Anjodi, cruising along the Canal du Midi, painting by Stanley Rose
Hello lock-keeper readers,

Welcome to the fourth edition, and who says writing a newsletter would be easy, but the great feedback surely helps..

When we were thinking about what to feature this month, we realised that as the 2003 season draws to a close, we will be entering our 30th year. Yes, we started out in 1974, and now its going to be 2004..!

I'm sure we're not alone in thinking - what happened to 30 years..?, it passed so quickly, but when you sit down and think about all the things that have happened, you realise that there are many stories to tell and many milestones to celebrate along the way.

We are certainly going to celebrate our 30th anniversary next season, so look out for some special events which we have planned throughout the year.

All this reflection made us also realise that a lot of the history of how gobarging started and developed into a luxury barge cruise company has never really been told, so we decided that now was the time to put this right. As with every good story, the place to start is at the beginning, so we have prepared an overview of some of the key events throughout our 30 years and will develop some of the stories in future editions.

Following on from our successful Provençal cheeseboard competition, we decided to develop a special gobarging cheeseboard prepared by fromages.com and offered exclusively to our gobarging clients. We have included details below and to help us gauge demand, we would like to ask you to to indicate your interest in this offer by completing a simple reply form below.

We also sent you a lock-keeper special offer for a late season/early season break, and we hope you liked it - there are still some places left, so there is still time if you feel like a last minute break, and please tell us what you think so that we can continue to improve our services.

To compliment our fromage offer, we have a feature on French wine regions and on some of the very best wines available, just one of the many interesting things to see, and of course taste, on your luxury barge cruise.

We hope you enjoy this fourth edition of the lock-keeper, and we look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you at www.gobarging.com, where you will find out all about GoBarging and keep up to date with the latest news as it breaks....

please read on and welcome aboard,
best regards,

Derek Banks, Chairman
Derek Banks - Chairman


1974 - 2004 - 30 years of barging

In 1974 the Prefecture of the Nievre, one of Burgundy's four departments leased the Nivernais canal near Chablis from central Government in Paris and invited tourism companies to develop rural tourism in the region. We started in a small way, taking over a beautiful lock house in the village of Fleury about 5 miles south of Chatillion en Bazois.

La Maison Eclusiere de Fleury, our first base in France "La Maison Eclusiere de Fleury" was lock house number 21 towards the river Loire and soon became known as one of the main barging bases in Burgundy. As well as developing tourism, Derek Banks also turned his hand to gardening and in 1978 Fleury won a prize for being the Lock house with the prettiest garden in France.

In the early days barging was fairly rudimentary, shared facilities, pretty cramped accommodations and restrictions on the the use of water, although the seeds were certainly sown and the essence of a great barging holiday was created.

Today, of course much has changed as the testimonials throughout the www.gobarging.com website show.

Actief moored on the Royal river Thames, England In 1976 Actief was launched on the Royal River Thames and was the first of the "new generation wide beam hotel boats".

Originally a 1907 Dutch Klipper barge her spacious interior has been gradually refined over the years to become a fine cruising home in the style of an English Country house.


Actief 's spacious sundeck is flower lined and her comfortable elegant saloon is complemented by beautifully decorated cabins. Royal Windsor castle, the playing fields of Eton College, The Astor family's home at Cliveden and Oxford university are all visited whilst cruising a magic carpet of rolling country hills, delightful riverside houses and picturesque English gardens.

Nymphea cruising under the famed Château de Chenonceau on the river Cher in the Loire valley In 1979 Nymphea was converted for just six passengers and launched, originally on the Nivernais canal before starting a trans-France series of cruises. Today she glides sedately along the tranquil waters of the Loire Valley.
Find out how she got there by road..!

Passengers have always been pampered, but today there are marble bathrooms, saunas and jacuzzis to add to the fun of winetastings, exploring markets and visiting castles.


Anjodi Te Koop - (For Sale) In 1982 the first 8 passenger hotel barge with en suite accommodations, air-conditioning, heating and a jacuzzi was created for the 300 year old Canal du Midi in southern France. After 6 weeks trawling the back waters of Amsterdam and Northern Holland for a specifically sized vessel for the constraints of the Midi canal, Derek discovered Anjodi. A hand painted "Te Koop" sign hung from the high bow of the classically designed Luxemotor hull announcing her for sale status.A deal was struck with the old skipper Foppa De Jong and she was ours.


