorry up the hill to the charming village of Sancerre where we learnt all about the viniculture of the area and tasted the wine before walking back to the boat through the vineyards; another day we visited the great chateau and grounds at Fontainebleau, where, for eight centuries, the sovereigns of France retreated from Paris for hunting and other recreation.

Although we met some barge traffic as we motored along the canals, this part of our journey was very tranquil, passing mainly through small villages, seeing the Charolais cattle grazing in the fields, once a deer swimming in the canal, some of the lock-keepers offering us local produce. All very pleasant, apart from the rain which was torrential for a couple of days. Once we joined the Seine the traffic increased but in a couple of days we were moored in the marina at the Bassin de l'Arsenal, Paris. This was a lovely location with the hollyhocks, roses and other flowers in full bloom in the adjacent gardens and the golden statue of a figure 'The Spirit of Liberty' atop the column in the Place de la Bastille gleaming in the sunshine, at the end of the marina. We were well placed for walking to Notre Dame Cathedral and along the left bank to the Botanic gardens, or going further afield on the metro to Monmartre and Montparnasse. When daughter Cass came for a visit we took the tourist bus to get to the more distant sights including the Eiffel Tower.

Only too soon it was time to leave Paris and move on downstream to Conflans-Ste-Honorine where we turned into the River Oise. At Compiegne we refuelled (first time since Barcelona) and later that day entered the canal system leading to the Canal du Nord. We had been through a short tunnel earlier in the trip but now we went through the Panneterie Souterrain tunnel, more than a kilometre long, with passing traffic going the other way at the double-width middle section - a bit unnerving but we didn't hit anything! The next day had an even bigger test for us when, in the Epenancourt lock, we found the motor would not engage with the propeller. Using our boathooks we poled ourselves to the end of the lock, and with the help of the lock-keeper pulled ourselves clear and tied up below the lock. It was clear that we could not move anywhere and the lock-keeper arranged for a mechanic to come the next day. We had a sleepless night as we contemplated whether the engine might need to come out for which a crane might be needed, and soon! However next day Lauren the mechanic arrived, identified and removed the worn transmission drive plate, which he took away, along with a large number of euros! Would he get a replacement, would he even return? We were stranded in this rural location with no public transport, the nearest town Peronne 15km away, but fortunately in the village itself we found the welcoming Bar des Etangs which served good meals and had a small epicerie selling bread and other essentials. However for money to pay the forthcoming bill and for fresh produce we needed to get to Peronne: the solution presented itself when we hitched a lift with our bicycles on a motorboat going that way, cycling back laden with various goods, until a puncture on the rough towpath forced Rosie to walk the last 5 km. For the days awaiting the new drive plate, we spent our time cycling around the pleasant countryside of the River Somme to pretty villages, sampling the locally smoked fish, and visiting a War Graves Commission cemetery for young men killed in this area during Second World War - these cemeteries always make you sad. Six days later we were relieved to see Lauren, whom we were to name "the magic mechanic" when he fitted the new part, and all was well. We sped on our way the same day, keen to make sure we arrived in Calais in time for our scheduled appointment with son Alexander and his friend Simon. Apart from struggling through a silted part of the Canal du Calais, and some waiting for bridges to be opened for us we made up the lost time. We were able to rest for a few days at the Halte Nautique in Calais before arranging to go through the locks and bridges and into the marina at the right stage of the tide. Our foray into the rivers and canals of France was over!

Conclusion

It had proved a very interesting experience. We had heard of others making the journey in much shorter times, but we felt we had moved more quickly than we wanted, and would have liked to visit more of the towns and countryside we had passed by. Will we do it again? Well, not in this boat: we would get a boat with much shallower draft and a better shape to negotiate the locks. Will we buy that boat? Time will tell!

P.S.
Alex joined us for a successful, swift and sunny crossing of the Channel to Ramsgate. We stopped there for a couple of days for tidal reasons, making the first leg as far as Queenborough one day, then up the River Thames, where Alex cracked open a celebratory bottle of champagne as we crossed the Greenwich meridian. Just before Tower Bridge we entered the lock into St Katharine Haven where Avalon will be for the next 6 months at least.