New Waters For Us on the Lateral a la Loire (Or, Hey, Ports – Easter is passed – switch your facilities on!!!)

The sun comes out at last as we cross the Pont-Canal du Guetin

It’s now just over a week since we left Roanne and with reasonable cruising weather and a desire to hit new waters, we’ve made good progress – 183km, 40 locks so far, constituting roughly 8% of our planned trip!

At the end of Sunday 1 April, we came off the Roanne-Digoine and swung left onto the Canal Lateral a la Loire and it really felt as if we were underway now.  We cruised on for a couple of more hours and moored up just above the first lock we arrived at, a lovely rural mooring again with no traffic and just the towpath for company.  Sally and Andy had eaten at ours the previous night and returned the invitation, so after a nice day’s cruise we didn’t even have to cook!  The fresh air was catching up on us all however, and after dinner and a couple of rounds of a dice game I can’t remember the name of, we headed back to Quaintrelle and were in bed by 9.30pm!

 

Another boat trying to break free of the Roanne-Digoine canal - literally!!

One last lock....

And we're out - Puzzler takes a left at the junction on to the Canal Lateral a la Loire

  

A rare smile - brought to you by sunshine and cruising :)

The next day was Easter Monday, and although a public holiday, the locks were open and after a slight lie-in, the eclusier turned up to put us through at 10am as agreed the night before.  Our destination for the day was a shorter jaunt to the small port at Beaulon, where there was a good little épicerie and bakery in the village which was a short walk away.  The shop was closed but would be open the following morning so we made a slightly later appointment with the lock-keeper for Tuesday.  It’s such a pain being back in the ‘nanny-state’ of cruising, having to tell the lock-keepers where you’re going, when you’re going, where you’re stopping……… but it’s better that than getting to a lock and having to phone (if there’s a number there at all) and wait for them to come from wherever they spend their time when not locking boats through……  There were a few boats at Beaulon but we squeezed ourselves in and settled down for the evening, and with Mike having cooked a vat of curry we couldn’t eat all by ourselves, Sally and Andy came round.

The next morning, Sally, Andy, Shannon the dog and I set off for the village at 9am, whilst Mike stayed back to top up our water, which meant a shuffle alongside the widebeam Renaissance.  At the épicerie, an elderly gent and his companion were doing his weekly shop, which involved selecting one item, waddling to the cash desk with it, depositing it, making comment to the shopkeeper, waddling off again, selecting one item, waddling to the cash desk with it…. You get the picture……  Meanwhile, the shopkeeper kept us entertained with tastings of various delicious sausage, even reverting to offering us coffee while we waited, one cup of which he successfully made between serving the old bloke.  After 30 minutes, Andy kindly pointed out we’d need to go soon as we were booked through the next lock at 10.30 and time was getting tight.  With the old bloke now away, he began to attend to us, but not before having a try at introducing his cat to Shannon who was waiting patiently outside…….  We finally got our saussicon supplies and then popped over to the bakers for bread (and pastries!) then headed back to the port where it was time to cast off and head for the lock 15 minutes away.

Deep concentration as the pan goes through Quality Control

The weather forecast for Wednesday wasn’t good, so we decided that we would push on and try and get to Decize today, Tuesday, so if it was really bad, we would stay put for the day.  We arrived at Decize around 4.30pm and as we went for  a walk round the port and for a look at the river, Andy went into the VNF office to check on stoppages.  He and Sally were hoping to go up the Nivernais but our friend Charles on WB Xenia (now back in the UK as of this week!) having moored over winter in Auxerre, at the top of the Nivernais, had told us of a stoppage just south of Auxerre that wouldn’t be lifted until 15 May.  Andy and Sally hadn’t heard about it, and when Andy told the lady in the VNF office at Decize, she also hadn’t heard of it.  She said the canal was open all the way, but then said she’d make a phone call just to check.  Just as well she did as the canal is indeed shut due to weir damage until 15 May.  Andy and Sally were now faced with a dilemma…..to continue with their planned voyage on the Nivernais and dawdle along and wait for the stoppage to clear, or take another route ie. Come with us up the Lateral a la Loire.  With the stoppage, their original trip would take them six weeks, the alternative route would take them four, they had planned on taking three……..  However, they weren’t in a rush and having slept on it, decided to stick with their original plan and just take their time and then spend a few days in Clamecy until the stoppage cleared.

