BACK TO CALENDAR 2000

May 30                                         Tuesday

Mainbray Lock to Chatillon-sur-Loire.

Started raining before we set off, rained all day, and still raining when we tied up at reasonably bloody moorings at Chatillon. (These moorings described in relevant books as "very good").

Mud everywhere, and electricity didn’t work, and my bike had a puncture.

Repaired puncture in pissing rain - got tools full of water.

Successful repair - just changed inner and repaired tube inj cabin after. Forgot to check inside of outer for thorn or whatever, so now pray!

P. de P. still had brass neck to charge Ffr28.00 for night5’s mooring.

 

May 31 Wednesday

Chatillon sur Loire to Briare.

Started off in even heavier rain - air was so full of water, we couldn’t see through it.

Advanced sense of humour failures starting to show.

Crossed famous 600 metre steel aqueduct (designed by Eiffel) without realising we were on it, the mist was so thick, enterred Briare off the end of the aqueduct, found the "Commercial Moorings" as opposed to the P. de P., and moored up. Commercial moorings supposed to be down at heels, P de P supposed to be super. Found, in fact, commercial moorings good and complete, and P. de P. overcrowded, inconvenient, 3 kms and 3 locks further on.

Changed out of cold wet clothes, in cold wet boat, over-reacted by putting warm clothes on, set up heating in boat, when weather took turn for better.

Within in an hour wet kit steaming in sun on jetty.

Went to draw money and pay tel bill, but 12.30, and nothing works between 1200 and 1400 in France.

Had nice salads in auberge, then back to P.O. and did bill - think she "did" me out of Ffr 100, but maybe not - queried it later and she seemed very sure. Probably apropriate to plan these occasions more - they are quite complicated at the best of times.

To railway station for train timings - they give you a computer print-out

Back to boat, general clean up and tidy up - the last 2 days have been reasonably bloody.

Asked at small hire operation at end of jetty about spares for engine (water pump needed?) and helpful guy said the one chap in the whole of France I most wanted to talk to about it happened to have come across from his base at Sens on the R.Yonne, and was working on a boat on the slipway. English - but de-tribalised - firm of marine engineers, long established, and quite well spoken of.

Arranged for necessary diagnoses, necessary quotes, etc, and with luck should hear by the end of the week - at least and last, some possible action.

Enjoyed our mooring - Briare is a major tourist centre, and rows of coaches kept drawing up and depositing Frenchmen to go off on the various trip boats, and they all - hundreds of them - came and admired Albert. One or 2 couriers seem to be a little tight-lipped.

When they finished hotel boat Chanterelle arrived and moored next to us. Full of Americans - some of whom also escaped and came and gossiped.

Went back over aqueduct on bikes in evening sun, and watched hot air balloon going up with some of the Chanterelle’s guests. Terrifying.

June 1                                             Thursday

Briare to "etangs on the summit - 13 kms.

Spent morning - as hotel boat left at 0930 and would have blocked us (that’s our story) - doing necessary things.

Bought Navicartes for - hopefully - rest of summer - Ffr 450.

Left after lunch for run of electric locks to the summit or watershed between Loire and Yonne Rivers.

Fine and hot - very pretty run through trees, lakes, and nice locks.

Super overnight mooring - completely silent (except for frogs)

[Log not written up properly to-day]

June 2                                                Friday

Summit to Moulin Brule - 12 kms.

Fine & hot. First time ever - sun shade brolley up from start to finish!

Rogny 7 locks - most interesting.

Very nice village, with very nice little P. de P., but slightly off-hand L.K.

Locks electric, but L.K. told us we could not use last one (actually in village) until after 1300 as all switched off between 1200 & 1300, due to Govt policy concerning 35 hour week.

Moored up just below "Rogny 7 Locks" on main canal, had drinks on pavement in cafe/auberge, had lunch on grass in shade of superb old chestnut tree, and didn’t leave, to anger of L.K. as we were only boat, anyway, till after 1530.

Significance of Rogny 7 locks is that they were a staircase of 7 locks - an integral part of this canal - built in the 1650s, and only taken out of use in 1887! 240 years - right through Napoleonic wars - of constant use.

They are now a National Monument, and very important tourist attraction.

