Canal Loire May 2019

In May we had our annual European Waterways holiday where I don't have to drive the boat. For the second year running we travelled with Croisi Europe as their boats are not too big, with only 10 cabins and 20 passengers. As we were a bit late in booking the only cabin available was one designed for disabled use which was on the upper deck.

Not only did our holiday include all meals and excursions it also included drinks at the bar, unless you wanted some specific brand of drink, so really nothing extra to spend.

Our home for the week was MV Deborah. Its one of 5 barges of this design that Croisi Europe runs on the French canals. They are based loosely on the traditional design of barges to fit the standard Freycinet gauge locks which are  39 metres long and 5.2 metres wide. The boats are a very close fit, probably closer than a modern UK Narrowboat in a narrow lock.

The boats are quite unusual in their design in so much that they have two engines and two propellers, one at the stern and one at the bow, both swivel through almost 360 degrees on pods, she also has no rudder, so no power equals no steering. Under normal cruising only the stern engine is used but for close manoeuvring for locks, bridge holes, mooring and bendy canal sections both engines run enabling the boat to move in any direction including spinning on its own axis. The forward engine came in very useful when the main propeller was fouled with weed and a short length of old rope as it enabled us to still make good progress until the prop could be cleared.

The main passenger accommodation is on the lower deck comprising twin beds and en suite shower with toilet, each cabin has a large non opening window just a few inches above the water line. There is also one other cabin on the main deck between the bar and restaurant designed for disabled access so there would be no need to use the stairs, the one we were occupying. This had a double bed and a large shower, toilet en suite. It also had a very large opening window which would have been nice had the weather been better. All cabins of course had individual heating/air conditioning, WiFi access and satellite TV. The TV failed to work all week but we all agreed that was no great loss and I think most of us suggested that the dish be removed to improve outside visibility while cruising. Also on the upper deck at the bows was a Hot Tub, as like last year I didn't see anyone use it all week.

All meals were served in the restaurant and half of us made a great effort to circulate, but there were 2 French couples who didn't speak English and 2 Swedish couples, one was poorly sighted, so they always sat at the same tables which is understandable.

Breakfast was a self-service buffet served between 7-30 and 8-30, the only hot cooked part being eggs. Lunch time was the main meal of the day being 4 courses, starter, main, cheese and desert served with wine, which slowed the afternoon down a bit. The evening meal was 3 courses, starter main and dessert again served with wine. Before lunch every day cocktails were served in the lounge area. Not something I am really a fan of, a bit like Alcopops!Test

We had to make our own way to Paris where our holiday started being picked up by coach outside the Gare du Nore, Everyone was there on time but the driver decided to wait half an hour because the traffic was in a gridlock, This didn't help and after an hour and a quarter we had gone round the block and were still within 200 yards of our starting point. The result was arriving in Briare much later than planned.

The itinerary for the week was basically the same every day, first breakfast followed by a morning excursion, back to the boat for cocktails and lunch followed by a cruise, moor up before dinner with time to wander round. This worked well as you could relax after the lunch time wine.

On our first morning we had a sightseeing trip around Briare on a mini road train. This was better than a coach as we were able to pass under the aqueduct along the towpath of the old canal and ended at the towns small but well equipped maritime museum. Back at the boat we cast off to across the Loire river on the 662 metre Briare Aqueduct. At one time this was Europe's longest aqueduct and the masonry was built by Gustave Eiffel builder of the Eiffel Tower. It must have looked splendid when it had lanterns on every post. Again as you can see, our boat is gauged just to fit. That afternoon we cruised as far as Léré. A wander round the small town revealed not only the old church but also an old house with a round tower on the front of it, these seem quite common in this area of France.

Saturday morning and the weather had taken a turn for the worse with a bad forecast, we should have taken umbrellas with us when we went to the coach but we didn't. Our first destination was the hilltop town of Sancerre where we had a walking tour in the rain that was now falling quite heavily at times.

The views from the town are quite spectacular with the Loire River running through the valley. Again the external towers were in evidence, it seems the houses were built before they put staircases in passing through the floor above so they built external stair towers to get from one floor to the next.

After our visit we went to a nearby goat farm, this area produces a lot of goats cheese. To be granted the appellation the goats must have a certain amount of space and all food stuffs must come from within a certain area. While we were there the goats were inside and they were controlling the amount of daylight into fooling half of them to kid at the wrong time of the year so they had a constant milk supply. The visit ended with a cheese tasting session of different ages of cheese from 1 week to fully mature hard cheese. It was then back to the boat for Cocktails and lunch as we travelled to Ménétréol-sous-Sancerre and our next mooring. We had a bit of time before diner so again wandered round the village, some of the houses are in a very poor state of repair. Before mains water was available the village relied on wells and pumps for clean water, these were quite ornate and made from cast iron and were rotary pumps so fairly easy to operate. The village also has a splendid viaduct that carried the railway  across the village and valley.

