Yes, we almost lost Liberty. It was a very close call, and not one we will forget in a long while. We stayed an extra day at Cruas, just because we felt like blobbing (and because the Mistral wind was blowing strongly), reading books or watching DVDs, but finally left the little place radiating its charm in the shadow of the nucelar power plant and headed south once more. We put in a long day and aimed for a small marina at L'Ardoise, up a back water off the Rh...

Cruas, a small town on the right bank of the Rhone down towards the south of France, is probably more well known for what it provides the nation today than what it preserves from yesterday. From the river, the first thing you see of the place is the four massive cooling towers of the Cruas nuclear power station, each chimney belching steam from the controlled nuclear reactions below. Almost five percent of France's power is generated here, and around 40 percent ...

On Thursday (10 October) we met Monsieur Decibel. Sorry, Monsieur DECIBEL. We arrived at Valence, reportedly the biggest, bestest, finest marina this side of Mars, and moored at one of the few available spaces, at the end of Pontoon F. As usual after tying up we went to the Capitanerie (yes, that's really what marina offices are called. A Capitanerie is where you would expect to find the CapItain, just as in an inventory you would expect to see inventions...) A...

We left Vienne early afternoon and by 3.30pm were at Condrieu, which offered a sheltered Marina, hopefully impervious to the wakes of passing commercial boats. It cost €20 for the night, which included power and wifi, but the price seems a bit steep given that we're out of season. However, we wanted a good night's sleep, so paid up. Adjacent to us were Brits Richard and Sophie in their boat Souvenir. They kindly helped with our ropes on arrival, and Sophie gav...

All the books we've read about boating in France mention it, and now we know why; it was a dreadful night. The drama of the previous evening should have warned us, plus in the Kanalfuherer it clearly says that lock operations geneally cease by 9pm, except by special arrangement for commercial traffic. Which meant that at least four large commercial barges had made "special arrangements" for night travel, and bulldozed their way past at staggered intervals all ni...