Life is good on the Canal du Centre

Whilst we still have mostly warm days of 26+ degrees, there’s definitely a change in the air. The nights are getting down to single digits, the mornings are chilly and the sun doesn’t rise properly until nearly 8am. So Ivan and I are heading south to spend winter in the marina in Roanne. This means turning off the Saone River into the Canal du Centre and then following the Canal de Roanne à Digoin.

Along the way we’ve experienced really deep locks, met some wonderful people and have seen beautiful countryside. And we also discovered our favourite village so far, one where we both said “yep, we could live here”.

Giant locks on the Canal du Centre

Most of the locks we’ve experienced during our four months on the French canals have been anywhere from 1-3 metres deep. So it was no wonder we were a bit nervous about approaching the first lock on the Canal du Centre, which was 10.7 metres depth. We didn’t need to be nervous at all, as the lock is so well equipped it was super easy. In fact, one of the easiest.

The floating bollards make it so simple. All we needed to do was drive into the lock (which has a lock keeper), we tied the front and the back of the boat to the one bollard, we waited for the doors to close and voila. The floating bollard came up with the boat all the way to the top.

We now know why boaties love the Canal du Centre

Quaint little villages, rolling countryside, vineyards and plenty of quiet places to tie up at night – what more could anyone on a canal boat ask for? This is the Canal du Centre that we’ve heard so many good things about and it certainly has lived up to its reputation.

Our favourite village so far

If there is a heaven on earth, surely it is Santenay on the Canal du Centre. This ancient village sits on the side of a hill in the Burgundy region, surrounded by vineyards and lush farmland. It has restaurants, a boulangerie (bakery), a bucherie, a small supermarket selling regional food, multiple wine caves and beautiful old houses. It also has the most magnificent chateau that is now a winery. Perfect! Ivan and I both agreed that we could live here. Not that we will, just that we could. Maybe one day.

We visited Santenay’s Domaine du Chateau Philippe le Hardi which dates back to the 9th century in the Roman era. The chateau was extended in the 1300’s by Philippe the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy and remained in his family for centuries. In 1599 King Henry IV planted plane trees that are still there today – seen in the below video.

Meeting lovely people

On our travels we have met some wonderful people we will definitely stay in touch with. We met Martine while we were moored near Santenay. She is a delightful person and so much fun. We had an apero with her (afternoon drinks) which lasted late into the night. Martine’s boat is the one in the photo below behind our boat, Laura. Martine operates her boat singlehandedly which is quite amazing, as both Ivan and I are needed to operate Laura. She has done this for over 40 years because her husband (who sadly passed away six years ago) was a quadriplegic. He was one of the first people with a disability to live on a boat in France. What an inspiration! Martine is an absolute treasure.

Seeing a deer and meeting Canadians all in one go

One day we were cruising along and ended up going through a number of locks with another boat. It was owned by a Canadian couple called Neil and Heather who we liked straight away. Here’s their boat in the below video. This is quite an amazing video as Ivan was just randomly filming us cruising along (with Neil and Heather’s boat in front) when a deer shot into view! How often does that happen when you have a camera in hand? I think you can tell how excited I am.

Neil and Heather were lovely and were heading in the same direction as us so of course we caught up with them and had far too many drinks. It was only going to be one, but you know how these things go. They are going to spend 3 months a year on their boat in France and the rest of the time in Canada where they have a houseboat on a lake. Sounds like an excellent idea to me. In photos one and two we all look pretty tidy. But photo three was probably the most accurate after too many bottles of wine. We hope to see them next year when they come back to France.

Walnuts, apero and antique motorbikes

One afternoon we were moored in a tiny village called St-Berain-sur-Dheune right next to a giant tree. A couple came out of the village with long poles and started hitting the branches of the tree until the fruit fell, which they collected. We asked them what they were collecting and it turns out it wasn’t fruit but actually walnuts. They gave us some and then invited us to their house for an apero. Yves and Sylvie were a delightful couple as well, and we loved catching up with them. They have a few antique French motorbikes which Yves demonstrated for us.

Gourmet chefs

The fresh produce available at markets throughout France has meant our kitchen on Laura the boat has been getting a workout. It’s such a delight to cook complex meals with a mixture of superb ingredients and time on our hands. Here’s Ivan cooking Rabbit Bourgogne Surprise from a recipe that one of the marinas was giving away. There’s also a photo below of duck a l’orange that I cooked. Delicieux!

Our first vide grenier

One of the things I’ve been looking forward to on this trip to France is visiting some vide greniers. What’s a vide grenier? It’s kind of a giant market for used things. Every town and village holds at least one per year for locals to clear out their garages, cellars and attics and make a few bucks along the way. They are a mixture between a car boot sale and antiques roadshow.

We’ve been in France for months and each town and village we have visited has either just had their vide grenier before we arrived or it was due to be held after we left. So I was excited to see that Montceau-les-Mines was holding their vide grenier while we were there and it was right at the marina.

It did not disappoint! It went for about 1km and you could get just about anything there. From clothes, old tools, books, appliances, bikes, even street signs (whaaat?). It took me a few hours to browse. Ivan got bored way before I did so he went to a bar and had a beer. We managed to pick up bits and pieces all for about €10.

Interesting bridges

The town of Montceau-les-Mines has three low bridges that are raised to let boats through the canal. They are an engineering marvel if you ask me! Here’s a video showing the first bridge rising. For those in boats heading to Montceau wondering how they operate, you just call the VNF before approaching the first one and they open all three for you automatically as you pass through. The phone number is on the bridge (it could change before next season so I won’t print it here).

Starry nights on the Canal du Centre

One of the things we love about life on the French canals is the opportunity to tie up somewhere really quiet for the night. When there’s no light pollution, the night sky is magnificent and very different to Australia. Many of the constellations in the northern hemisphere are not visible in the southern hemisphere or are flipped around, and the moon’s phases are back to front. And of course, there’s no Southern Cross.

The picture below on the left shows the moon and Venus reflecting off the canal. It was taken at about 6:30 in the morning right before sunrise. The picture on the right is part of the Orion constellation, which in the southern hemisphere appears upside down.

Most people in Australia know Orion’s belt as the “saucepan” because the way it is oriented it looks like, well, a saucepan. But in the north, it looks like a belt with a sword hanging down. Sort of. But it definitely doesn’t look like a saucepan.

So are we bored with this life yet?

We’ve had this question a number of times. And the answer is no. It’s awesome. We’re having an amazing time experiencing an in-depth tour of France, a country we both love. The scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly and fun and the history just blows us away. So no, we’re definitely not bored and we’re so grateful to have this break from work at this time in our lives.

In the next post we’ll be tied up in the marina in Roanne for the winter. The canals close from the end of October to the end of March which is why we’ll be sitting in the one place for such a long time. But in the meantime, we’re just taking it easy on the French canals, slowly heading south (ish) and thoroughly enjoying this break. Here’s a few photos from the last week or so just to give you an idea of what we get up to. With so much to see and do in France, we’re definitely never bored.