Up to Decize and back home

After a relaxing time in Genelard we turned around and headed back up the Canal Lateral a la Loire.This is a gentle canal with few locks, nice ports and a wide easy passage. With the torrential rain at the start of the season there was a major breach up past Montargis.  This has taken most of the season to repair. This has made the canal lateral very quiet with no boats able to come from the North.  We were able to find ourselves moorings at Beaulon and Gannay which are very often full of boats.

The weather remains lovely, sunny and warm and with little rain.  This enabled us to have a number of drinks nights and dinners at the  table on deck, this included memorable nights with fellow Aussies Anne and Andrew on Sandalwood, and Debbie and Kevin on Rangali.

Anne and Andrew Brain in Gannay sur Loire

And so we headed into Decize which is a lovely old town nestled inside the ramparts. On a more practical note having spent a couple of weeks getting here from Paray our supplies were getting low. Whilst there is the odd boulangerie and a super butcher in Beaulon we were looking forward to a trip to a big supermarket. So we headed across the Loire to St Leger de Vine and moored at the quai outside the supermarket.  It is a proper quai and a very quiet mooring, so we spent a couple of days here.

There was a music festival on the banks of the Loire, so we headed off down and moored on the town quai on the Loire which was very close to the festival. We spent a few days there and had a good explore of some of the older parts of the town. some of the original ramparts and vestiges of early gates are still there, all beautifully surrounded by well kept gardens.

The town quai at Decize on the Loire

The Decize music festival this particular concert featured a Canadian band from Quebec who specialised in Irish folk music....sung in French.

The band attracted, how we we put it...a more mature crowd.

Decize - the entry gate through the ramparts

On the way back down we stopped at Ganay and Beaulon again, and once again both Ports were empty! - and caught up with Sandalwood who had been down to Paray and were heading back to Briare.... we had a great night on deck with dinner and the odd glass of wine or three!

On arrival at Diou, we heard trumpets playing and right opposite the port was a wedding with an old fashioned horse and cart  for the bride and Groom.

A quiet mooring at Diou

Diou - a wedding opposite the port

Then before heading back onto the Ronne canal we stopped at Coulanges which has had a major upgrade and is now a very nice little port with a concrete quai, good bollards, and power and water. 

The nicely updated port at Coulanges

 Then back down to Digoin and a right turn onto our home canal.

Quiet cruising

Narrow bridges

Heading for home on the Roanne canal

Normally we have not stopped at Chambilly as I do not like mooring in the port.  This time we stopped in the canal before the port and moored on pins which was much nicer.  So we headed ashore to go to the Brasserie for lunch, only to find that it was closed for their annual holidays, and it was the day that the boulangerie shuts.  So feeling highly let down, we headed for the posh restaurant in town, and had a slap-up lunch...with cloth napkins and fresh cutlery with every course.. 

Posh lunch at Chambilly

We recovered from a very rich lunch with an afternoon nap, and the next morning got a baguette, and a couple of Pain au Raisins for breakfast and head on down to Artaix.  We discovered a very strange festival with stuffed figures all round the village.

Artaix Festival

Sunrise at Artaix

Once back in Roanne we settled back into port life. The bar on Thursday nights, visits to Vide Greniers, and Emmaus and any other fete or activity that is going on in this very busy little town.

There are a number of medieval villages in the hills around Roanne.  One of our favourites is Le Crozet, who had a glass festival, where lots of artisan glass makers showed there skills and sold their wares.

Black glass insects to add a frisson to dinner!

As in so many small villages the old well is still in situ...just in case!

We found this house very interesting, loads of  embellishments and niches for figures.

This door was just the right size for me....they sure were a lot smaller in those days.

Turrets, crenellations, and so many doors.

We think this was the original door before the house was extended. 

Over recent years the Loire has become full of weed.  As the Loire feeds into the port and replenishes both the Roanne  and the Lateral canals with water the weed ends up in the port where it starts to grow.   So twice each year they bring in these huge machines which cut and collect the weed.

We can see where the inspiration for Mad Max came from!

Moored very near us is a large 38 meter barge that is used as a floating apartment.  However like all boats it needs its bottom surveying and painting.  So for the first time for at least ten years we are seeing Danton (after much work) leaving port and heading to the shipyard.

Making the most of our stay in France we are heading off by car on an adventure.  We are starting by going to Brittany, which we have wanted to visit for some time.  Then over to England to visit my relatives, our old friend Vanessa and go for a go for a cruise with Brian and Mary who have taken Kyrenia back to the Thames.

We were about to book the ferry from St Malo to Portsmouth when I looked at the map and found that we sailed right past Jersey.  So we are now stopping at Jersey for the night and then catching the overnight Ferry to Portsmouth the next day.