Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on Sunday 27th July 2025. We have just arrived back at Le Shack. This may come as a surprise as in my last blog, almost a month ago, we had just arrived in Valence on the Rhone, a pleasant but temporary stopping pointContinue reading “Running from the heat”
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Falling in love with Valence
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on 29th June 2025. There are times when I arrive somewhere new, whether a town, village or even just a mooring, and I fall in love with it. There is an instant connection, a gut feeling that I could be happy here, evenContinue reading “Falling in love with Valence”
Messing about on the river
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on June 19th 2025. You join us this week as we continue our journey south, joining the River Saône at it’s junction with the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne. We shall be on it for just over 200 km until it merges withContinue reading “Messing about on the river”
A week of beautiful things – or at least that was the idea.
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on June 6th 2025. After the complete absence of pictures in last week’s blog I thought I should make up for it this week. I set myself the challenge of finding something beautiful, something worthy of at least one picture, each day, forContinue reading “A week of beautiful things – or at least that was the idea.”
Ghosts
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 30th 2025. A week ago we moored up in the marina in Chalons-en-Champagne but this wasn’t our first visit. We’d been here before, eight years ago, as part of our maiden voyage. This was the place where we experienced the firstContinue reading “Ghosts”
The romance of the Canal des Ardennes
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 23rd 2025. The Canal des Ardennes – 88km long, 44 locks in total although 26 of them are squeezed into a chain over a distance of around 9km. The normal depth of the water is 1.8m but the first 6km ofContinue reading “The romance of the Canal des Ardennes”
One river, three countries
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on 16th May 2025. The same river has carried us through three different countries in the past two weeks. One river but with many different names. It’s known as the Maas in the Netherlands and La Meuse in Belgium. At times long canalisedContinue reading “One river, three countries”
Taking the long way round
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on April 9th 2025. Last week was my 200th blog. I didn’t realise it was such a milestone until after the event – where did all that time go? This past week has seen us heading south towards Maastricht on the Zuid-Willemsvaart Canal.Continue reading “Taking the long way round”
The journey begins
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 1st 2025. Early morning and the mist drifted over the River Linge. The sun cast a cold, eerie light, and as the mist slowly cleared the trees were perfectly reflected in the still waters. It was the weekend, and we wereContinue reading “The journey begins”
Different lives
Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on April 12th 2025. Next week we leave Le Shack and our life on the land, swapping it for a life on the water with Olivia Rose for the summer. As our departure date gets ever closer I find myself in limbo, notContinue reading “Different lives”
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