Mr & Mrs E .... .: The Doubs: Montbeliard to Dole

Passing another Barge on the Upper Doubs. A rare sight as not much river traffic up here.

I found an old copy of Huckleberry Finn in the boat, left by the previous owners, and as we travel along the more remote stretches of the Doubs, I can easily imagine Huck and Jim as they float on their raft down the untamed Mississippi River. They often take a tumble off the raft as a result of a storm or a series of rapids, but come they come to no harm. They have a lovely time in the water and do not come across any ‘no swimming’ signs or if they did, Mark Twain doesn’t mention it. In August when it is scorching hot, and all you want to do it cool off in the slow moving clear water, it’s annoying to see ‘baignade interdit’ everywhere! You could fall in almost anywhere and the worst that would happen would be to get tangled up in water weed. We got in anyway! In fact the best way to find a good place to swim is to look out for 'Baignade Interdite' !

Church spire Hyèvre-Paroisse from a distance

It is useful for boaters (especially those new to river travel like us) to know in advance that proper moorings on some stretches of the Doubs are few and far between, and you can’t pull in almost anywhere on a river, like you can on a canal, as the edges are too shallow to moor. So mooring on impulse to discover a waterside village or do a bit of river swimming is not on the agenda! The ports can charge what they like as there is no competition, expect 20 + euros a night in holiday season.

Bridge and lock at Hyèvre-Magny

Doubs near Hyèvre-Paroisse

Past Montbeliard the landscape becomes more undulating and somewhere near L’Isle-sur-les-Doubs the channel begins to follow the Doubs River for the rest of your journey as far as Dole near the Saone.

You also have the freedom of your remote control for the locks, and so you don't have those pesky lock keepers asking you where you are going the next day, what time you are going to set off and how far you are going - and you can stop when you want, or at least where you can without having to inform your lock keeper of your plans.

This sounds like I am being very mean to lock keepers, but to be honest, a lock keeper’s job here is quite cushy. They spend a lot of the day zooming up and down the canal on their scooters or vans and pressing a button to open the lock for you, (a job that on a lot of canals you do yourself), and then they stand on the lockside or in their little hut and wait with you whilst the lock fills or empties. When the last of the very infrequent boats have stopped for the day it is time to knock off, and in between this busy schedule there is of course the 12.30-1.30pm lunch time.

Lock staircase atValdieu

One of the lifting bridges manually operated by bridge keeper near Mulhouse. Bridge keeper - another cushy job!

Five VNF staff here to help us through the lock! i.e.press a button to open the lock and another to close.

The churches whose spires in the Alsace were elegant spikes are now solid and square, curving to rounded pepperpot tops and covered in muti coloured tiles. Hyèvre-Paroisse, is a good example, beautifully situated if you are cruising the Doubs, but unfortunately I missed the opportunity to take a very good photo! However, I must say that Hyèvre-Paroisse is really best viewed at a distance, and close up it’s a sprawling village all crumbling old buildings, rather hideous modernisations and a 1960’s hotel lit up in full neon like an American motel! Luckily we were moored up on a pontoon across the river at Hyèvre-Magny which was a charming cluster of old buildings, and the unusual turquoise metal river bridge and the lock.

Hyèvre-Magny

From now on the scenery starts to get interesting. If you were planning a trip to this area then from Hyèvre-Magny onwards to Baume les Dames and beyond to Besancon you are cutting through hills with beautiful limestone crags, fields of brown and white cows and corn in the narrow valley bottom. There are plenty of walking tracks and bike trails.

Although I’m no expert on French cities, I feel that I am well qualified to speak generally about French towns, (especially those in Burgundy and the Franche Comte) and have done so on this blog many a time. They are just so depressing; ghosts of their former selves, with a few shops clinging on, the older buildings often looking down at heel and bringing in just a few tourists, and any real trade goes on in modern commercial centres on the edge of town. So it is with L’Isle-sur-les-Doubs and Baume les Dames, (although Baume has some interesting buildings) the two significant towns on this section of the Doubs, between the larger towns of Montbeliard and Besancon, which are big enough to retain a degree of their commerce in the old centre.

Villages on the other hand are often beautifully situated. Clerval, for example, which has a small beach, but unfortunately no mooring any more - it has silted up. Roche-les-Clerval looking picture postcard from the river, and Hyèvre-Magny set within the forested hills. Unfortunately no photo of either.

Port Baume-les-Dames

Two large commercial barges passing us at the port Baume-les-Dames

Just before Deluz looking downstream

Deluz

Old paper mill Deluz roof caved in

Port Deluz

Above Aveney no port here

Mooring behind old barges just past Aveney

Residential barges at double locks near Aveney

Small pontoon at Rochfort sur Nenon

Sometimes you come across a little town that has everything you want. The weather is hot and there is a place to moor, a place to swim and a little bar in the centre. This place also had good views from the top of the cliffs. The mooring place was sought after and we were lucky to tuck on the end (half off) as the two other boats offered to move up.

We also found that our deck wash and pressure washer worked well together here, so we can now clean the boat with river water anywhere we like. There is an awful lot of cleaning to be done on a boat to keep it looking tip top - and maintenance too. Quercy is 8 years old and looks almost like new, but there are always paint jobs, and things to fix. This time is was the toilet and the water guage. Last time some gadget that controls the grey water pump. Sanding down bits of the wheelhouse and repainting, touching up the blue paintwork, cleaning the decks and sides. Dust and mould just loves to stick to the non slip paint on the top and the gunnels. So now we have cracked this combination of pressure washer and deck wash we are very pleased.