Anjodi on the move for her clean-up and re-fitSearching for and finding her had been enormous fun, although there were certainly moments when it looked like the last 100 foot Dutch barge ceased to exist. The design and upper steelworks followed quickly and the work was carried out by a small Dutch shipyard near the Isselmeer in Northern Holland during the summer of 1982. As autumn approached though, it was important to leave Holland and make full speed to the South of France where the warmer winter weather would allow for progress to be made on the interior build.

Derek and Anjodi's journey south was really quite an epic voyage. Starting with long days heading up the River Rhine, not a journey for the faint-hearted, with 10,000 ton coal transporters hurtling downstream at 25 miles an hour, changing river banks to keep in the current and their speed up.

For more of this adventure, visit Anjodi's voyage to the Canal du Midi on our website.

Over the next 10 years the fleet gradually expanded, routes were researched, itineraries designed, we sought the prettiest Dutch hulls to build the finest fleet of barges in Europe. Other vessels followed Anjodi, with many innovative ideas.

La Belle Epoque cruising in BurgundyIn 1995, La Belle Epoque was the first hotel barge to have a water ballast system which allows her to navigate over and under navigation obstacles such as bridges and sand banks as found on the river Yonne and Nivernais canal near Chablis.

This was her original home though, and it was a delight to tell her original owner, who had been born on board, that she would be returning to the old logging town of Clamecy.

Belle Epoque is the first vessel to have a sauna, jacuzzi and fitness studio aboard. She also has an ingenious flower watering system plumbed into her handrail and a bicycle lift set into the deck. Limited to 12 passengers her accommodation includes marble bathrooms and twin or double queen size beds.

L'Impressionniste cruising in Burgundy In 1996, following La Belle Epoque's success as a 12 passenger powerful river and canal cruise vessel, we designed and built L'Impressionniste, her sistership.

This year responding to demand and following 7 years of Burgundy cruising we will take L'Impressionniste south to her new Provence and Southern France cruise area.

Avignon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape's vineyards, Van Gogh's Arles, Pink flamingos, the medieval castle of Aigues Mortes, the inland salt water fishing villages of Bouziques, Meze and Marseillan, and the Camargue National park all create a fascinating atmosphere just waiting to be experienced aboard L'Impressionniste.

The L'Impressionniste 2004 Provence Itinerary provides full details on this unforgettable experience.


L'Art de Vivre cruising the upper Nivernais canal in Burgundy, France 1998 also saw the creation of L'Art de Vivre. The only 8 passenger hotel barge cruising the stunningly beautiful Upper Nivernais in central Burgundy.

Her hand crafted interior has recently seen the addition of large bronze portholes and new furnishings, and her cruise route allows an in depth view of France really off the beaten track. White Charolais cattle stare at the barge as it passes under the hand operated lifting bridges, wild bore can sometimes be spotted early in the morning mists, and kingfishers flash blue and yellow along the river banks. This area is close to the original starting point of the company at Fleury and totally retains its charm 30 years later.

Scottish Highlander cruising Loch Ness and the Caledonian canal in Scotland In 1999 we built Scottish Highlander. This beautiful barge cruises the most scenic part of Europe, with two back-up central heating systems and a cosy leather sofa'd interior, she represents the finest cruising available in Scotland.

To get the Highlander to Scotland necessitated a hazardous journey across the North Sea and up the entire east coasts of England and Scotland before entering the Caledonian Canal at Inverness. Her cruising route is exceptional, chasing the Jacobite rebellion and the bloody history of the MacDonald and Campbell clans, whilst enjoying a fantastic mixture of castle moorings under Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and Glengarry Castle on Loch Oich, as well as coasting past snow peaked hill tops, wild heather and abundant wildlife.

We ship wine directly from the vineyards in France and southern Europe and buy our blended and single malt Whiskies from the best distilleries in Scotland. Scottish Highlander's theme Golf cruise also brings you the opportunity to experience Golf at the magnificent Skibo castle, Royal Dornoch and Inverness courses. Nothing quite beats chasing the sheep off Fort Augustus though..!

Magna Carta cruising the Royal river Thames in England In 2002 we launched Magna Carta. Originally found in Holland where similarly to Anjodi, her steel work was completed following the classic basic design of La Belle Epoque.

Magna Carta made an epic journey across the North Sea before entering the flat waters of the Thames estuary. Her launch was a hectic moment with all hands on deck (even the office staff) to finish her in time for the arrival of the first clients. What a reception she had, even appearing on the BBC whilst sailing under Windsor Bridge during the Queen Mother's final journey.

Magna Carta's 8-10 guests enjoy full width cabins, spacious bathrooms and an on deck jacuzzi, just the thing for enjoying a glass of Pimms! Her new route between Hampton Court and Henley is described in detail here - Magna Carta itinerary

2003 saw the new Shannon Princess II take to the waters of the Upper Shannon in Ireland.

