Barging in Burgundy – The Canal du Centre

The wine country of southern Burgundy was the venue for our week-long, one-way barge trip this time around.  Unlike our 2006 barge trip through the Canal du Midi, we booked this one far enough ahead (approx. 10 months) so that we got the exact barge we wanted – the Pénichette 1020FB – with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and we could pilot it from either inside the cabin or from up above on the outside top deck, or what they call a Flying Bridge.  Once again, we went with Locaboat because we love the way their barges look – very traditional - and it doesn't hurt that they have the best prices.  Our pénichette, named L’Abbaye, was brand new - we were the first ones to take it out for a real cruise.  

The two ends of our trip were St-Léger-sur-Dheune and Loisy, but when you do a one-way trip you don’t know at which end you will start your journey until just a couple days ahead.  We lucked out with our starting point at St-Léger-sur-Dheune because we passed through the wineries right away, and were able to stock up for the trip ahead.

Our first full day of barging was spent in the Canal du Centre, traveling past the villages of Santenay, Chagny, Rully, etc.  One of our first stops was in the wine village of Santenay, where we made the mistake of snacking on some violette bonbons before our first wine tasting at Mestre Père et Fils.  We were not too impressed with how the wines tasted at the winery.  It wasn’t until much later, when we opened the bottles with a meal of escargot and coq au vin, that we realized how wonderful they were, and that the candy had ruined our palettes for tasting.

 

The trip in the Canal du Centre, which links the river Saône with the river Loire, was serene and picturesque with bicycle paths running all along its banks.  La Voie Verte is part of a government initiative which turned old railroad tracks and canal towpaths into more than 100 kilometers of paved bike trails, meandering through the peaceful countryside of Burgundy with its grand châteaux and coveted vineyards.

 

The locks on the Canal du Centre were operated by lockkeepers.  The locks were colorful and so were the lockkeepers, who wanted us to let them know when we expected to pass through, so that they could be there to operate the locks when we arrived.  They either drove by to ask us when we would arrive, or they would ask us at one lock when we expected to arrive at the next lock.  Also, when we navigated through our last lock of the evening, they would ask us when we planned to get started in the morning.  We didn’t always follow through with what he had told them.  After all, we were on vacation, and we saw no reason to follow a tight schedule, so when we saw an interesting place to pull over and go for a bicycle ride, or to go wine tasting, or to take a lunch break, or if we felt like taking our time in the mornings, we did not hesitate to do so – and it seemed to be okay.

Comments

[teresa moore]

we are thinking of the same trip. how did you get to St. Leger?
teresa