On Wednesday morning, stormy clouds were overhead and it wasn’t long until heavy rain started.  We got on with some chores and then during a break in the rain, made a dash to the supermarket to top up our supplies as we’ll be quite rural for the next few days.  By the time we got back to the boat, the sun was breaking through and Mike was confident the rain was over for the day, so went along to the VNF office and said we’d be leaving at midday and could we book the next lock for 1 o’clock.  It was dry when we left, and stayed dry for the next few hours and had we not got held up, would have been moored up by the time this came….

Dressed appropriately but these hailstones hurt!!

We got held up at a lock as we had to wait for another two boats coming the other way to come up, the lock being in their favour.  After putting us down, the lock keeper then disappeared off to put the other two boats through their next lock, which was 7kms away.  Ours was only 3!!!  And we were faster.  We would have put us though our next lock which was nearer, then gone back to the other two boats, slower and further away.  This is the problem when you have one lock keeper managing three locks and several boats meet in the middle one going opposite directions.  We got ourselves into our lock and closed the gates and waited.  We waited nearly an hour for him to come back, by which time the slightly leaking bottom gates had actually meant we’d dropped about 1 metre and we only had another 30cm to go before the gates opened.  We did keep trying them thinking it would be quite amusing if he arrived and we were gone and the next boat that had arrived to come up was in the lock instead………

Anyway, he arrived, we got through and the heavens opened as we travelled the last few kilometres to our evening’s mooring at Chevenon.  The evening cleared and allowed us a walk into the village to admire the chateau and the flooded lavoir!

Dropping down the lock without a paddle raised!

Splashing about in wellies in the flooded lavoir at Chevenon

The pretty chateau at Chevenon which you can't get into unfortunately.

The next morning we were un-nannied as we cruised a lock-free 7kms to the top of the arm leading down to the town of Nevers, where there were two locks, but they were automated and therefore no lock-keepers.  The avenue down to Nevers is lovely, but sadly ends at the rather grotty port on the outskirts of town.  We were informed that the capitain of the port only turns up sporadically and we happened to arrive on a day she wouldn’t be there, so we moored for free - there was a machine selling tokens for electricity and water but we didn’t need either.  We set off into the town for an explore and to treat ourselves to lunch at Le Gambrinus, reknowned for its steaks – mmmmmm.

It wasn’t the cheapest lunch we’ve ever had but the steak was certainly one of the best.  We were unsure what some of the cuts were, so the chap asked us how we liked to eat our steak and when we said ‘rare’ he advised the best cut to have, Langue de chat…..  Having now researched this, this is a cut particular to the Charoliase cows, so we need to remember not to ask for it unless the meat is Charolaise or we might end up with a real langue de chat……….

We then visited the Cathedral and had a look around the old part of the town before returning to the boat to veg out watching some tv and dozing off our lunch (and lunchtime wine!).  The cathedral was impressive and both of us were remarking on the modern stained glass windows, when I found a sign explaining that the cathedral was restored in the 70s after being bombed by accident by the RAF on the nights of 15/16 July 1944…….oooops…….

The pretty 'avenue' down to the grotty port at Nevers

The old town of Nevers is really pretty

As we were now on new waters we slowed down considerable and there were a couple of days this week we just cruised for 9kms.  Friday was a short day leaving Nevers (our first two ‘upwards’ locks of the year!) and crossing the impressive Pont-Canal du Guetin (eventually, after the lockie came back from his lunch and put another boat up and across first).

The very impressive Pont-Canal du Guetin

Glad we're going over not under!

