Corre (no mishaps or were there?)

Peaceful upside-down mooring

TUESDAY 29 APRIL

We’d moored under tall trees on Monday and consequently were in the shade all evening.  There were also tall trees on the other side of the water so it was still shady by the time we set off on Tuesday.  It promised to be a lovely warm day with some clouds creeping in later in the afternoon.  After a couple of locks the tall trees receded somewhat and we felt we were more out in the open.

Cruising along the steep hillsides in the shade was enjoyable but at least we could feel the warmth of the sun when we were out in the open.  As I’ve said previously, we cruised the length of this canal in 2021 but as it was in the opposite direction we don’t always recognise places as we go along.  That in itself is rather pleasant as it feels that we’re somewhere new a lot of the time.

When we arrived at one lock, we couldn’t set it in motion because it had two red ‘out of action’ lights on necessitating a phone call to VNF.  We tied the front of the boat to the back of the lock while we waited for an éclusier to arrive.  Fortunately, he turned up in his van within 10 minutes so we weren’t waiting long.

All the other locks were trouble free and we had some stunning views on the way:

When we came along four years ago the towpath wasn’t fully made up in places but the pressure to provide long distance cycleways across Europe has obviously speeded things up.  Even though we were travelling through the countryside all day, at one lock composting toilets had been installed.  As it was in such a remote place we could only think these were put in place for cyclists following the opening of la voie bleue. 

Composting toilets in the shed

We moored for the day on a pontoon just above écluse 21 and then went for a walk in the adjoining forest.

It was an ideal walk as the logging track we followed alternated between sun and shade so we didn’t get too hot.  There were quite a few butterflies around but strangely not as many as we would expect if we’d have been in a similar environment in England.  We often find this to be the case but at least we have the reward of seeing more species over here.

Brimstones were the most common butterfly we saw during the walk and also quite a few orange tips and a smattering of the three whites with two or three each of commas, peacocks, small tortoiseshells and red admirals.  We also saw a singleton holly blue and speckled wood as well as a medium sized fritillary which didn’t let us identify it.

On Tuesday we cruised 8.5 km down 12 locks and saw one boat, a private cruiser.

WEDNESDAY 30 APRIL

We made an early start on Wednesday before it got too hot.  Karen started running downstream while I brought the boat down the locks.  Karen runs a lot faster than the boat travels as she runs past a lock in no time at all whereas in the boat it takes at least 10 minutes.  With her years of experience of running ahead she has got to know roughly at what point she should turn around and start running back to hopefully meet me at the end of her run. 

Leaving on Wednesday morning

The canal now follows the river Côney all the way to its end at Corre where the river flows into the Saône and navigation transfers to what is called the Petite Saône.  The lock cottages in this part of the canal are often inhabited and must be wonderful places to live with both the solitude and views on offer.

The river Côney is a fast-flowing river and for hundreds of years mills have taken advantage of the free waterpower available. The main output from the early 1700s was sheet tin and nails smelted using iron mined in the area.  The mills were mainly converted to spinning and weaving in the late 1800s.  Due to their remoteness the mill owners housed the workers on site and it’s fascinating looking around what has been preserved.  The largest forge was called Manufacture Royale and we had an interesting time looking around (with Buddy) when we came through before.  Please click here to see our account of the visit in a separate tab.  

After dropping down the lock at la Forge Thunimont we had to go through a swing bridge which should have opened automatically with the lock but remained shut.  We moored up alongside one of the disused factories alongside a motor yacht.

Disused factories at la Forge Thunimont

I went to speak to the guy in the motor yacht to find out what was happening and didn’t get very far as he was Ukrainian, and our only common language was German of which neither of us could speak more than a few words.  It transpired that he’d been waiting for a boat to come along to help him through the bridge as he had no way of contacting VNF.  With very few boats on the move I've no idea how long he'd been waiting there, probably a few days.  I rang VNF and they sent an éclusier out who soon saw us through.

Swing bridge being opened by the éclusier

Trying to talk with the guy further it seems that his home was blown up (I hope he meant his car conked out, but his hands made the expression of an explosion) and he now lives on the boat as that is all he has.  He bought it in Amsterdam and is making his way to the Med.  Karen turned up from her run when we were ready to go again and our Ukrainian friend followed us, sharing the locks as we carried on downstream.  Karen made the point that he will probably stay on his boat because if he returns to the Ukraine he will likely be conscripted.

Sharing locks for the first time this year

As we got further down the Côney valley the countryside became more open:

Passing a pleasant mooring where we’d stayed at four years ago

Ukrainian still behind

We pulled up for the day behind some permanently moored boats in the port at Fontenoy-le-Château.  Even though there were other boats around, it was a lovely peaceful mooring where we’d be happy to stay for a couple of nights as the locks would be closed for May Day.

The port at Fontenoy-le-Château

Halfway through the afternoon we attended the funeral of a neighbour of ours.  We were able to do this as it was streamed over the internet.  There were some very moving words that captured his character and that of his widow.

Afterwards we went for a walk around town which was badly flooded last year.  Fontenoy-le-Château is famous for embroidery and has a museum dedicated to the craft and when we last visited it was closed.

Karen couldn't wait to get in

Fortunately, it was open on Wednesdays so we got a chance to look around the five rooms of exhibits.  It was surprisingly interesting and we loved the way the historic items were laid out with trust that they wouldn’t be touched

At the back was an outhouse that contained a fascinating display and examples relating to the metal works in the valley.

Packets of nails

Although we’d extensively explored the town previously, we did come across something we'd missed: the only vestige of the ninth century fortifications, although I cannot really believe it was that old.

La tour de Lombardes

I’d found a couple of pictures of the floods from last year and we tried taking shots from the same positions so we could make comparisons.  Unfortunately, the sun was shining in the wrong direction, so it was only really possible in one location and this was the best I could do.

