24th August 2009 Monday. Santenay to St Ledger-sur-Dheuen. C. du Centre.

After a few days rest, keeping out of the sun, and collecting our post from Chagny, we finally set of again. One downhill boat had already passed us. Two boats were left on the quay, a large cruiser going the same way as us (uphill) and a blue boat pointing downhill. To turn round we went towards Chagny as far as the big bend at Remigny and winded where the silted up winding hole had been blocked off with a string of buoys. It was 10.25 a.m. when we started heading uphill again. Twenty minutes later we passed the mooring at Santenay, the blue boat was still there. We gave way to a boat coming towards a bridge, another new Brit flagged boat. This one had an elderly skipper with his nose firmly in the air and not acknowledging our presence at all. He went through the herbage on our left hand side through lack of steering skill! His wife was on the bow with a pole. The start of the close association with the road started at Chassey-le-Camp. 11.00 a.m. Two skaters passed by on the towpath. A wave came down the canal a few minutes later followed by a downhill Dutch cruiser. Lock 23 was empty with double green lights. In and up 2.80m, deserted no signs of life. 500m to the next, lock 22. I finished de-icing the ‘fridge and putting all the food back in it. Into 22 and Mike pulled the cord to start the lock cycle. A VNF flatbed was parked by the lock. Lunchtime. A longer pound to the next 1.3 kms through the village of Dennevy. There were three "dead" old cruisers moored on the left bank before the bend and road bridge, all looked in need of some tlc. Beyond the bridge there was an old commercial quay, higher than our cabin roof, with rings and a picnic table. Lock 21 was ready so we went in and up. Another longish pound, 1.2 kms to lock 20. As the lock was almost full the resident VNF man came out to ask if we were stopping, etc, etc, and said to phone when we wanted to continue – the phone number was at the Capitanerie. Went beyond the moored Locaboats on stern-to-bank moorings and Mike dropped me off to get the number. No signs of any phone number on the windows and the place was closed for lunch. I got back on again as the man in a van (whose phone number we needed - possibly) went off up the towpath. A couple of cruisers were moored by the Capitanerie and two houseboats, a converted péniche and a small Dutch Barge were moored outside the old basin which was empty. Mike said someone had said they’d filled the basin in. There were bollards and electricity posts all around it. We carried on beyond the houses and past a Dutch Barge with a Locaboat moored alongside it and a cruiser behind it. A little further on there was piled edge (the Dutch Barge was moored next to a very bad sloping edge but had a cable from the farmhouse). It was deep enough for us and we had a nice view across open fields to the distant low hills. The only drawback was the busy road on the far (right hand) bank. Five minutes after Mike left on the moped to collect the car there was a light shower of rain.