In a nutshell, very pretty. With the added challenge of narrow locks 5.05m wide and with Soraya's 4.5m width there is not much to spare when driving 80 tonnes in between two stone walls. Once in great practice for lassoing bollards 3.7m above your head.
A tight fit
The main excitement of the route is the virtual staircase of locks in the middle section, some 26 of the 44. Well 28 actually as you cannot moor anywhere else. You have to book your passage and once you start you have to continue. It's about an 8 hour ascent (or descent). Quite daunting to start with but actually great fun and a full on all day as locks are often as close as 50m apart. No stopping for lunch!
One of the many écluse (locks) houses
Pretty but narrow section. There are many.
The narrow sections are tricky when meeting a wide commercial barge. Hold your breath and whatch out for the trees, there really is no room. The VNF (Voies Navigables de France) really need to do some serious tree surgery.
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