"Elle" - Exploring the European Inland Waterways: Canal du Bourgogne: Pouilly-en-Auxois

10 June to 13 June 2019. 9 kilometers, 8 locks, 1 tunnel.

Monday 10 June. Pouilly-en-Auxois to Vandenesse-en-Auxois. Traversing the Pouilly Tunnel. 9 kilometers, 8 locks, 1 tunnel. 2 hours, 30 minutes.

They charming lockkeeper at the Pouilly lock suggested that we leave after lunch rather than our planned nine o’clock departure time, the reason being that there were a couple of hotel boats at Escommes, the first port after the tunnel, which were due to start going downstream from nine and if we went through the tunnel at the same time we would have to tie up somewhere and wait for them to do the locks they needed to do – a long process. Much nicer to while away the time in Pouilly.

Keeping an eye on the weather and having discussed all the dire warnings about the tunnel – bimini and dodger must come down, be careful of scraping your windows against the sides, protuberances sticking down from the roof, very narrow, very curved (narrowly arched)– we decided to trust our judgments, drop the bimini part of the dodger bimini/dodger but keep the dodger up (less hassle) and take our chances, especially as rain was threatening. At one o’clock sharp we reported to the Capitainerie at the Pouilly lock (not the VNF offices just before the start of the cut leading to the tunnel), signed for our VHF radios which are used, probably via a repeater system, to keep in touch with the VNF office if one has a problem whilst in the tunnel, started engines and set off followed five minutes later by another rare De Ruiter Cruiser (the make of our boat). The long cut was pretty

Boom up and green for go into the cut and tunnel.

and the start of the tunnel has two arches, one high and supporting a short stretch of roof before a lower one welcomes one to the tunnel proper.

The second, lower arch can just be seen where the lights are.

A height to width interpolation by Craig Cullen

We slowed right down to gauge whether dodger up would work. Miles of space – we could even have gotten through quite comfortably with the back bimini up – as wide as any tunnel we have been through in France, dead straight (we could see the light from the exit), well-lit after the first two hundred meters, and the only protuberances were the occasional surveillance camera which passed about half a meter above our highest point, and a lot of pretty little stalactites. It was almost like being on one of those animated cave rides in Disneyland – wonderful!

Beautiful! With the light at the end clearly visible.

Views from the driving position.

The exit.

Looking back - the smaller lights are those of the boat behind us.

3,345 meters and forty-five minutes after entering, we exited and, in squally, wet weather, locked downhill (at last!)

The most photographed lockkeeper's cottage in France.

into the basin at Vanderness (we did just catch the back bimini on the last lock bridge and had to pull it down) where there was an Elle-sized space behind the ultra-luxury, 5 star hotel boat Fleur de Lys (private charter only - $43,200 to $51,840 for six nights for maximum six people) last seen on the Canal de Centre in 2017 – the rest of the port was packed with hotel boats.

The last of eight locks.

What a setting!

Setting off to Dijon.

Now you know why we needed +80m of electric cable.
The services bourne is in front of the camper vans.

The next day we took a short cycle through the pretty little village which, although appearing deserted, has inhabitants hiding somewhere as the school had a torrent of children's voices issuing forth, and the restaurant was jam-packed at lunchtime.

Main road through town.

The graves of Flying Officer Frank George Wodehouse (aged 20), Pilot and
Sergeant John Cole, Bomb Aimer (aged 21), shot down by Capt. Hans Wolfgang Niebelschütz
while on a mission to Milano War Graves

Making of a movie.

Each rod has its own alarm - no fish over three days...

Bustling.

Meatballs on pasta - not our best meal by a long way.

Chocolate filled choux pastry.

The undoubted highlight of our three night stay here was a visit to the medieval village of Chateauneuf with its 12^th century castle which was greatly extended by the nobleman Phillipe Pot in the 15^th Century – Wiki gives a brief history in English but if you go the French Wiki site, Google-translate its contents and muddle through the results, you will get a lot more info.

After a bit of a ride up the steep, two-kilometer long hill

one enters the red roofed, sandstone constructed ancient village, home to a few artists, a hotel, a couple of eateries and, of course, the lovely fortifications.

At €5 per person for the castle visit, the whole village experience is not to be missed.

The entrance.

The grand hall.

A real statue in a real room superimposed against a simulated backdrop.

A re-creation of the tomb of Lord Pot.

One of many finely woven tapestries.

Burgundy tiling.

The main defensive keep.

Village square.

13thC church.

And the road downhill.

This is a lovely port especially with the view up the hill toward Chateauneuf, an ever-changing landscape as the sun and clouds paint new vistas – one can sit and read and contemplate for hours – but we now need to move on again.