Looking Out on the Boat Life, Roanne
Zagan the motorhome’s better-than-4K, 100 inch, surround-sound windscreen’s looking out on a fascinating array of wide-beam Dutch barges. These floating homes are moored up in the 1km-long basin at the end of the aptly-named Canal de Roanne à Digoin, and we’re in the adjacent motorhome aire (N46.03783, E4.08290). It costs €7.50 a night for two people to stay, is well-maintained and each pitch is nicely-separated from your neighbours, our thanks to the Port de Roanne.
The Motorhome Aire at Roanne
The Roanne Motorhome Aire – just visible through the bushes!
The route down here, along the smooth-fast-n-free N7, skirts along the north-east edge of the Monts de Madeleine. A mass of green on our map, thick with tiny triangles depicting, the tops of 1000m mountains. The roads crossing it squirm around in discomfort, a sure sign of an interesting drive. Why did we choose to avoid it? Dunno, I’m not even sure we spotted it. Ghostly shadows of the monts are in sight from Roanne, and maybe we’ll head back that way, although I suspect we’ll push over towards their big brothers to the east, Les Alpes.
It’s thunderstorm season down here in central France, and the skies above me are growling with hunger as I type. Periodically the land around is lit up, struck by white slashes of foudre. Each passing blast of wet clears the humid air, and we’re thankful for the relief from the heat when the fat splats fall.
The canal basin out front is, to our eyes, the best thing about Roanne, that and the canal heading off to the north. Built to aid commercial traffic flowing north-south, it placed the town at the forefront of the French Industrial Revolution, so must have been a bustling place a century or so ago. These days the basin and canal are pleasure-craft-only, and the town centre’s a sort of carbon-copy set of shopping streets. There are, most likely, interesting civic sights to be seen, hands-up we haven’t looked for them, but from what we’ve seen it looks more a pleasant place to live than a fascination to visit.
Canal de Roanne à Digoin
A few of the barges sport ‘For Sale’ signs, à vendre, including the one opposite us, De Goede Verwachting (Dutch for “Great Expectations”). The British owner’s (who are nowhere to be seen) have created a website (degoedeverwachting.co.uk – probably will go dead once sold), allowing us a vicarious peek inside. It’s 92 years old, 21m long and has two double bedrooms with en-suites. Cost? €120,000. I have absolutely no idea whether that’s reasonable, but the life enabled by such a craft looks intensely romantic (as it did for the boaters living in central Stockholm).
More romantic than ambling about in a motorhome? Hmmm, not sure, just different perhaps? Clearly the boats aren’t as easy to move around, and are (I guess?) far more expensive to maintain and live on than a motorhome. But they look VERY comfortable and spacious inside, and anyone spotted sitting on deck is enviously eyeballed by those of us walking past, land-lubbers that we are.
Barge for sale in Roanne!
Dark skies above the basin
In among the deluges and the staring at boats, we’ve taken it in turns to check out the town, so we can help keep the furry one cool and comfy. That took all of an hour each, to be honest, as we’re not in need of the shops. Longer periods were spent cycling and running along the canal to the north, reminding us of ‘the cut’ which runs a mile or two from our home in Nottinghamshire. Other than that, we’ve read, watched TV, eyeballed the map with no decision yet on direction, cooked, and mused on the meaning of life.
A few interesting bits of bobs spotted the past couple of days:
Lovely artwork on an otherwise-drab building at one end of the basin in Roanne
Chut it! Quite a few signs request silence after 11pm for the boat dwellers.
A novel way to keep chewing gum off the streets – a sort of sticky dart board?
Cheers, Jay
P.S. Our friend’s Joanne and Craig, the ourbumble.com bloggers, set off a few days ago on their latest tour to Turkey, a country we’ve not yet made it to. They’re powering their way down to Croatia, and from there will ease off the gas and commence their trademark bumbling accompanied by cracking photography – well worth checking out their blog if you’re not already subscribed.
Love the kingfisher- is that what they call trompe l’oeil?
Errmm, I think that style of art had to fool the eye, into thinking something is 3D or some such? I’m not sure this piece would qualify, but it was certainly talented stuff Ann! Cheers, Jay
“Clearly the boats aren’t as easy to move around, and are (I guess?) far more expensive to maintain and live on than a motorhome.”
They are easier to move than you expect, once you have had proper training and learn how to lasso bollards! Regularly couples travel quite easily around Europe in these and often longer barges than the “Steilsteven” and that’s with only two people on board. The Steilsteven’s midships steering position is an acquired taste, a wheelhouse at the rear is an easier position to steer from.
Costs. The day to day running costs as a live-aboard we found were an amount less than owning a house in the UK, as a holiday home then deeper pockets are required.
Roanne is considered a good place to live on a boat but it is at the end of the canal which means you have to retrace your steps to get back into the canal system, it’s an even better over winter port.
Great pictures, funny was thinking of Sawley Cut when I was looking at them ! Pity the artwork there (Sawley) isn’t like the ones in t’France. Do they have Micropubs there that’s big question like LocKkeepers Rest? Funny t’see you travel around the world and places still look like home !