Green light for (Sergei) Go! :)

And straight from the Pont-Canal into a very deep staircase lock

There, in the sun, we put the bikes together and set off along the now unused arm of canal which used to join the river Allier to the Canal Lateral a la Loire.  From the round lock at the end of the arm, we continued another 1.6km to the village of Apremont-sur-Allier, a recommendation made by Anna and Steve, our neighbours on Victoria at Roanne.  We’re so glad they told us about it, it was fab.  Firstly we visited the gardens, which must be magnificent in summer, but we were just a bit too early for an abundance of colour.  It was lovely just to wander through them though and enjoy the surprisingly nice warm afternoon.  We then stopped for a beer and a coffee in the brasserie next door before visiting the museum in the grounds of the chateau, in the restored stable where we were hugely impressed by a bike exhibition sitting alongside the usual carriage one.  After a walk along the river then back through the very pretty village we got back on the bikes for our 6km ride back to the boat, where we enjoyed our warmest evening yet and had all the windows open until dark.

The disused embranchement from the river Allier to the Canal Lateral a la Loire

The stunning round Ecluse Lorraine to bring boats off the river onto the canal

So sad it's disused, it would have been amazing to see this in use.  You can just see me above the left small arch which gives an idea of scale.

The lovely gardens at Apremont sur Allier

Nice spot for a seat

The chateau at Apremont sur Allier

Mike's favourite bike in the exhibition

Mike was a happy camper the next morning as Saturday dawned bright again and he was served with a full English breakfast before heading off at 11am.  Having done a laundry earlier in the week, and wanting to do another that day as the bed needed changed, we decided to cruise to Cours-les-barres, where there was water and electric at the small port.  It was another short day, which suited us, as I wanted to catch up on the blog and there were various other admin-ny tasks we could do with getting done.  We were moored up by the back of 12, taking a space behind two rather shabby, suspiciously permanently-moored-looking boats, one of which was being worked on, and was plugged into a power socket – good, it must be working.  The power was, but the water was not.  It was still switched off.  So we didn’t bother hooking up to the power as I wouldn’t be doing my second load of washing until we had topped up with water.  Our stop for Sunday was another port with all facilities, so we would get  water then.

Or so we thought.  Another short cruise of 10km and three locks, past a cements work that covered us in yellow dust, brought us to the very pretty town of Beffes, with a cracking port of pontoons and three concrete quays, all equipped with stantions with power and water.  It is free to moor, 6euros for 24 hours for electric/water and there is a pump-out machine that is free and appeared to be working.  At the machine where you pay, there was a sign informing boaters that the water is closed at the moment………  That was very annoying as we are getting a bit low, not desperate yet, but if the next couple of places that advertise having water don’t have it switched on yet, we’ll be in dire straits.  Most of the ports normally switch everything on at Easter, or just after, so we’re puzzled as to why they haven’t yet.  It’s really annoying.  A search under every visible manhole cover proved fruitless as well, as did trying every tap in the port as last year we benefitted from a broken one that provided free water somewhere on the Bourgogne….

With the free pump out machine working and our black tank almost full, we decided to make use, so manoeuvred Quaintrelle alongside and connected it up.  As with previous machines we’ve come across, it was the wrong connection for us, but we managed to connect it and switched on.  It pumped away but did nothing.  Our tank remained full.  But not for long…. Having made up our minds to pump out, we put away the useless port one and dug our manual one out from the gas locker.  Normally done under cover of darkness and not in a port where other boats might arrive, we were so annoyed at the lack of water and lack of ‘pooh-sucky’ machine (name courtesy of Pip on Oleanna), that we decided the town deserved a dose of our waste and it shot out in all it’s glory to feed the local fish – yuk!  That done, we went back to our mooring, made a second cup of coffee, chopped some logs scavenged during yesterday’s lunch break, sat in the sun til the rain started and then came back indoors to do some more admin-ny things, including a blog update – you’re so spoiled, two in 24 hours!!

Tomorrow we hope to find water.  And if not, we’ll find plenty of wine soon at Sancerre and will just have to drink that instead!!