As the Tourist Chief said - pity the bottom chamber has become a litter trap.

The line of the present canal misses them by about 20 metres.

Spent an interesting 20 mins talking to the incumbent of the Tourist Information Office.

Totally fluent colloquial English, probably German &/or Dutch as well, considerable knowledge of English and Scots history - considered & informed opinion on Europe. Spoke Norwegian, and intimate knowledge of Norway. Sitting in garage sized wooden (well made) hut beside canal advising tourists on where to go, and what to see, and compiling statistics of who we are, and whence we come.

Is this another example of pragmatic French - quite happy in job well below apparent capabilities? Seen this quite noticeably in garage hands, waiters, counter staff, clerical staff - even lock keepers. The last L.K. last night had been born in his lock house - far bigger than a cottage - 40 years ago, and had never left it. May be reading too little into his job, though. He seemed involved in tourism, and may have been local bug white chief in all related subjects. Still - 40 years since birth in the same house in 2000.

Tel almost red-hot with calls to and from UK re house.

Moored right next to ancient 4 lock ladder from same period as Rogny 7 locks.

Subsequently learned that L.K.’s father had done 30 years as a L.K. before son tookover.

June 3                                             Saturday

Just above Lock 21 Moulin Brule to Montbouy

Very hot steamy close day.

Most amused during the day to meet Margerine - see last year’s section of the Glossary. Just as pompous as ever. Beautiful boat.

Stopped off in Chatillon-Clogny at lunch time - beautiful moorings, but rather cramped P. de. P. This Port has 1 of only 3 sanitary pump-outs in France. As no-one uses them - or even knows how to use them, we moored up at it, knowing it would be totally clean and wholesome. I should imagine that it has yet to be used, although it was installed 7 years ago.

Still bloody hot, and unfortunately canal runs in the bottom of a trough, so impression of hot claustrophobia is enhanced, but after hiding in the shade of some rather small trees to have lunch, set off to town for a few messages on the bikes.

Very successful trip - medicines, food, etc, at "Maxi Marche", and got everything we needed, and some things we just wanted.

Once again, have to crow over the success of the bikes, although we were slightly hassled in the town by youths on 49 c.c. buzz scooters going round and round the 1 way street system.

Got back to boat offloaded rucksacks and bags, loaded bikes on board, and were out and away within 3 minutes, just in time for Capitaine to change his query for money to a "bon voyage", and to openmouth amazement (admiration) of Dutch boat couple next door.

June 4                                             Sunday

Just above Montbouy to Cepoy.

Almighty thunderstorm just after we went to bed last night with very heavy rain.

Then later on without any warning, very heavy rain again. Just arrived with a crash of falling water - weird.

S running around to collect chairs in, (left them out, as usual), checking windows for leaks, shutting open doors, opening shut doors.

Tried to check if rain collecting in engine, but beyond finding support channels for plates over engine - upon which we stand - were totally full of water, couldn’t see a lot and quickly got bored, not a major "thing", anyway.

Fractionally cooler after storms, but not as much as expected.

Sunday get up - intended to take life a bit more seriously to-day, and cover some ground by starting earlier.

However, habit dies hard, and awoke at 0900.

By the time Sunday breakfast consumed, several millions gallons of rainwater removed from engine room (none of my good ideas seemed to have worked to ensure it is automatically led or pumped over the side) it was still 11.00 before we got away.

This meant that we hit a chain of 4 automatic locks at 11.58, and they were supposed to be switched off at 12.00.

First drama, as we sat in the top lock was that suddenly the engine wouldn’t start. All electric lights on dash did their thing properly, but just the engine didn’t turn over.

Fortunately, exactly the same thing had happened last year at Newbury, before we started, and I had to pay a guy £10.00 to put it right, and show me the problem.

Loose wire!

Same thing again - in my enthusiasm to remove all the water from the engine room I had knocked the same wire out from the same socket, so having put it back, engine started. Thus cost of orriginal repair is now only £5.00 a time.

It was, however, a very nasty moment!

Then a long discussion with L.K.’s daughter decided that the electrics to the locks would probably be left on, although, as a result of govt’s recent introduction of 35 hour week, L.K.s don’t work and aren’t paid between 12.00 and 13.00, and technically all equipment and services are withdrawn or switched off between those hours.

