There’s a particular kind of silence that falls over a canal
There’s a particular kind of silence that falls over a canal when a barge approaches something it cannot pass. A fallen tree across the channel, a sand-bar, a lock under repair. On most of the hotel barges, that silence lasts a while. Converted from working freighters built to haul grain and gravel, they are magnificent vessels, but they have long memories and little appetite for changing their minds. Once they’re committed, they’re committed.
The Randle was never a freighter. She was built as a cruiser, designed from the keel up to carry people rather than cargo, and that simple fact shapes everything about the way she moves. At 22 metres she’s more compact than her converted cousins, she sits with a shallower draft, and she answers the helm with an eagerness that still makes her captain smile. Built to an exceptionally high standard and powered today by renewable fuel, she’s less a floating hotel than an elegant yacht: made to measure, and all the better for it.
22 metres of classic yachting charm.
That difference follows you below deck, too. On a converted freighter, daylight arrives only through a row of portholes. The Randle‘s cabins were conceived as cabins from the start, so alongside her vintage portholes each is lit from above by a skylight. You wake to the soft light of a Burgundy morning spilling down from overhead, watch the riverbank slide past at eye level, and on a clear night you can lie back and see the stars drift by. It’s a small detail on paper, and an unforgettable one in person.
The master and twin cabins, each with its own skylight and portholes.
The historic old town of Clamecy, once the heart of the log-rafting trade that fed Paris its firewood, sits at a bend of the Yonne where the river has quietly built up a sand bar across the approach to the port. For the larger hotel barges, it is now simply off limits. The Randle is currently the only one that can slip over the shallows and tie up in the port itself, which means our guests step ashore into the medieval streets, the market, and the grand Gothic Collégiale Saint-Martin, whose story begins in 1075.
That same agility shapes where we can take you. Of all the six-night cruises on the Nivernais, ours is the longest, running all the way from Auxerre to Chevroches, and along the way we turn off the main river to visit Vermenton, a charming detour up the little branch towards the Cure that the larger boats pass by. More waterway, more villages, more quiet mornings on deck: when your boat is built to go further, it seems only right that she should.
More waterway, more villages, more quiet mornings on deck.
Then there are the surprises. Canals are living things, and every season brings its share of the unexpected. When The Randle meets an obstacle, she simply turns around, finds another stretch of water, and the day carries on with barely a pause in the conversation on deck, whilst larger vessels are left waiting.
The wheelhouse saloon, with all-round views whatever the river brings.
Perhaps the best description of her came not from us but from one of the captains on the Nivernais. Being passed by The Randle, he said, was like being passed by a classic Porsche on the motorway. We’ve never quite recovered from the compliment. It captures something we’ve always felt: that elegance and agility belong together, and that the finest experiences often come in the most thoughtfully made packages.
Sometimes the best way to see Burgundy is aboard the boat that was built for exactly that. Go further and find adventure aboard The Randle.
Discover The Randle | Explore our voyages | Contact us
 Tim Harrold is owner and captain of the Randle, a beautiful and classically styled river boat fitted with two en-suite cabins and all the modern facilities to travel in comfort.Tim offers private barge tours on the picturesque Burgundy Canal du Nivernais and river Yonne. A luxury cruise with Tim and his crew includes gourmet cuisine, fine wine, and guided tours by private car to vineyards and chateaux. Learn more about Edge Charter and barge trips on the Randle along Burgundy's canals and rivers here. Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries. |
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Highlighting two 2027 Battlefield Tours
In this article Knee Deep Into History is highlighting two 2027 battlefield tours because of their unique nature. The first is a Yankee Division (WW1) Tour. The second is a Monuments Men and Women (WW2) Tour.
Yankee Division WW1 Tour, 14 – 20 April, 7-days / 6-nights
During WW1 the 26th “Yankee” Division was a National Guard division consisting of units raised throughout New England and led by Maj. General Clarence Edwards. Edwards was loved by his troops; but was not viewed unfavorably by General Pershing and top leadership of the American Expeditionary Forces. On this tour participants will visit the division’s major battlefields and training grounds, including: the Chemin des Dames, Seicheprey and Apremont-la-Forêt, Belleau Wood, St. Mihiel Salient, Meuse-Argonne and Boucq. As always on a Knee Deep Into History tour, there will be time for discussing the friction that arose between the division and AEF leadership, comparing the division’s performance to other divisions and exploring the division’s casualties and replacement rate. We anticipate hosting a social and a then and now photo line-up at the Château de Boucq, a key YD headquarters, and meeting the Mayor of Seicheprey, a town forever written on the hearts of the 102 Infantry Regiment’s soldiers from Connecticut. If you’re a Yankee Division fan, or if you had a relative who fought in the division, this is the perfect tour for you.
Signal Corps photo of General Edwards and staff posing at the Chateau de Boucq
We’ll visit the temporary American Cemetery at Mandres, where soldiers killed in the Seicheprey Raid were buried.
Seicheprey Mayor, Gerard Andre, speaking with private tour clients whose great uncle was killed in the German Raid on 20 April 1918
Monuments Men and Women Tour, 9 – 16 September, 8-days / 7-nights
The second tour we want to feature is our Monuments Men and Women Tour. The tour begins in Paris, where we will learn about the art collection efforts and looting of the ‘Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg’ (ERR) in France and Rose Valland’s efforts to track the works. The interplay between Rose Valland (curator at the Jeu de Paume Museum), her supervisor Jacques Jaujard (director at the Musèes Nationaux), and James Rorimer enabled the monuments men to locate key ERR storage facilities throughout Germany and Austria. The tour will visit a Parisian museum’s permanent exhibition of unreturned works of art.
