You get to the stage where you don't want to see another uphill lock in your life – and then the next one heaves round the corner. All the same, we made it as planned, thanks to an efficient lock-keeper who was with us all day. In the morning he was on his own, since the colleague rostered to help him simply didn't turn up. Hangover, maybe. So we were wondering whether we could make it all the way to Pont Royal, because the going is obviously slower with just one person.
But after lunch a second guy appeared – who also helped Diana in getting our line over invisible bollards some three metres above us on the quayside. The two men believed in speedy locking – winding the sluices fully open as quickly as possible. Fortunately, apart from a few bumps, we were OK near the back of the lock, though controlling the boat with one line was hard work.
Steadily climbing, we saw the landscape become more remote, with a hill country feel, though with plenty of agriculture still:
Cows dotted the upper slopes, busily munching the grass:
The locks were so close together, barely 100 metres at times, that our compulsory lunch break was spent at the bottom of the next lock to be negotiated. It wasn't too bad, even when the heavy doors closed out the beautiful view:
Having set off at about 9 a.m., we finally arrived at Pont Royal at 5.15 p.m. feeling pleased with ourselves, but pretty exhausted.
There is a Belgian boat moored behind us, with which we will be locking through tomorrow. There are just 13 locks left to reach the summit at Pouilly en Auxois, and the Belgian gentleman, who helped us moor, is happy to go through in front, which suits us fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment