Harbour

Gray

Maximum length: 42 ft

River port on the Saône at the town of Gray in Haute-Saône, on the Petite Saône section of the navigation between Corre and Saint-Jean-de-Losne.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Access from the Saône waterway, reached from the north via the Canal de la Haute-Saône link at Corre or from the south from Saint-Jean-de-Losne. No tidal effect. Locks on the Saône are remotely operated by VNF, with clearances suitable for Freycinet barges. The berths are shallow, with about 1.5 m right against the powered quay and only around 1 m just off it, so deeper-draught yachts touch bottom.

Practical

Three berths at the quay below the town, free of charge. Water and electricity come from card-operated machines, about 5 euros for 24 hours of power and 4 euros for 4 hours of water. There are no showers or toilets on site. Diesel by road delivery or at the service station in town at 400 metres. An Intermarché is about 5 minutes on foot and a bakery about 10 minutes over the bridge, with the market hall and shops of the old town within 500 metres.

Ashore

Basilique Notre-Dame de Gray of the 15th and 16th centuries, 400 metres above the quay. Musée Baron Martin in the former castle at 500 metres, holding a collection of 17th to 20th century paintings. Riverside tow-path walk along the Saône for several kilometres in each direction.

History

Gray was a major grain port from the 18th century, shipping the harvests of the Franche-Comté plain down the Saône to Lyon and the Rhône. The quayside warehouses and the stone bridge of 1837 remain from this period of commercial river trade.