We set off punctually with our Belgian travelling companions – not that they were particularly friendly. After the first lock, there was a run of about an hour and a half with no locks – quite a surprise after yesterday's exertions. It did include a 1,300 metre narrow cutting through the hills, slightly easier to engineer than a tunnel:
We also passed an impressive fortified castle or farm. Unfortunately the best view lasted only a few seconds, too little to get the camera out. But Diana did get this shot:
After a final ladder of a dozen locks, we found ourselves at the summit. Here we all are going into the last lock, Lock Number 1, with a view of the hills that we were about to tunnel through:
And here's the proof:
We have climbed 378 metres by way of 113 locks spaced out over 156 kilometers, in a little under seven days. There were some frustrations along the way, and trouble with weed in the water near the beginning, but by and large we thought the canal was in pretty good condition. Just a pity there were not more people enjoying it on their boats. Perhaps the sheer number of locks puts people off.
We lunched in a lock on the way up the final flight and decided not to stop in Pouilly, which we reached at 2.30 p.m., but push on through the tunnel. We were lucky to be able to go straight through with no waiting about. The narrow lead-in canal is tree-lined and quite unusual:
Here we are at the entrance. The light is green:
It is cold under there, and we are sorry to leave behind the bright sunshine:
Now we're deep inside the tunnel, navigation lights and spotlight on:
The tunnel took seven years to build and cost the lives of 200 workers. It stretches 3,333 metres, and you can see the end from the entrance, a tiny pinpoint of light. It joins the Seine/Yonne basin to the Saone/Rhone one, thus effectively joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. For us it means it's downhill all the way home now.
Once out, we headed for the small port of Vendenesse, just eight downhill locks away. Easy stuff, with two energetic lock-keepers doing the work, and a rather speedy British barge ahead of us. Oh, the delights of downhill locks – including this unusually decorated lock-keeper's house:
The owner is obviously passionate about old agricultural machinery too:
As we approached Lock 8, which was to be the last of the day, we got a spectacular view of Chateauneuf, which we plan to visit tomorrow morning, taking a break from incessant locking.
Vandenesse itself is attractive and has a rather famous restaurant – the menus looked enticing but unfortunately it is closed on Monday!
We'll head on down tomorrow afternoon and see how far we get. It shouldn't be more than three days to Dijon, and then one more to St Jean de Losne.
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