La Mer, le Canal & les Pyrénées

[FlyingFiona]

I want to go on a canal boat in France so badly now!!!

 

[VPS]

I want to go on a canal boat in France so badly now!!!

We had an absolutely amazing week and I’d go back in a heartbeat

 

[Jacques Vert]

Etang de Baye

Next morning we were ready to go at 0845 but of course we needed to wait for the lockkeeper to arrive. So 0900 came and went, then 0905...around 0920 he arrived and then took about 10 minutes to get organised before allowing us into the lock. Well, this is rural France after all...




Looking back to where we spent the previous night:




Well that's two locks done and the next set at Chavance is also a double lock followed by a triple lock. Now we're making progress:






As we approach the top of the mountain, the terrain starts to level out...




The last lock heading uphill arrives at a lake called the Etang de Baye...










Baye looked like a lovely spot; very pretty with a couple of restaurants and a marina with power, water, etc. I would have liked to stop for the night but again the weather was starting to close in with a few light showers so we decided that rather than stop and probably be confined to the boat by the weather, we would press on and make up some time/distance that we could use later in the voyage when the weather would, hopefully, be better.

So we have now reached an elevation of 235 metres; OK, so the Morvan may not be the world's highest mountain range but remember we are crossing it in a boat!

 

[Jacques Vert]

Les Voûtes de La Collancelle​

Rather than climb over the top of the Morvan, the canal cuts through the top of the mountain by way of three tunnels and deep cuttings between the Etang de Baye and Port-Brûlé, a distance of approximately 4km. This work originally started in 1784 but the canal was not finished until the 1820s.




This part of the canal is quite narrow, not much wider than our boat and is navigated on a one-way alternating basis. Fortunately for us, we only had to wait around 20 minutes for our turn to enter. We also had to wait for this chap to complete his trip in the opposite direction.




Once the passage was clear we were given the green light to begin our passage through the vaults:










The first tunnel is La Collancelle at 758 metres.











The second tunnel is the Tunnel de Mouas at 268 metres...












The Tunnel de Breuilles (212 metres):







The cuttings get very narrow in parts...






And then you arrive at Port-Brûlé:

 

[VPS]

Great photos and it brings back wonderful memories. Have a wonderful time.

 

[FlyingFiona]

Wow oh wow, it gets better and better!

 

[Jacques Vert]

L'Echelle des 16 écluses (the ladder of 16 locks)

Having climbed up one side of the Morvan (and passed through/under the top) it was time to descend into the Yonne valley. On this side of the Morvan the terrain is much steeper so the initial descent is achieved by a "ladder" of 16 locks over a distance of 3km. If you allow for the length of each lock, that's about one lock every 100m.




We had entered the vaults at 1500 and due to the narrowness of the cuttings and tunnels (and the width of our boat) we had to idle through the whole distance, thus arriving at lock number 1 just before 1600. Fortunately, due to the number of locks in quick successtion, there are three lockkeepers assigned to this section, although it could easily do with 2 or 3 more. Also, one of the keepers had brought their partner along to lend a hand and we sped down the valley passing through lock number 16 shortly before 1900.








We came across another boat coming up the mountain...




There is something of a cafe at one of the locks but it wasn't operating as it was the end of the season:




While we were making our way from one lock to the next, the lockkeepers would race ahead to be ready for us...






A couple of the original lockkeepers cottages (now only used as offices as far as I know):








We spent the night in the basin at Sardy-les-Epiry with a few well-earned drinks and a hearty dinner having negotiated 26 locks and 3 tunnels since last night.






Only 45 locks to go...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Corbigny

Next morning we continued our cruise down the Yonne valley; the canal basically follows the Yonne river all the way to Auxerre. The terrain had levelled out somewhat so it's now fewer locks and more distance betwee them. Easy going except the weather is still not great.













The preferred mooring for Corbigny is at Chitry-les-Mines. There is a small basin at Chitry with a restaurant plus moorings with power and water. The is also a motorhome parking base adjacent to the basin. Unfortunately, this establishment is somewhat rundown with a couple of derelict boats next to the basin and the whole area could do with a good tidy up. Still, we were appreciative of being able to plug into mains power and fill up our water tank.

The town of Corbigny is 3km from the basin and the chap at the basin has a car available for hire. When we arrived the normal car had already been taken but he "rented" us his beaten-up personal car for EUR10 for a couple of hours so we could go to the supermarket in Corbigny. (Not sure how legal this is and what happens with insurance, etc. but it was the only way to access the town.)

