The Saone River

St Jean de Losne Town Quay

St Jean de Losne was a culture shock. From drifting along the Burgundy Canal, seeing perhaps two or three boats a day, we were suddenly in the major inland pleasure port of France with boats everywhere. We left the Canal to join the Saone, confidently expecting to find a spot in the Town Port, but found it full with nine boats squeezing in. The two pleasure boat ports which can accommodate 350 craft looked to be full too. Fortunately we had previously discovered an unusual though quite shallow spot almost under the main bridge in Losne, on the far side of the river from the town of St Jean de Losne and from here we watched the busy traffic on the river, in and out of the Canal and Harbour area, forty or fifty boats a day. There were many hired boats, lots of private boats like ours, large and small, hotel barges and commercial barges as well.

A really good feature of such a big port is that it has an excellent chandlery and also well- priced fuel. We took advantage of both these features then set off along the Saone River.

River Saone on a quiet morning
Here was a further major change. From having one little lock every kilometre, we had one huge lock on each day's travel. We were also taking advantage of a slight current, so the trip along the Saone was relaxed and fast. Agriculture seems to be the main occupation along the river banks. We decided to explore an arm of the river to the town of Chatelet. Since the 1980s this arm has been bypassed though it is clearly much used by local people for water sports particularly fishing. Finding a spot for the night was hard but we ended up tied to a wall leading to an old lock. To explore the town David scaled the wall with great difficulty like a rock climber but Penny decided to stay put. Sorry, no photos, we could not get the camera up the wall safely. Next stop was Gergy where we were able to find an excellent quay to give access to an interesting town which has clearly been settled for many centuries. There are vestiges of a Roman road as well as other Gallic and Roman sites.

Interesting house near Gergy
From the Saone we turned into the Canal du Centre, just before the city of Chalons sur Saone. This Canal was planned in the 16th Century and constructed between 1783 and 1793, to link the Saone River to the Loire, and eventually with the Seine. Our first stop was the tiny town of Fragnes, a friendly port with a helpful Capitaine. We decided to take advantage of the security it offers and the proximity to Chalons Station to take the train to Marseille for a few days.  

Another still morning- Gergy sur Saone

Charolais cattle on the banks of the SaoneBest Regards,

Penny and David