2006

BACK TO CALENDAR 2006

 

2.1 26 June 2006 to 2 July 2006

 

 

26 June, Monday, Nevers to Cours les Barres, Canal Lateral a la Loire

Went into Nevers for bread, salads, etc, and got hopelessly lost, and had to rely on good nature of motorists not to run over elderly gent on exotic bike not looking where he was going, whilst searching for recognized land mark.   Had map, but difficult to read map on bike.

Got back to boat about 11 - strong wind, cool and overcast.

Pushed off, and fortunately automatic locks left switched on over VNF lunch hour, so emerged onto main cut 1215.

Enjoyed views back over to Nevers where canalside bush not too thick - heavily photographed in sunlight when we came this way in - I think - 2004, so no point in repeating those photos badly!

Going into Cours les Barres was a pure nostalgia trip.   The mooring is in a charming little village, very conscious and proud of itself, on a steep little hill, up overlooking the canal and the Loire Valley, with the moorings down below it,  slight cut out in the canal bank, concrete and gravel and earth revetted for a short distance, then - my favourite - steel pile revetts with holes in the top and grass.

We moored here several times over the years, and it was always a popular comfortable free "3 days to a week mooring to meet friends".  Free mooring with water and electricity from one stand only in the perceived centre of the mooring strip - perfectly adequate.

Now, with the moving of the Gannay hire base to Chatillon-sur-Loire near Briare, and the increase in other bases thereabouts, it is very much on the hire boat route, and was frequently busy crowded, especially on certain days of the week, but which I never managed to work out.

With my extremely long cable - 50 metres - and 2 shorter ones, 30 metres to-gether, and boat's own cable, was able to moor under only tree right at the end of the moorings, so only ever had neighbours on one side.

 

27 June, Tuesday, Cours les Barres, Canal Lateral a la Loire

Cycled around and enjoyed Cours-les-Barres.

 

28 June Wednesday Cours les Barres, Canal Lateral a la Loire 

Still - nominally - cycling around and enjoying C les B and "absorbing French Culture".   In fact, sitting in the shade doing nothing - enjoyed that too.

 

29 June Thursday Cours les Barres to picnic site mooring, just above St Leger-le-Petit, Canal Lateral a la Loire

Run pleasant, weather hot and humid, but the views here are not that great, and it getting very mid summery and a bit dried out and parched.   Flat, wide Loire Valley with largely straight canal.

Must be said, canal is nicely full of water, - Albert's propeller does not like shallow water, it makes flappy grinding noises, and seems to huff and puff when asked to do some work.   Here he/she seemed very happy.

It was here that map reading, memory of what was there, and notes in Navicarte started dis-agreeing fundamentally.

Had already not seen, or missed "Watsons" - strip of canalside mooring maintained privately, but available to all for many years by people - called funnily enough - Watson.  I know it was sold on, and in turn is again for sale or sold, but it appeared (!) just to have disappeared.   I was looking for it because my memory is that in the hot weather, except for 2 or 3 hours over mid-day - boats are in the shade - but I've probably got that wrong as well.

Stopped for lunch at Marseilles les Aubigny.   We had our bottom blacked some years ago in Raymondos dry dock here, quite successfully, although with the usual dramas of dates and times being "mistaken".   Raymondo has taken on the abandoned hire base sheds and dry dock at the other end of the town where he appears to offer fuel, long term moorings, docking, and repairs.   The old set-up, which we understand is still his,  appears to have tumbled back into a shambolic scrap yard of old and partially repaired boats, gently rotting away, and heaps more scrap on the canal sides.

This bush mooring not wildly successful.   Spot marked in my writing in 2002 as being good, quiet, bollards, picnic spot, etc etc,  was completely open to afternoon sun, farm steading flat out with noisy tractors moving cotton reels from A to B, then back again up to A,  A proportion of the picnic spot has been used to stock-pile large numbers of rusty revett sheet piles, untidily and uneconomically, rather spoiling the whole set-up.

Tied up under the only tree offering shade, to a dusty earth and sand canal side.   You cannot win them all.

 

 

30 June Friday St Leger-le-Petit to St Thibault Canal Lateral a la Loire

To-day was fun - slightly, but not much, cooler.

Having passed Pouilly in the distance, Sancerre was in sight, and we were very much into wine country.

Still couldn't find the pleasant spots we recorded and stopped at before in our very leisurely wander along here some 2 to 4 years ago when we met l'Histoire d'Eau, Steve and Peta Caswell.

Into St Thibault for the night.   The mooring is in a short offshoot from the canal proper leading - through a deep lock - into the River Loire, used in the days when the Loire was still being navigated.

One has to make a choice here, either electricity, morning shade, curved canal sides on the right, or on the left - if chosen carefully - afternoon and evening shade, straight cut canal sides, water, but no electricity.   Charges are reasonable, Capitaine pleasant and doesn't fuss you, and no charge made for non-available electricity!   Unfortunately, have a deep routed dislike of paying for moorings, usually being squashed up and organised, when there are so many miles of perfectly good moorings out on the canal.   (When navigating a river, it is, of course, a completely different ball-game).

 

 

1 July Saturday St Thibault to Belleville Canal Lateral a la Loire

Really looking forward to this section..   Countryside still a bit dull, but remember 2 very successful stop-overs before in Belleville.

Interesting piece of economics here.   In Belleville to get water or electricity one had to borrow gadgets off the tourist office for which one paid a very nominal sum, which, of course was a form of mooring fee.

The form still shows a small charge, which is now officially waived.    The mooring is very comfortable, grass up to the boat, and a very low bank lined with old tires, the town has everything close to, and is very pretty with flowers, etc.

There were lots of boats eager to stop here - and there was sufficient space for them all.

The nuclear power plant sits steaming gently just to the east of the canal, and is somehow quite goodlooking in a slightly overpowering sort of way.

Again - busy with hire boats, and of course the closeness of the lock to the mooring does cause a bit of boat fidget, but it was still a very pleasant and quiet couple of nights. 

 

2 July Sunday in Belleville Canal Lateral a la Loire

Did "not a great deal" except enjoy doing it - also a bit of what I think the Navy call "make and mend".

Did both, to-gether with a lot of gossip - quite a couple of English boats in.