Corbigny has a population of just under 1,500 so there's not a lot there but it does have a couple of supermarkets and a few boulangeries so it's a good place to top up on supplies. Like a lot of small french towns it has its charms with narrow streets and numerous stone buildings. However it was still raining so we didn't take any photos. Instead we picked up the supplies we needed and headed back to the boat for dinner and drinks.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Beautiful Landscapes and Decaying Villages

Back at post #180 @Freq Flier 2013 asked

How is the every day life in France...?

My answer at #181 was that things seemed pretty good overall in Brittany however in this part of the Yonne Valley, things don't seem to be good at all. It feels very much like a recession.

First, some more photos of the scenery as wee proceed down the valley...




There are a number of these opening bridges along this part of the canal, still working fine after all these years...






When the lockkeepers stop for lunch, so do we...




Dirol: there is a restaurant here but it is only open 2 nights per week...




and the boulangerie is permanetnly closed as are all the former shops




Such a shame as the village of Dirol is very pretty...














We were only in Dirol for an hour while the lockkeepers were at lunch and the weather wasn't great but it was interesting that we didn't see one other person or even a car drive past. All very quiet; something that was to become quite noticeable over the next few days.

 

[Jacques Vert]

After lunch we continued down the Yonne towards Tannay where there is a "Le Boat" base with power and water, our planned stop for the evening.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Tannay

A small village with a population of around 567. As noted above it has a small marina with power and water available. The village is about 2.5km uphill from the canal so we decided to head into town before dinner (at least it will be downhill coming back).








At least there were a few people about...




although the only shop that was open was the tabac, which was also the newsagent, cafe, bar, etc. We had a couple of drinks to steal ourselves for the walk back to the boat. I did notice that three was also a boulangerie but according to the sign on the door it appears to only open when the proprietor feels like it.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Heading back to the boat we had some nice views over the Yonne Valley:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Forgot to mention that there is a well-regarded winnery about 3km from Tannay. Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit it.

 

[VPS]

Tannay

A small village with a population of around 567. As noted above it has a small marina with power and water available. The village is about 2.5km uphill from the canal so we decided to head into town before dinner (at least it will be downhill coming back).

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Aleast there were a few people about...

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I did notice that three was also a boulangerie but according to the sign on the door it appears to only open when the proprietor feels like it.

Very French attitude but still love it

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next day we continued down the valley until it was time for the lockkeepers to have lunch:











this time we happened to be near a small village named Chevroches.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Chevroches

Like Dirol and Tannay, some of the building are well maintained but there are also many that are in need of maintenance. Chevroches has a population of 122 although there appeared to be enough buildings to house at least 5 times that. Clearly many of the buildings have nobody living in them. We spent more than an hour looking around the village and, similar to Dirol, we never saw another person.

These small villages are very pretty but there are no longer any shops and very little activity.












Looking back down the path from the canal/lower village to the upper village:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Clamecy

After lunch and a good look around Chevroches, we proceeded downstream another 3.5km to Clamecy.








At Clamecy there is a small basin with room for about 7 boats. The moorings come with power and water and a chap comes around each evening (except Sundays) to collect the mooring fees (EUR12 for the boat plus 0.22 for each person on board).




At Clamecy the canal and the river both go through the centre of town which makes it a very convenient place to stop. There are a couple of small supermarkets in town and a couple of big ones just out of town plus, more importantly, there are at least 5 boulangeries (although not all of them are open every day). Of course there are also a number of bars and restaurants to choose from as well.

However, according to Wikipeadia, Clamecy had a population of 5,741 in 1968 but that has fallen to 3,593 in 2021. So even here, where outwardly the local economy looks to be doing OK, the town is hardly booming. After speaking to a few locals I came to something of an understanding of the local situation.

The Yonne valley is a farming community and farming has become increasingly mechanised over the past century. As one local pointed out: one machine replaces 100 workers and as there is less and less work available, the people (especially the young) move to the larger towns and cities where there is more work and better opportunities. Of course many countries have witnessed a simolar situation over recent decades however, the Yonne Valley seems to have been hit particularly hard by this shift and quite recently. I suspect that many of these small villages were managing to hang on to some of their shops and businesses until Covid came along and wiped out the last few.

 

[VPS]

My last visit to very rural France was pre Covid so things may have changed but at my friend's village the French government was subsidising the bakery to stay open.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Clamecy part 2

A short stroll from the boat harbour is this World War 1 memorial. It was smashed by the naz_s during their occupation. The civic authorities decided to leave it as is which seems to make a far more poignant statement.




Some photos from around the town...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Market Day in Clamecy