Voûte de Pouilly - Burgundy

Although the authorities have done wonders putting in place this wonderful network of cycle paths, there is one stretch of the canal along which it is physically impossible to do - the Voûte de Pouilly. This tunnel, which stretches for 3,333m, was built between 1826 and 1832 to allow the transportation of goods by boat and is where the Seine's basin passes into that if the Rhône. An extremely fast operation for its day, the tunnel was constructed by digging 32 separate holes and then knocking them through underground. It would have taken almost ten times longer had the workers started from each end and met in the middle (although perhaps the number of fatalities, 200, wouldn't have been so high). For over thirty years after its construction, the only way for the boatman to navigate their barges through the tunnel was by using poles to haul themselves through, a method which meant a crossing time of over 10 hours! Fortunately by 1867 a steam-operated hauler had been invented by which the boats passed through the tunnel via a system of chains and pulleys. Then, in 1893, the electric 'toueur' (from the English 'to tow') saw the light which brought the crossing time down to just a couple of hours. Today, visitors can admire the first chain-operated tugboat, under a huge hangar-type structure built by the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. There is also a museum explaining the history and technical side of the tunnel while more information can be found at the tourist office. From Cap Canal, visitors can take a two and a half hour return trip along the tunnel in , an electro-solar boat which recharges its batteries at the quay, which passes through a lock and, once outside, under the leaning trees. Alternatively, there is a day-long voyage to and from Vandenesse which passes through 8 locks. In both cases you can bring your bikes aboard.