29th April - 6th May 2017. On to Fragnes, then up the Saône to Saint-Jean-de-Losne, before moving on to Auxonne, meeting our friends at every port.

We caught up with other boats at Fragnes, joining (from the left) Caroline, Andy, Peter, Rachel, Bill, Jane and Jake there. Another late evening, with some people dancing the night away!

Shannon will accept Trigger if she is safe on Andy's knee.

We moved off early on Tuesday with Quaintrelle, to stop at the shopping mooring for Leclerc, on the outskirts of Chalons-sur-Saône. Where the metal edging of the mooring here leans out towards the canal, it has been infilled with concrete, so at least there is no gap!

The rain started just as we went out on to the Saône, but Shannon didn't want to be inside. The rain is too heavy for some of our plants.

Once the rain cleared, the river looked more inviting.

We moored at Gergy, then on to a rural spot at Chazelle, which we found last year.

Walking round this small village, I thought this wall needed a helping hand!

On Thursday we moved on to Saint-Jean-de-Losne. Beyond the trip boat, the next five boats all overwintered in Roanne!

The Puzzler can be seen outside Catherine Clark, where Jake and Rachel have all three dogs near at hand.

We are leaving Aileen and Mike here too, with Quaintrelle, though we will no doubt see them again, later this year.

Dare I go any nearer? Most boats have dogs.

Friday was a lovely day, with all the trees looking really green.

Mooring outside Lumacona at Auxonne, there was a superb sunset.

6th - 11th October. On down the Petite Saône, then the River Saône, stopping at Auxonne and St.-Jean-de-Losne, before joining the Canal du Centre at Chalon-sur-Saône.

The Petite Saône becomes navigable below Corre lock, meandering across its floodplain.

This dérivation (lockcut) meanders round the village of Ormoy, lying parallel to the river.

However, most of the dérivations are straight, like this one in Port-sur-Saône.

All along the waterfront here, there are mounted prints, showing the town as it was in 1900, then progressively through the last century. A by-pass is planned, so the last set of prints anticipate the town as it will be in 2020. We will have to come back to see if their predictions are true!

This is a typical dérivation, straight and not very exciting! Between Corre and Châlons-sur-Saône, these dérivations cut over 40 kilometres off the distance as measured, and marked, on the river.

Shannon was fascinated by the donkey by a lock.

The tunnel of Savoyeux leads on to lock 13. We had just left this narrow section when our alternator belt broke, so the lockkeeper had to wait while The Puzzler floated gently, until Andy fixed it. Luckily no-one else was waiting for us, though he only took ten minutes to have it working again, with a new belt in place.

On Friday we did over 40 kilometres, so were pleased to find this sheltered bankside mooring, near to Autet. Shannon enjoyed the small beach nearby.

The river Petite Saône is getting bigger!

At Mantoche Andy found a friendly duck.

Sally is taking her turn at steering on the river. We are covering long distances each day as we head for our winter mooring in Roanne, so it is turn and turn about on the tiller.

We spent a very pleasant afternoon in Auxonne on barge Inevitable, with Carole and David, before the rain created this rainbow.

The evening light, too, was very pretty.

Thick fog delayed our departure on Monday, but we still had time to reach St-Jean-de-Losne, where there were several boats moored. We were delighted to meet Boris in the chandlery there.

Our longest day yet was on Tuesday, leaving as the sun rose at 8am. It was a record distance for us of just over 58 kilometres!

We saw over 20 of these white herons, or are they egrets? They are heron size, and have white legs.

The Petite Saône is now the River Saône, and is a much bigger river.

Shannon continues to sleep her days away.

We are now sharing the big lock at the start of the Canal du Centre.

It is a relief to be back on to the canal.

10th - 14th July. Auxonne, Les Maillys, then on to the Rhone to Rhine canal to Dole.

The harbour at Auxonne is the first one we have seen since coming into France at the beginning of June. We are moored on a rough bank, just beyond the town bridge, having failed to find any boat prepared to offer to have us alongside on the free town mooring. One English couple even hid in their boat, in case we asked them! We found The Puzzler tipped at an angle on our return from our visit to the town,

The statue of Napoleon stands beside the Notre Dame church in Auxonne.

The Arsenal is an interesting collection of buildings, which were built as a place to make barrels. This part is now used for the weekly Friday market ( but today is Saturday!)

We loved these wooden stairs in Auxonne. Look closely to see the small cannons beside the gate too.

We moved on from Auxonne to this jetty at Les Maillys. It has been a lovely tree-lined section of the Saône but this was the first possible mooring after eleven kilometres, and we were pleased to be able to have this delightful German family alongside The Puzzler there.

We leave the River Saône here. This lock marks the beginning of the Rhone to Rhine Canal, at St. Symphorien. There is a small community of barges just above the first lock, and this is generally a much busier canal.

Nearly 7 km and 4 locks further on, the canal passes beside a chemical works, and there are warning signs telling us not to stop in this area. If we hear the sirens we must close all doors and windows on our boat, and leave the area as quickly as possible. This seems to be bad luck for our steersman, out on the stern of The Puzzler! Luckily, we heard no sirens.

It is quite nice to be off the River Saône, and on to the narrower canal, where we can moor anywhere, so long as the water by the bank is deep enough. It is Andy's turn to try and tune the satellite dish for the last day of Wimbledon. Djokavic beat Federer, in case you did not see this.

The Collegiate church of Notre Dame can be seen in the town of Dole, behind the town moorings. Every town has its church, and each one is so different.

Looking up this steep street in the evening light shows the church tower to its best advantage.

We originally stopped on the town moorings in Dole, but all boats had to move away to the other side of this bridge, because of the fireworks display tonight. Our access here is by the plank from the roof to the wall.

There were a few early fireworks and Shannon was not impressed! Once the main display started, she just hid her head and endured it.

The crowds arrived in force, and there must have been thousands of people there. It was an impressive display, celebrating Bastille Day which is, of course, of great importance in France.

Dole dates back to a fortress built on a small limestone overhang in the 12th century.

The town is full of interesting sloping streets.

This is the triege de la Cordiere, one of several narrow uncovered alleyways to be found in the town.

Louis Pasteur, of rabies vaccine fame, was born in Dole, and a museum here tells of his life and achievements.