Up the river Aulne

The weather forecast looked so bad for the week that we have taken the opportunity to come up the river Aulne. Not only is this a still and safe harbour, but the fresh water will kill all the barnacles that have already set up home on our hull. It seemed a long trek across the Rade de Brest, and we were wondering if we would make it before dark, when we had an unexpected visit from a pod of 4 or 5 dolphins. A real boost to our spirits! The marked anchorage was full of enormous warships so we anchored a little further up by the impressive Terenez suspension bridge.

old & new bridges at Tenerez

We followed the river up the following day, enjoying being surrounded by green fields and trees after all the grey skies and sea. We spotted a seal on the bank, and a tree full of herons, and some 60 kayaks came by in a procession. Eventually, we came to a wier, and stopped to pass through a lock, at which point the heavens opened, prompting the lock-keeper to refer to ‘the British bringing their weather with them’ as he donned his waterproofs!

Port Launay

Bridge at Port Launay

Port Launay was on the other side of the lock, a picturesque row of typically French houses and a waterfront lined with boats. Another 4 km of winding river brought us to the town of Chateaulin, where we are moored against the wall. We have a lovely view through a bridge arch of the tree-lined town, its wier and another arched bridge topped with flags.

We took our folding bikes for their first outing and followed the river up a bit further. The next wier has an observation point underneath it. Here, the water is diverted though a system of chambers, and cameras monitor movement in the water to keep track of the number of migrating fish passing through. According to the lady there, the season for salmon running upstream has just come to an end, but she showed us the chart on the wall showing up to 700 eels a week passing through in June. Sadly, all we saw were bubbles and a piece of seaweed! The next wier along was in a V-shape,  unusual and quite hypnotic to watch.

V-shaped wier

Further on, we came across a big gathering of people, and joined them at the ‘Fete de la Moisson’, which seemed to be a celebration of old farm machinery. Rows of old tractors and vintage cars, ancient threshing machines, a hit-and-miss engine running a circular saw, cogs and wheels and long driving belts, Dave was in heaven!

There were piglets and chickens, traditional dancing and driftwood sculptures to keep the children happy, (though they mostly liked watching the crepes being made), and I was most taken with the old men on the bagpipes.

As we sat eating our baguettes today, we had a visit from an Englishman named Tim Phillips, who used to fish on our boat from Fowey years ago. He lives nearby, and recognised the boat as he passed by in the car. He told us a few tales of the good times they had on board (he was the chef and a poor one at that), and a near miss, when he fell overboard but managed to grab hold of the trawl ropes. A small world indeed…