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4.6 days, cool & damp then brighter, cold wind
52 km – 32 ml – 32 locks – 14 hrs
23 April:
Today, Saturday, is our rest day in Briare, a chance to explore this lovely small town, use the launderette and find some good places to eat for later on, with a little advice from Peter and Sara, our new neighbours.
After last night’s excellent meal in the friendly San Trop restaurant and another place already lined up for tonight, we decide to make a weekend of it and book in at the San Trop again for Sunday lunch tomorrow. Hang the expense!
24 April: Peter and Sara are such a nice couple; they drive us to the supermarket and even bring a very decent bottle with them when invited across for afternoon drinks.
25 April: We had intended to refuel here on departure but, when the occasionally-present marina manager states the price and demands cash (his card machine had been out of action for a suspiciously long time, apparently), we decide not to reward him with 400 of our remaining stash of notes. We can fill up when we reach the Seine at St Mammes.
It is cool and drizzly but our day is brightened by the very nice young lock-keeper who looks after us for all of our 11 up-locks. The subsequent 6 down-locks are negotiated without problems.
We find the ‘marina’ we were aiming for at Rogny but it is in truth just a nice little cul-de-sac with a slightly tatty quay, but with electricity and a working water tap. The locked office has the opening hours on the window but, as is becoming the norm, nobody is there. Ten minutes before closing time, a lady arrives in her shopping-filled hatchback and takes our money, by which time Richard has located a boulangerie for tomorrow’s breakfast.
26 April:
We find a good spot for lunch at Chatillon-Coligny, with a motor museum just a walk away. Unfortunately the bistro of choice is full so we console ourselves with some posh tarts from a patisserie. Colin and Richard enjoy the museum, pretty much on their own, and it is only 5 euros each.
Leaving mid-afternoon, we get stuck at the first lock and have to raft up to a small ‘bumper boat’ at the layby. This is the only viable place to get ashore, despite the chart showing moorings here. We do eventually spot one large bollard in the waist-high cow-parsley nearby but it isn’t viable. A call to VNF results in a lock-keeper attending and seeing us through the last two, deep, locks of the day, to our destination of Montbouy. Tuna lasagne tonight from the fridge.
27 April (am):
We had been warned that Montargis was ‘closed’ for a major a canal-side upgrade but we find a reasonable spot for lunch, albeit needing extra fenders to protect the hull from the sloping canal-side rocks. The town is slightly Venice-like with a number of small, but probably unnavigable, waterways running through it. Our mooring is no good for an overnight stop, so we head on for Cepoy on the Canal du Loing, the start of which is at Buges, not far from where we are.
Before we progress from the Briare to the Loing, it is worth mentioning another of the stark contrasts we are coming across in France, namely the variations in outlook from the boat. We are seeing flat, open plains, heavily forested areas, attractive villages and towns and large, ugly industrial sites. Most of the latter seem to be in a run-down state and some of them are clearly derelict. It will be interesting to see if this is still the case when we reach the majestic River Seine.
Progress so far
845 km – 528 ml – 149 locks – 128 hrs