Sunday and we went to Pouilly-sur-Loire where we visited The Tower of Pouilly-Fumé. This turned out to be the town Tourist Office where we first saw 2 videos about grape growing and how they protect the grapes from frost in the winter months, micro global warming. This was followed by a visit downstairs where the room was set out with lots of smelling jars, these contained things like a selection of fresh fruit, honey, etc to allow you to identify the fragrances, there were also two darkened glass jars with mystery items to identify.
They also explained how the composition of the soil affects the flavour of the wine. Once that was done it was off to a vineyard to see it in practice where we visited different fields of vines and how the soil varied even from one side of the road to the other, it was quit striking, thankfully the weather had improved today but still not that warm.

From the vineyard to the winery to see how the grapes are turned into wine and the all important tasting. In this winery all thier fermentation tanks are underground with precise temperature control on each tank to ensure the correct fermentation. The lady that owns it all did her work experience while studying in the UK so spoke very good English and was able to explain things very well.

As soon as we were back on the boat we were off once more, 3 of us jumped ship in one of the locks to walk the 5Km to the next lock. Before the boat left the lock the captain tried clearing the prop with his boat hook, I should add that the bows are right up by the cill at the head of the lock, so not much space. We hadn't walked more than a couple of hundred metres when I disturbed a snake, the largest I have ever seen in the wild about a metre long and 3cm thick. We rejoined the boat at the next lock and carried on to Herry, our mooring for the night. The crew have got deploying the gangplank down to a fine art, sliding it down from the top deck, latching it onto the main deck and then just lowering it to the bank.

Once we were securely moored up the crew decided to clear the propeller properly, this involved Kevin the deck hand going in with the bread knife and removing a short piece of old rope.

On Monday our coach took us to La Charité-sur-Loire to visit the old Abbey on the banks of the River Loire. There is only about half the original building standing but inside is a model of what it was originally like. Its a very large building some 120 metres long and was consecrated in 1107, in 1559 it was partially destroyed by fire and in the 17^th. century four bays were rebuilt with a new facade. After the French Revolution houses were built against the remaining 6 bays standing on the remains of the church.
Our next visit before returning to the boat was considered to be the least interesting where we visited a farm that had some non indigenous species of animals, but we did get a small glass of red wine and some nibbles before rejoining the boat. We were away in good time and before we sat down for lunch we spotted this pair of deer in the canal. The boat slowed to a crawl as they swam ahead of us until they reached a shallow part where they could climb out, then disaster nearly struck as one crossed the road in the path of a van, literally jumping over the bonnet, seeing this the second one took fright and jumped straight back into the canal, swimming from side to side ahead of us, eventually it turned back and swam towards where its partner had climbed out.

After lunch we came to the only stretch of towpath suitable for cycling so the braver ones set off on the bikes, this local resident has seen it all before! Our mooring for the night was Marseilles-Les-Aubigny on the edge of a bank side boatyard. Tonight was a special meal referred to as the Gala Dinner, this would normally be the last night of a cruise, but tomorrow night we all go into Nevers after dinner.

Tuesday morning and the weather is starting to get much better which is just as well as we are off to Fontmorigny Abbey, this is a one man restoration project. He bought the Abbey and has slowly been restoring/ preserving it. With all buildings of this age the question is to what period do you restore it, or do you just try to preserve what is still there. This photo is a classic example showing where over time there have been two buildings added to the original structure as can be seen from the roof scars. What have been restored are the gardens to the best record available. There is still lots to do and the owner is so enthusiastic I am sure he will continue until he becomes too old to continue, then what?

After leaving the Abbey we headed to Apremont-sur-Allier both these coach journeys were very convoluted around country lanes due to major road works closing many of the more direct routes. Shortly before reaching our destination we passed Ecluse des Lorrains this is an unusual circular lock with the entrance and exit adjacent to each other and it locked boats up and down between the river Allier and the Loire canal at the end of what appeared to be a now disused arm. We finally reached our destination, a rather splendid garden complete with water feature and follies. The gardens are just over 40 years old and were created by Gilles de Brissac. We returned to the coach via a short walk along the river bank where all the old houses have been restored. We were led to believe that all the houses except one are owned by a single person and that is why only one TV aerial is visible anywhere, all the rented properties have to have them inside. We passed one structure which I think is an old slaughter house for killing cattle with posts to walk the animal between at one end and closer ones for its head to come through at the other end with various chains and winches. Today was the first day that the boat had moved without us onboard and we met it waiting in the top chamber of a staircase lock at the beginning of the aqueduct across the River Allier. I wonder what our HSE would say about the railings. Our destination for our final night onboard was Nevers. Nevers lies at the end of an arm off the main line and it was here that we encountered our first automated DIY lock, until now we had been met by an écluse at each lock to work us through. This lock at the end of the arm leading to Nevers is set by a switch hanging from a gantry over the canal. Once in the lock, the lock is then operated by these lock side leavers. From here the arm is dead straight down to the basin our mooring for the night. Due to the boat travelling this morning without us we arrived in good time and some of us walked into town for a look round before dinner, We would return to town after dinner by coach for a lantern light walk around the old town. The old town was protected by a wall and a moat with a gate and drawbridge, later a second, larger gateway was added inside the original line of the wall.

Wednesday Morning and another coach awaited us, this time all our bags were loaded into the coach and we headed back to the Gare du Nord, Unlike our journey a week before this was much smoother and we were in Paris with plenty of time to catch our train to England, the end of another enjoyable holiday.

Here is a map of our journey and the places we visited, click to go to Googel Maps