Walking back to the boat we went through the port and saw a small building.  I know I included it in the blog entry of our previous visit but it’s fascinatingly unusual.  The original lavoir in the port had to be dismantled because falling masonry was making it unsafe.  Some of the salvaged stones were used to create this dog lavoir:

On Wednesday we cruised 14.5 km down 14 locks and one swing bridge.  Other than the Ukranian guy we saw no boats on the move.

THURSDAY 1 MAY 2025

Karen walked into the village in the morning to see if the boulangerie was open and to her surprise it was, even though it was a national day off.  I got on with the engine service before it got too hot and for once I didn’t have any mishaps.  Well, no mishaps that I know of yet!

Just next to our mooring a householder was selling some home produce via an honesty box.  We’ve often seen the same sort of set up over here and we also used to see it when cruising rural areas of the UK. 

What particularly attracted us to this one was the unusual produce, especially the pickled wild garlic flower buds which we’ve never had before.  We do know that all parts of the wild garlic plant can be eaten so I suppose it’s just a logical extension from eating the leaves and flower heads which is the most usual way.  I will have to try them on my salad at lunch tomorrow. 

Bourgeon ail des ours

There was also a range of syrups available and we chose syrup of sage.  The chalkboard indicated that purchasers of products could also take a spray of muguet.  Muguet or Lily of the Valley is given between families and friends on May Day and we’ve always had a spray on the boat at the appropriate time.  We’ve been given them in the past by different people even by a shop assistant. As we didn’t have any this year we took a sprig.

Our muguet, a little limp

While Karen had been out to the boulangerie she’d returned via the port to check the water situation.  She found the taps were on, so after lunch we took the boat over to a water point and got some washing done and filled up our water tank.  While we were there, I had a very stilted conversation with the Ukrainian (I must ask him his name) and explained we were leaving at nine in the morning if he wanted to follow us and share the locks again.  He seemed very pleased that I’d offered, and we both made sure we had right (same) time for departure.

Later in the afternoon we went for a walk further down the canal and saw our first common blue and swallowtail of the year, neither of which obliged us by settling for very long.

Crossing a one-way section of the canal on our walk

Like the UK, France is plagued with invasive plant species and two of the most common along waterways are giant knotweed and Himalayan balsam.  We came across examples of both during our walk.  They looked innocuous as they’ve only just started growing but they reach an amazing height and crowd out all other plants by the summer.

Giant knotweed seen at Thaon-les-Vosges a few days previously

Himalayan balsam seen on our afternoon walk

On Thursday we didn’t cruise, other than to move across to the other side of the cut and back again.  We also saw no boats as the canal was closed for the day. 

FRIDAY 2 MAY

Once again, Karen ran for an hour or so while I set off on the boat with our Ukrainian friend following behind. There was a lock at the far end of the village but before the lock was a narrow stretch for a few hundred metres running from the port to the lock itself.  Before leaving the port, we had to summon the lock and as well as managing usage of the lock, the lights also controlled entry to the narrow one-way section:

 The narrow section continued the other side of the lock until we left the village:

Leaving Fontenoy-le-Château, the canal became wider, and the hills were closer to the water once again:

The further we went the more open the countryside became and the more the hills starting to recede.  It wasn’t long before we were leaving the Vosges département and entering that of the Haute Saône.  At the same time the regions changed from the Nord-Est to Bourgogne-France-Comte.

Crossing the departmental and regional border with our fellow traveller

The grotty looking stuff on the water wasn’t weed but a mixture of pollen and the husks that fall from tree leaf and flower buds.  We’ve been pleasantly surprised by how weed free the canal des Vosges has been and there’s not been any cause to enter the weed hatch for the whole journey so far.

There was still very little sign of human habitation but I bet this house is one of the most photographed on the canal:

A little further on we passed our first building with a Burgundian style roof but unfortunately the brightness of the sun rather hid the patterns:

We knew that Selles was the only large village we would pass through before reaching Corre at the end of the canal, but we could not place it in our minds.  As soon as we were in the lock above the village it all came flooding back because on the far side we could see the roof of a lavoir that we recognised.  Surprisingly, we found four lavoirs in Selles when we came through before.

After the lock we approached a swing bridge in the middle of the village.  An éclusier came out of a house next to the bridge to operate it for us.  In fact the house was built at the same time as the canal to house the bridge keeper when the canal was busier with commercial traffic.

Friendly éclusier waving goodbye

Heading for the last lock before Corre we could see a boat was coming up, so we had to wait.  This was the first time in the 93 locks on the canal that we’d had to wait and only the second time we’d passed a boat on the move.  The boat was a hire boat with some happy holidaymakers on board.

We saw lots of butterflies during the cruise and one of the most numerous was the map butterfly.  We are beginning to regret not having plants on the roof as they usually attract butterflies to linger a while and let us take pictures of them.

We moored up for the day at Corre just above the lock that leads onto the river Saône thus marking the end of our journey on the 146 km canal des Vosges.  Yevko (I believe that’s his name) also moored up and we asked him if he wanted to carry on with us onto the river tomorrow and he eagerly agreed.

Water was available next to our mooring so we did some washing.  The engine has to be running to generate electricity to run the machine and soon after it started one of the alternator belts started screeching.  We immediately stopped the washing machine and the engine and I went to check in the engine bay.  The main alternator had slipped on its mounting and made the belt quite slack.  I soon had it fixed but realised that when I did the engine service I obviously hadn't tightened it properly after checking the tension was correct.  So much for doing an engine service without any mishaps!  

On Friday we cruised 22 km down 11 locks and saw one boat on the move, the hire boat at the last lock.