summertime goes south

9th September

Auxonne to St Jean de Losne

“The restless line of cars go stretching down the road”

‘Wrecking Ball’ Emmylou Harris written by Neil Young

We stayed 2 nights in Auxonne as we enjoyed the town and I needed to fix a leak in the hot water system. This had appeared whilst we were on the Saone side of the canal but there was no chance of getting any spares until we got to a town. In the event we could not get anything in Auxonne either. However our search for spares led us to discover the ringroad built to bypass the historic centre and our discovery of the ‘roundabouts of Auxonne’.

They are not as large or numerous as the celebrated roundabouts of Milton Keynes (of calendar fame). What they lack by comparison they more than make up for in charm and eccentricity. We found four but there may be others. Those we discovered had a different theme, one featured a fountain of flowers, another statues in peasant costume threshing corn, another had a bridge with peasant gatherers harvesting reeds for thatch and yet another a fisherman complete with boat, rod and catch. Their whimsy is probably lost on the motorists as they pass by, but they certainly made us smile.

10th September

“….and you know that you’re over the hill,
When your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill.”

‘Old Folks’ Boogie’ Little Feat

St Jean de Losne to Suerre

St Jean is billed as the boating centre of the River Saone and there is a boat hire business based in the basin with two marinas and a chandlery. We were able to get the necessary spares to fix the leak and I spent a sweaty morning in the depths of the boat, in a so far successful repair, but no chickens counted yet.

Many people use St Jean to leave their boats for the winter, including our Australian friends. In comparison with the romantic Auxonne, St Jean is rather utilitarian. The town and marinas are a bit scruffy and without much charm, shops or eateries, which is a great shame. It is more of a repair yard for old peniches than a good stopover so we decided to move on as soon as we could. It was a one-night stand rather than a relationship.

Suerre on the other hand is thoroughly charming. It is a city of some 2000 people and was once very prosperous. Today the old streetscape is what you would imagine a French town to be, narrow winding streets, lovely old houses with period features and a lovely church, dating from the 13th century (unfortunately closed). The town has made an effort to retain its old buildings but there is far too many for sale to feel that it is prospering. This is despite their attempts to attract boaters to use it as an overnight stop. They are successful to an extent as the pontoons were full and the new Capitainerie had excellent facilities.

We moored next to a hire boat with 3 elderly couples. We watched them help each other to climb on and off the boat with varying degrees of competence. We felt a mixture of concern, as they invariably missed their footing and amusement as they managed to avoid any real damage to themselves. They obviously knew each other very well, otherwise some of the efforts in assisting the ladies on board could have been misinterpreted. They thoroughly enjoyed laughing at each other’s efforts and mishaps. Full marks to them for their endeavour in going boating at an age that most would regard discretion as the better part.