Significance of all this to us was that we did not want to find that they threw the main switch when we were trapped in the bottom of a 5 metre lock with the gates shut on us.

All worked beautifully - the L.K. even came out at 12.30 after the bottom lock to ask us if all had gone well! It had, and we told him so! 4 locks in under 30 minutes is marvellous - the system here is that there are little radar sets in the banks of the canal that detect you, and set the next lock for you while you do the current one. I think. Anyway, it worked like a dream.

Weather cooler, and cloudy, but every now and again sun showed through, and hot again.

Got on with it to-day, and covered 28 kms - engine still too warm so allowance has to be made for cooling off occasionally.

Right through Montargis - first big town for a while. A bit bleak and industrial.

Headed for marked P. de. P. about 3 km beyond it in a possibly nice looking village, only to find the P. de P. completely occupied by the bane of the waterways, ex peniches converted to living aboard moored permanently right over the electricity and water points, and the area full of their cars and family bits.

Not quite fair in this case - there were 2, and they were nicely painted and looked after, and their cars were neat and clean, and there was no trash or scrap around, but still they occupy the whole mooring and facilities. At 39 metres each, not unnaturally. They are usually blamed for living free, but I am not sure that is true. They normally have to get a proper connection from E.D.F (Electricity de France) which they pay for in the usual way. I imagine they don’t pay proper mooring fees, though!

Moored up on the opposite side of the canal, nice spot, overlooking a barrage in the river, over which the water ran about 4" deep. Fascinated watching large fish hovering in the water just upstream of the barrage, catching food which was, of course, concentrated into the top 4" of water where it swept over the wall. The fish were clearly visible - tails and dorsels - as they had to swim hard in the current to get back off the wall.

Biked through village - just to have a look and a wander - then back to the peniches, just as 2 English Yachties came in at 19.15 looking for electricity. The locks close very definitely at 1900, and there is one only 400 metres down canal. Missed out on their electricity - but had a couple of drinks with the first one, and the 2nd joined. Their living accommodation is mighty small!

Back to boat as rain re-started via bridge in village - +/- 2 kms to cover 50 metres.

 

June 5                                             Monday

Cepoy to Chateau-Landon

Started to get strong feeling that L.K.s were neither interested in, nor capable of, doing their jobs on this stretch - an impression borne out be comments in Bowskill’s book.

e.g. no communication between locks, resulting in our twice arriving to find a lock being turned round. Silly thing to do - it doubles the L.K.’s work.,

Also very scruffy lock areas, and general debility and lack of pride.

However, it has to be said, the weather was atrocious, and there were several peniches travelling more or less in convoy, both ways.

Pissed solid almost all day till about 1600, when we moored up.

As weather improved decided bicycle ride to be order of day.

Visited Chateau Langdon itself - set about 3 km back from canal on ridge.

Suffering from mild malaise resulting from multiple insect bites, so, greatly daring, allowed S. to do the map reading.

Not easy - French maps half the scale of our O.S., and try and squash in as mutch information.

Got to Chateay-Landon safely - most impressive Chateau high up on ridge, undergoing huge extensions - including construction crane at top of steep bank/hill-side. Looked as though should slide down at any time.

Along ridge to town - very nice and ancient, with good views over river/canal valley.

Good look, then set off back to boat by different route.

Came short - went down lane which got progressively muddier, less lane and more muddy track like, until completely overgrown with nettles. Proved that cross country work in mud is not the Brompton’s strong point - steering is lost or severly curtailed, wheel spin in low gear is endemic, and finally the back wheels clog up.

S. carried out well know imitation of beetle on it’s back in mud puddle - before returning to correct track, and quite suddenly finding ourselves by Albert.

Mud removal operation, followed by supper and bed.

Arranged with L.K. just round corner from mooring start time and to fill up water in lock.

Again - most strange. Totally blank to start with - no water, no lock, no canal seemed to be his outlook - then suddenly it all came to-gether, we agreed on everything in cheerful and friendly manner!

Could have been a much worse day - good laughs in evening.

This week's we're here Map (and click here to go back!)