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!