After Paris, we will move northeast to Belgium, where we will visit Michealangelo’s Madonna and Child sculpture in Bruges and the Van Eyck masterpiece known as the Ghent Altarpiece. These two works were featured in the 2014 film, The Monuments Men. We’ll honor the two monuments men who were killed in action, Maj. Ronald Edmond Balfour (British) and Capt. Walter J. Huchthausen (American), by stopping at their graves in Kleve, Germany and Margraten, Netherlands, respectively.
The tour then follows the Allies’ advance through Germany and Austria in early 1945 and we will explore key ERR safekeeping sites and explain their significance; this includes above- and below-ground visits to the mines at Siegen and Heilbronn, Germany as well as Altaussee, Austria. (Note, we will not be stopping at the Merker’s mine, because that is covered in our Third Reich Underground Tour.) We will visit famous castles such as Neuschwanstein, and churches and monasteries that likewise served as art repositories. Finally, we will cover a few of the collecting points established by the Americans to facilitate the return of art and artifacts to their rightful owners. This small-group tour will be as unique as the real story of the Monuments Men and Women.
Memorial to the Kochendorf Concentration Camp in the Heilbronn Salt Mine–the same mine where Nazis stored looted art
Lt. James J. Rorimer, 7th Army Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Officer inspecting looted jewelry and snuff boxes kept in Neuschwanstein Castle by the Nazis for safekeeping
Full 2027 Battlefield Tour Schedule
A full list of our 2027 battlefield tours can be viewed online. At the time of this writing, founder Randy Gaulke is in Europe for five weeks of tour guiding, so full tour brochures will not be available until early November. But please mark your dates now and reach out to Randy Gaulke if you are interested in a particular tour. We will send details as soon as they are available.
Or Hire KDIH to Design and Lead a Bespoke Tour
Because of our love of research and our deep European knowledge base, KDIH excels in planning and guiding bespoke (i.e. custom) tours for your family and friends, or for an historical association. For more information and case studies, see our bespoke tours page on our website.
If you have any questions, email Randy Gaulke at kneedeepintohistory@gmail.com. We look forward to getting knee deep into history with you in 2027!
2023 Yankee Division Tour participants visiting the famous quarries at the Chemin des Dames
 After decades of personal battlefield tours, Randy Gaulke quit his job as a financial analyst in Manhattan and spent eight months in France in 2017-18 as a freelance guide during the World War I Centennial.He subsequently founded Knee Deep Into History, with a philosophy of getting clients into the field on a small-group tour designed for the military history enthusiast. Equally important is the attempt to tell both sides of the story and to help Americans bridge cultures. Most tours are led jointly with European guides, including retired Bundeswehr officer and historian Markus Klauer. The groups enjoy family-owned European hotels and restaurants. Experience a military history tour that brings the battlefield to life! Learn more at www.kneedeepintohistory.com Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries. |
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Inaugural Paint The Cotswolds
The inaugural Paint The Cotswolds took place in July and was a charmed week filled with wonderful painting experiences.
We enjoyed super-fine weather, a lovely and cohesive group, charming accommodations, delicious food, kind and reliable drivers, and absolutely wonderful painting locations. The results were superior painting experiences and beautiful paintings made by each participant.
I was particularly thankful and gratified that all the aspects that come together to make these boutique painting workshops possible and successful happened in a seamless and most satisfying way.
Here are a few images that will give you a clearer picture of our surroundings and artistic focus during the week.
Beautiful stone walls are beautiful features in the Cotswold landscape.
Sheep hugging a Cotswold stone wall.
Chapel at Sudeley Garden
Topiary Hedges in Broad Campden
Here are some of the artists and their paintings
made during Paint The Cotswolds.
There were both repeat and new participants and the range of painting experience included relatively new painters through those with decades of painting experience. Everyone did wonderful work and the supportive and friendly group, inspiring locations, and encouraging individual painting guidance came together to open the creative flood gates. It is a never ending wonder and pleasure to see how every person has a very particular way of expressing themselves with paint.
Julie and Hannah made beautiful paintings on their 3rd mother-daughter painting trip!
Grace with one of her beautiful paintings.
Jane in a perfect painting spot.
2nd Painting Trip for this Mother-Daughter Pair
Some of Our Wonderful Group for Paint The Cotswolds
The inaugural Paint The Cotswolds took place in July and was a charmed week filled with wonderful painting experiences.
Please consider joining me for a repeat of this beautiful workshop at
Paint The Cotswolds 2027, July 9-17, 2027.
Details and Registration will be available very soon on my website www.vsfergus.com.
En Plein Air With Virginia Fergus features boutique painting workshops taking place in exceptional locations.
“Authentic, Intimate, Beautiful” is my motto for every aspect of my boutique workshops and I am always asking myself how I can make every day as full as possible of wonderful opportunities for painting, transformative experiences, and lovely memories.
In addition to Paint The Cotswolds July 9-17, 2027,
here are other workshop offerings coming in 2027:
Paint Greve-in-Chianti May 8 – 16, 2027
Paint San Gimignano May 16 – 23, 2027
Paint Florentine Gardens May 23 – 29, 2027
 Virginia Fergus leads small group Plein Air Painting Workshops in Italy and France that are unique opportunities for creative immersion and personal transformation. Each workshop includes plein air painting experiences in curated locations, sensitive and personal instruction, experienced and empathetic guidance, artistic immersion, beautiful accommodations and delicious meals in authentic and particular locations, and new friends for the journey. Ginny's personal motto is “Authentic, Intimate, Beautiful” and is the creative and experiential goal of each workshop. To learn more, visit www.vsfergus.com Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries. |
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