Latest Adventures
On the Saone River – Macon
On the Saone - Chalon to Macon and back. Saturday 1 to Tuesday 18 July - Part 3 Macon My memories of Macon are somewhat mixed. I was somewhat prepared having read up in the waterway guide that the marina was not that close to the town, and that the town moorings were...
On the Saone – Tournus
On the Saone - Chalon to Macon and back Saturday 1 to Tuesday 18 July - Part 2 Tournus Tournus (pronounced Tour-noo) was a delight! We called in there twice, on the way down to Macon and again on the way back up the Saone. The mooring was a floating jetty that could...
On the Saone – Chalon-sur-Saone to Macon and back
Saturday 1 to Tuesday 18 July - Part 1 The Saone River The Saone is a lovely wide and (at the moment) gently flowing river and made for pleasant boating. The weather was mostly very hot, with a few rain or thundershowers. No half measures here. And the...
Preparations – and off down the Saone
Tuesday 27th to Friday 30th June 2017 First thing Tuesday I commandeered a fellow boater to help me take Shangri La up through the Ecluse St Jean-de-Losne and to the H2O slipway. I am sure I could have done it alone, but discretion is always best, particularly...
St Jean-de-Losne again
They say half the fun of a trip is in the planning. I think that is true to a large extent, but there is just nothing like being back aboard our beloved Shangri-La!! I arrived here yesterday evening after the usual trek from London. It was a Sunday, so of course I had...
French Inland Waterways – 2017 cruising plan
The year is flying by, and I have been furiously making plans and checking flight and travel costs. The longer you leave it, the more expensive it becomes. So I have finally booked the South Africa to UK flights, and now need to look at the Uk to St Jean-de-Losne bit....
French Inland Waterway Cruising – Reflections on 2016
Before getting into the planning for 2017, I thought I would have a quick look back at our 2016 cruising, and how different it was to 2015. Last year we did only 2 short trips, one up the Canal du Rhone au Rijn to Besancon and back to St Jean-de-Losne, and another...
French Inland Waterway cruise – River Saone
To Chalon-sur-Saone and back - 11th to 17th October 2016 Part 4 - And return to St Jean-de-Losne There was a beautiful full moon over Chalon-sur-Saone on our last evening there. It was slightly sad as next day we would head back up the River Saone to St Jean-de-Losne...
Barging in France – River Saone – Lyon
To Chalon-sur-Saone and back - 11th to 17th October 2016 Part 3 - Day trip to Lyon Why then take a train trip to Lyon? It's all to do with planning the next few years on Shangri La. A while back, quite some time before we bought Shangri Lawe did a section of the Canal...
Barging in France – River Saone – Chalon-sur-Saone
To Chalon-sur-Saone and back - 11th to 17th October 2016 Part 2 - On to Chalon-sur-Saone Thursday it rained all day. Fortunately we were heading downstream, and there were no locks to negotiate, so we made good speed and arrived in Chalon-sur-Saone after about 2...
About Me
My love of boats goes back to my early years when I went on holiday with my parents to Knysna in the Cape.
We stayed at a hotel on stilts, and I played in rowing boats and little motor boats on the lagoon.