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Walking Cruise

We have created a special walking cruise itinerary aboard La Belle Epoque in Burgundy... more>

Competition

This month our competition gives readers the chance to win a week in one of our apartments in the Scottish Highlands… more>

L'Impressionniste


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La Belle Epoque
A Lagoon with a View Gently Down the Stream Walking CruiseCompetition Winners New Competition Barging News Back Issues
Welcome to the March 2009 Lock-Keeper

Welcome to the March/April 2009 Lock-Keeper

Hello Lock-Keeper Reader,

Welcome to this 62nd edition of the European Waterways Newsletter and I hope it will bring you some cheer after all the doom and gloom of recent months! That’s certainly our aim.

To get you in the holiday mood, we are featuring two highly readable press articles. The first, written for World of Cruising magazine by Carol Wright, describes her cruise around Venice and its lagoon aboard La Dolce Vita. The second is by Arlene Stacey, Editor of the magazine published by the respected organisation CARP (Canadian Association for Retired Persons) and she enthuses about her cruise on L’Impressionniste last year.

Our featured cruise is ideal for the slightly more active amongst you – a walking cruise through Burgundy in October aboard La Belle Epoque, when this beautiful region of France is at its best. The October 18 departure is already fully booked, but there is still availability on the October 25 departure, so do have a look at the itinerary.
 
For our competition this time, there’s a chance to win a week in one of our cosy apartments in The Old Lock House superbly located at Fort Augustus overlooking the lock staircase which lifts the Caledonian Canal from the southern shore of Loch Ness. Guests staying in the apartments should also be able to spot Scottish Highlander as she cruises this spectacular part of the Scottish Highlands.

Finally, in Barging News, you can read all about the wine that has been produced exclusively for Go Barging and get an update on Enchanté, our new barge that will begin cruising in the South of France later this year. There is also a small selection of comments that we have received recently from some of our passengers. It’s always very rewarding to hear from clients who have had a enjoyable cruising experience with us.

As I always say, it’s good to hear from you, so please feel free to drop us an email with any comments about The Lock-Keeper, or indeed anything else. I hope to see you at our website www.gobarging.com where you can find out all about GoBarging and keep up to date with the latest barging news.

Best Regards,

Derek Banks - Chairman and Barge skipper



Glories of barging

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


Featured Cruises

A Lagoon with a View

Specialist cruise journalist Carol Wright spent a week aboard La Dolce Vita last summer and her evocative article was published recently in World of Cruising magazine.

Click Here to read the full article

Gently Down the Stream

Arlene Stacey, editor of CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) magazine cruised with us for the first time two years ago on Scottish Highlander. She enjoyed it so much, she returned for a cruise on L’Impressionniste in the South of France last year.
 
Click Here to read the full article.

Enjoy an October walking cruise aboard La Belle Epoque in Burgundy

Burgundy boasts some of the world's finest food and wine, as well as one of Europe's prettiest canals with access to the region's many scenic pathways. We have created a special walking cruise itinerary for La Belle Epoque and there are two cruises departing in October 2009. The October 18 departure is sold out, but there is still availability on the October 25 departure, so be quick!

Click here to see the itinerary



Lock-Keeper Competition

 



Last Issue Competiton

Competition Winners

In issue 61 of The Lock-Keeper, we were giving away a unique prize - 6 bottles of a limited edition Pinot Noir wine that has been bottled especially for Go Barging by Chateau de Perdiguier - to the two readers who sent us the best photos and camcorder footage of a hotel barging experience with us. We received some excellent entries and the lucky winners are:

Best Photos: - John & Graeme Manser of Essendon, Australia who took some great photos (see left) when they cruised on L’Art de Vivre in August 2008. (They also sent us an excellent camcorder production).

Best Video: - Ron Dobson of Formby, UK who sent us a very entertaining video of his family cruise on Athos when he chartered the barge for a big celebration.

Congratulations to John, Graeme and Ron and we’ll be in touch with them soon about how and when their delicious prizes will be delivered. We also aim to upload the videos onto our website Home page shortly so look out for them.

New Competition

Win a Week at The Old Lock House in Scotland

For this issue of The Lock-Keeper, we have another very tempting prize to give away – a week in one of European Waterways’ 2 bedroom apartments in The Old Lock House in Fort Augustus in the heart of the Highlands. Built over 150 years ago and refurbished to 4 star standard, the Old Lock House is in the perfect location to explore this spectacular area of Scotland.

Enter the Old Lock House Competition

Competition Rules



GoBarging News

 

 

 


 



Barging News

Go Barging’s Exclusive Wine

Go Barging have been cruising through some of Frances’s greatest vineyards for over three decades and over these many years we have accumulated the expertise to source wines from some highly skilled, prestigious winemakers. Now one of them has produced a wine that has been selected by Julian Allsop, skipper of Anjodi and a real expert on French wine, exclusively for Go Barging.

Click Here to read Julian’s story

Cut Down to Size!

Enchanté says delighted to meet you! Our new hotel barge Enchanté will start cruising the rivers and canals of the South of France later this year and the task of converting her into a luxury floating hotel has been progressing as planned. It has even involved cutting her up!

Click here to read more and see some fascinating photos.

Passenger Comments

We are delighted, particularly for our dedicated crews and reservations staff, that guests continue to take the trouble to express their satisfaction following a Go Barging cruise. If you would like to see a few comments we have received recently about cruises they enjoyed in 2008, please click here

That's about it for this edition of The Lock-Keeper. We hope that despite the dreaded ‘worldwide recession’, you still feel you’re owed that well-earned cruise! Please visit GoBarging and have a look around, or follow the individual links above.

The next edition of the lock-keeper will be out in May 2009, so we'll see you then.

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