The Seille River
We turned from the Saone River into the Seille, a small but navigable river 39 kms long, with four locks. The first lock is manned but the other three are operated by the user, our first experience of "doing it ourselves". We were pleased to have Penny's sister Annette as a third member of the crew as most often the locks were the "wrong" way when we arrived, so that we had lots of gates to open and levers to turn. Being able to operate both port and starboard lock gates at once saves time as well as energy. David usually helps with them if we have a lock- keeper, but he was too occupied driving to be able to lend a hand until Anja was tied up in the lock. Once there, he was quick to help but sadly this has left him without his prescription transition long distance glasses which fell off his face as he leapt from boat to lockside.
They went straight to the bottom and there would be no hope of finding them in the silt. He did briefly contemplate diving in the lock, but it would have been too dangerous and also rather unhealthy. Fortunately his optometrist was able to email the prescription which was instantly understood by the optometrist in Macon, even though she did not speak or read English. The new pair will be ready in a week and he will get a spare pair too. This was probably the biggest test to date of David's French speaking skills. We will see in a week if his message was fully understood.
Along the Seille River the real attraction is the peaceful rural environment. The river flows past farms and tiny villages and even at its peak only carried sand barges. We watched a farmer bring in his bales of hay and were stared at by numerous cattle, unusually not all Charolais. There were many fishermen and we were fortunate to pass one casting his nets. He used very much a French-style fishing boat of old, with a large pole in the bow. From this, arms like the spokes of an upside-down-umbrella were deployed with the arms holding the net into shape. He would lower the net using a small winch and pole or paddle the boat before raising the net.
One of the main products of the area is grain-fed chicken so we saw fields of poultry scratching around in the grass or nesting in trees.
There are several small towns including Cuisey, which our guidebook tells us is the fourth book village in France. Charite sur Loire was another "Book Village" full of shops selling old and valuable books, and a gathering place for book lovers who hold a fair once a month. Thousands of people attend the monthly Cuisey fair.
At the end of the river is the main town of the area, Louhans, a 5th century town mainly noted for an architectural feature- it boasts 157 "arcades" in its main street, a very broad verandah in the front of each shop, dating from the 16th and 17 centuries, many beautifully decorated. We spent an interesting lunch time in Louhans but did not visit the other towns. This canal is very popular with hire boats and they take up most of the available moorings. We were quite content to spend two tranquil nights along the river bank.
Pictures show: Eclusiers Annette and Penny Stopped for the night Peaceful Seille Arcades at Louhans Traditional polychrome Burgundy roof tiles Gathering the hay before the rain Old Mill Cinder Heron Fishing Mum and Baby Swan and babies
Best Regards, Penny and Dave
