It was a cold and foggy morning that greeted us, as we made preparations for our little one-week getaway on the barge. I even remembered to buy a one-week VNF vignette for the trip (which I often forget until preparing to enter the first lock, and sometimes much later than that!). We had to wait until the fog lifted before we headed for the river. In the meantime, we were very grateful that we had bought two puffer jackets at Leclerc last week, as they kept us nice and warm. Just before 0900h, the fog had lifted and we were soon on the River Saone, headed north. It was great to be out on the water again.

We went through Ecluse 19 at Poncey and then continued past the towns of Lamarche and Pontailler. Having seen no boats moving on the river so far, we were somewhat surprised to catch up with a hire boat just before Ecluse 18 near Heuilley. We held back a bit as that boat made several attempts to enter the lock, but after they had tied up in the lock, we entered behind them and secured our ropes. As we exited the lock, they wandered from side to side before eventually stabilising on the right of the canal. As they were going very slowly, we decided to overtake them on the left, so that we wouldn't be affected by any other surprise manoeuvres they might make.

A little while later, as we approached the end of this canalised section, we pulled over and moored at our favourite little mooring in the town of Heuilley. We are always surprised to find this mooring vacant. Perhaps it is because it looks very small, but with the two large landside bollards, it is a very secure mooring and the small dock is at exactly the right size and height for getting ourselves and our bikes on and off the barge.

Even though we hadn't covered much distance today, we decided to moor here because we wanted to visit the nearby Talmay Chateau. We had been there several times in recent years, but each time it was closed. But being Sunday, it was open today for tours, so we decided to take advantage of this timing. So we got the bikes down, and after a 15 minute ride, we arrived in Talmay. The Chateau looked just as impressive as we remembered it from previous visits.

The Chateau consists of two sections. The original three-storey building on the left is now used as a family home for the owners, who have been there for several generations. The tower at the right was added (a couple of hundred years ago) and is the section that is now used for the visitor tours. As we climbed the tower, we got the opportunity to view the surrounding gardens, which are also part of the tour.

Each floor in the tower consists of a single large room, being devoted to various bedrooms and living areas, with original historic furnishings. One of my favourte rooms was the billiards room.

At the top of the tower were various attic rooms. I was particularly impressed by the substantial timbers which created the framework for what was a storeroom in days gone by.

We could have explored for quite some time, but Sunday is a very busy day at the Chateau and another tour group was waiting to come up the tower steps as we finished descending them. So we just went out to the gardens and wandered around. The variety of flowers, plants, and fruit trees was amazing. But eventually, having walked all the paths, we decided it was time to leave.

So we jumped on our bikes and pedalled west until we reached the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne at Maxilly. We then rode south along the canal until we reached the canalised section of the River Saone, that we had traversed earlier in the day. As we arrived there, we were in for a little surprise as we saw a snake swimming in the water. Unlike Australia, you don't have to be on constant alert when walking through the bush in France. Indeed, the only snakes we have seen in France have been in or close to the canals and rivers, and most of them are different-sized versions of this green tree snake. Relatively harmless, but graceful as they swim towards the shore.

After we returned to the barge, we crossed the canal and walked down towards the river to take a walk through the campground. Although Autumn had arrived, there were still a few campers there. So we kept to the access roads and eventually headed out to farming country along the river, where we enjoyed the sunset, and then returned to the barge for dinner on the rear deck.