Quiet day, started late, sunny with wind.

Having lunch, on canalside, when Castor arrived on a battery charging trip, and told us of a super picnic site at immediately below the last or summit, lock.

Went straight on up - all of 2 kms, and found short stretch of canal, etangs on  both sides, short grass, sheet piling with holes!

Moored up for night.

Took flower picture here.

Drinks with James and Clare of Castor.

Overstayed welcome - 2100 and supper yet to be cooked on both boats.

Unmoored 0815. Lovely clear sunny crisp morning. Real joy to be alive sort of weather, although promise of intense heat later.

Great joy - all locks - 7 of them - into Briare, automatic, and downhill, so run very easy and uncomplicated.

Into Briare lunch time - had lunch then up to station to confirm to-morrow’s train and buy ticket. Hand written notice - "station closed due to illness - buy tickets from train conductor"! Ouch - probably won’t get either right through to le Havre, or age concession.

Shopping to prepare for absence of caterer-in-chief whilst inspecting Grandchildren - priorities need adjusting?

Much writing of lists - sun very hot, but wind too chilly to sit stationary in shade, so move into sun, which being mid summer, stings, as well as cooks. Fortunately, can keep fan running - shore-side electricity.

Briare to Belleville.             Canal lateral á la Loire

Up incredibly early.

S. to station at 0630 in taxi. Self chased, inconspicuously, on Brompton, and arrived as taxi bill being paid! Train for Paris - le Havre - Portsmouth duly caught.

Tidy and cleaning boat in cool of early morning - great. Lots done.

Castor with James and Clare arrived - they drove through last night, but no space on moorings, so went straight on and moored up beyond "pont canal".

Lit out down canal about 10.30, across "Pont de canal" - Briare aqueduct. Waited for ever for hire boat to come out - going at slow walking speed. Then he speeded right up at end to water-ski speed and rocked Albert onto sloping canal sides.

Found appropriate tree to moor under for Albert and slow lunch.

Into Belleville just after lunch - after 1 unexpected lock. Nearly lost it, while checking map to see if lock really where it should be. It was.

Belleville remembered as nice quiet little halt, comfortable and cheap. It is all that, except quiet - with a road right alongside, and a tribe of juvenile scooter freaks.

The low sides remembered are not nearly as low as remembered.

Have to be very careful over "remembered treasures" - apart from the mooring rope incident, have been more wrong than right.

Got steadily hotter, so outside work naturally precluded - and inside little better. Kept falling asleep in chair in shade of tree.

June 27                                           Thursday                                                                                                                                                  

Belleville.         Canal lateral á la Loire

"Interior Economy" we used to call it - pottering and maintaining.

Belleville growing on me, again. A cycle ride all round in the afternoon let me see that it is, in fact, a very smart, neat, tidy, pretty little town/village, and very well looked after - flowers everywhere.  Home to executives from the nuclear power station, perhaps.

Cleaned and touched up paint and bitumen.

Belleville to just north of Sancerre/St Tibauld.    Canal de lateral á la Loire

Finished titivating, and set off after lunch - wanderlust striking again.

Teemed up with small wood yacht, single handed, being sailed by girl. Must have had feet of leather - bare foot over all the hot concrete and tar of the lock sides, and all the sharp corners of her boat.

Have completely forgotten girl’s name - Vanessa?? - and boat’s name (sorry, if you read this!) except it had a "K" in it. Red, wood, with tiller, noisy engine, and short bowsprit.

Met peniche hotel boat as he emerged from lock in strong cross wind. Lost sight of yacht- hidden behind our flowers - now even more ridiculously huge.

Assumed Albert was overhauling her - hit full astern smartly - then heard shout from girl - she had "lost" her engine.

She drifted into horrid rough concrete wall, so moored Albert more carefully - very carefully - with planks floating in water behind wheels. Sort of concrete where, when they poured it, it ran out below shuttering, leaving rough ridge sticking well out. Not normally even considered as mooring site.

Yacht engine apparently overheating - alarm sounding. Cleaned filter, no better. Suggested impeller (the thing we don’t use, that circulates "raw" water from the canal, or sea, round the engine to cool it). Removed old and showed it to me. Poor girl was still shaking from "confrontation" (didn’t think there was one) with peniche, and the proximity of Albert’s bow! Impeller loose on it’s hub. Fitted new - good thing spare carried, no idea what step would have been necessary, if not). Started engine, but no water from exhaust.

