The River Saône

We were both a little anxious about heading onto a big river after the familiarity of the canals. We hadn’t been on a river since the Seine, last September, and the last lock on the canal was really deep and scary!

However, we soon realised that our fears were completely unfounded and how great it was to be on a wide expanse of water again. The Saône was calm and beautiful in the sunshine, and surprisingly empty. It runs through rural countryside with lush trees growing right down to the water’s edge on both banks in places. It gave us a sense of exploration, cruising slowly up the channel, dense vegetation lining the banks, no signs of human habitation, watching the shadows of birds of prey circling over the canopy.

We’ve had lots of great rural moorings along the Saône where we’ve just tied up to some trees or staked to the bank and enjoyed being in the truly unspoilt countryside. The wildlife is prolific; we’ve seen families of ducks and swans, kingfishers, coypu, frogs, kites, buzzards and heard innumerable songbirds.

We’ve also visited some interesting towns. Some highlights include: steak and frites at the Café National in St Jean de Losne, shopping and the Musée des Beaux Arts in Dijon, frescoes in the Cathedral at Dole and the Musée Baron Martin in Gray. I seem to be developing a preference for medieval art – not quite sure why. I think it’s partly because many of the paintings from this period tell a story – it’s not just art for art’s sake.