After studying several of the French designs and the newly launched Magna Carta, her spacious accommodations for just 10 guests soon took shape. An instant success Shannon Princess is the largest hotel barge cruising the river Shannon and there is no question that the cuisine on board matches the finest we have to offer. Rivers and Loughs, a 6th century monastery, Celtic Bronze settlements and the warmth of Irish hospitality combine to provide an experience you will find hard to forget, and we offer golf and fishing charters too.


www.fromages.com Due to the interest in our fromages.com Provençal cheeseboard competition, we have teamed-up again to offer you a gobarging cheeseboard.

This gourmet taste of France will be a beautiful reminder of your barge cruise, or it could whet your appetite for the tastes you will encounter when you cruise with us, or simply be a delicious present you can send to a friend. Our cheeseboard comprises:
    1 Camembert
    'From Normandy, this cheese has a very delicate, subtle and salty taste with a fruity tang'
    1 Epoisses
    'First produced by Monks and very popular in the early 20th century, this cheese has a rich flavour with a pungent smell and a mouth watering taste of sweet, salty and creamy milk flavours'
    2 pieces crottin de Chavignol
    'A rare cheese that can be eaten at different stages of maturity. It has a fresh creamy and nutty taste and as it matures acquires a more pronounced flavour.'
    200 grams Beaufort
    'Taking 500 litres(130 gallons) of milk to make a Beaufort of 40/45 Kg, a young Beaufort has a mild fruity and sweet taste and as the cheese matures, the taste becomes stronger and more complex'
    200 grams Bleu d'Auvergne
    'A relatively new cheese only appearing at markets in the past century, this cheese has very strong smell and is said to taste of pastoral grasses and wild flowers'
The cheeseboard will be offered at around 94 Euros, which was approximately $105.25 (US Dollars) or £65.57 (£GBP) at time of publication, and includes isothermal packaging and express delivery. As this exclusive cheeseboard will be prepared by fromages.com and offered exclusively to gobarging clients, could you help us to gauge interest by completing this simple reply form below (with no obligation to buy).

Reply Form
Yes, I would be interested in purchasing a gobarging cheeseboard  

First Name
Surname
Email Address
Country
Please add any comments below, or tell us about any cheese you would like to see added:


A Millennium of Wine and Cheese

Luxury French Wine and cheese A thousand years of steady wine production and over a thousand different cheeses have convinced Europeans that quality and choice are fundamental to every day life.

To compliment the recent events with our cheese, we thought it prudent to include a section on French Wines


France produces the greatest variety of fine wines in the world. Each wine is the result of the kind of vines or grape varieties, where they are planted, in particular the specific climate and soil, how the vines are pruned, when the grapes are picked, how they are pressed and how long the wines are aged – factors which will differ with each wine. No other country has been so richly endowed with the variations of soil and climate. And although growers in other parts of the world have tried to imitate French wines, none have applied the techniques so devoutly or so successfully.

Luxury French Wine tasting au Châteaux Our wine cruises are available in...Burgundy, Bordeaux, Chablis and the South of France. Wherever you cruise we will introduce you to a grand selection of fine wines. You can look forward to delectable Burgundies such as Nuits St-Georges, Santenay, Vosne Romanee, often premiere or grand crus vintages we have chosen with thought and care and usually direct from the vineyards you visit. The Loire Valley will introduce you to Vouvray and Touraine wines, nurtured for centuries by their Chateau-owning families or enjoy the lighter, fruity wines of Provence and the Languedoc.

Our wine charters take you directly to the vineyards for private tastings and employ a wine expert to explain the grapes, cultivation methods and history of some of the "off the beaten track" vineyards. We usually choose and buy wine together and enjoy it later in the day with a feast created by your on board Gourmet Chef....so to get you started on becoming a wine "expert" please reference our website, where you will gain information on:
  • the history of wine
  • how to read the label
  • how to taste wine (most important !)
  • varieties of grapes

..and the Great Wine Producing Regions where almost 100 French wines are described in detail

If you have any suggestions, feedback or barging stories to tell us, then please e-mail us. We'll be glad to hear from you and share your inputs in the lock-keeper. There will also be some spot prizes for good submissions...

Why not email this edition on to a friend, and let them share the fun. New subscribers can sign-up here, and are very welcome. More people are joining every day, so we are building a great Barging community..!

That's about it for this fourth edition, and hopefully the above articles have whet your appetite for that well-earned luxury cruise..!

Please visit www.gobarging.com and have a look around, or follow the individual links above.

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




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