Made and drank cup of tea on bank, then she tried engine again. Copious water issuing forth.

Now cat had left, and wouldn’t come when called.

Felt that there was no way could help, so pushed off.

Found a stretch, short of St Satur in forest - about 5 metres - of close mown grass by neat sheet piles with holes. Ideal over nighter in shade, complete with deep water. Felt that short grass was likely to belong to fisherman, so moored up close, but not overlapping. Sure enough - all night fisherman in - probably VNF - van arrived about 1900, an after friendly discussion and beer, set up usual battery of rods.

Saw him off and on, but went quietly to bed, and didn’t hear a sound from then on.

N of Sancerre/St Thibauld/St Satur to below lock 32 la Grange Canal de lateral á la Loire.

Undisturbed night 3 metres from fisherman. Showed enormous fish caught - but nothing since 2230 last night.

Stopped at S.M. at St Satur for salads etc. Tried refueling - diesel .73€ , but 90 yards (counted them) between boat and pumps carrying 2 jerricans to save .10€ per litre too tedious, and only brought 2 cans. (space for 4).

Yesterday’s little red yacht went through whilst mooring, engine all well, but cat hadn’t returned until 9.00 o’clock last night!

Down into St Thibauld moorings. Crummy. Moored up before lunch.

Cycled and pushed bike up to Sancerre on it’s hill. Good wander round, and admired fantastic views across enormous areas of France.

Back to boat on road signposted "tourist route". Nervous about losing way, all energy used up in walking climb - none left for lost ways re-finding.

Back across canal into St Thibauld comfortably about 1400.

Exhausted lunch, followed by short sleep.

Awoken by combination of loud woman on Dutch Barge rear deck opposite - one of those continuous, carrying, high pitched voices, and a party of fisherman who had lunched too well and also had a female member with a voice like the Dutchman. setting up 5 metres behind Albert.

Pulled out of St Thibauld!

Just unmooring when Englishman turned up - belonged to a 1934 Leeds and Liverpool barge converted to live aboard. Cannot remember either name - barge could have Dime.

Going through phase of not remembering anybody’s or any boat’s name - embarrassing.

Moored up for night against holed sheet piling, almost exactly where we stopped 2 years ago - wrong side for shade, but shady side too shallow, so chose a spot where a tall tree shadow from other side was approaching!.

Set up table and chair on obviously unused tow path for evening drink, when along came last night’s fisherman. Shook each other warmly by hand, and had good laugh - but could understand very little of what he said - local accent?

Set off very early - soon after 8.00 - to get motoring done in cooler part of day.

Into slightly crummy P de P at la Charite - it isn’t actually at la Charite, which is on the east side of the Loire Valley, but the canal here is about 1 km from the river and town, to the West of them, and this is the nearest point on the canal to them.

It consists of a couple of horrid steel pontoons, a workshop, dry dock, and the usual clutter. Although "visitors moorings" are marked, they are in fact permanently occupied.

Amongst other boats moored, was a beautiful looking RNLI lifeboat in correct livery, the Charles Ashley! One of that breed of lifeboat that looked like proper lifeboats - low, mean, and seaworthy - rather than the current highly coloured floating bricks-on-edge.

There is also a silo, currently in us, and a peniche jetty - also in use.

Asked friendly Brits in Dutch Barge with permanent mooring - again name of boat forgotten, except port of registration was in the Channel Islands - to look after Albert, currently making use of the last 6 metres of visitors mooring available, whilst paying a quick visit to la Charity.

As usual, when moored to short pontoon, the bikes were on the end of the boat dangling out in the channel, so had to struggle it round the outside of the boat, or carry it through the cabin.

Very enjoyable visit to la Charity - also bought bread from a "klaxon".

Cycled to the Cathedral, locked bike to post outside, then found service in progress - embarrassing, so wandered all round on foot, finishing up on top of ramparts self refreshing with cold shandy brought and kept cold for occasion in Australian stubby holder.

Slightly shaken at how low the Loire is.

Back to boat for late lunch, then, having worked out arithmetic - totally incorrectly - for return to collect S. next Saturday, set off north again in late afternoon.

Found a shady spot on canal not far from last night’s mooring. Always try for bush moorings - much more peaceful. Super having gossips with other boaters on formal moorings with mod cons, but just as nice having entire area to oneself.