Monday 2nd
June
Roanne
to Briennon
3 locks
15km
We left
Roanne port 9.45am, and had a very enjoyable 2½ hour trip to Briennon. When we arrived in Briennon we walked over
the Loire to visit the town called Pouilly-sur-Charlieu.
Not much there so we walked back to the boat and read books in the
afternoon.
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| Leaving Roanne past Etholle |
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| Leaving Roanne, Roger from Etholle helping to close the lock gate |
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| Arriving at Briennon |
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| One of these trees was felled later in the morning and went into the canal by mistake Etholle were held up while the workmen struggled to get the tree out of the canal |
Tuesday 3rd June
Briennon to Melay
0 locks 11km
No locks today and a gentle 2hour trip to Melay. We moored before the quay on a green mooring over looking fields. We walked into Melay. It’s a very nice village and the bakers was open even tough it was lunch time. When we walked back via a lane to our boat we were pleased to see Etholle already moored up. Roger and Glynwen made great time from Roanne even though they were held up by a tree that had been felled the wrong way and it landed in the canal blocking it for a bout 25 minutes.
We went with Roger and Glynwen for dinner to Restaurant Cote Terroir et Exotisme in Melay. We cycled there on our bikes and it was great fun coming back in the dark along the bumpy lane and footpath. the meal was lovely, with an amazing depth of flavour.
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| Melay |
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| A view of Melay from our mooring |
It
was forecast to be wet most of the day so we stayed put, and it was
wet. Glynwen and Roger kindly invited us over for 'Asperos' early
evening. They are staying at Melay a bit longer so we may not see
them again this year, which is a real shame.
Thursday
5th June
Melay
to Chambilly
3
locks 8km
We
set off just after 9am, and we phoned the lady lock keeper to let her know of
our arrival at Artaix Lock. The lock was open for us and she duly arrived just
as we were entering it. It’s a 6m lock, so pretty deep but it
emptied very gently.
When
we exited second lock of the day we could see lots of people sketching and
painting the canal. Once we had moored we went for a bike ride and
we were accosted by one of the artists and she showed us her painting and she
told us to go and look at the other artists work as they had also painted us as
we went by. We find everyone so very friendly in France.
We
then cycled 2.5km to Marcigny, a really lovely old town, over on the other side
of the Loire. We had lunch in the town square at a restaurant
called Beatrice Héritier. It was fab, we sat
outside in the sun and even though the service was very slow (it was very busy
with French having their lunch, always a good sign), we really enjoyed our
meal. So much so we will be back!
We
then cycled to the Emile Henry factory shop and had a
very enjoyable time looking around and purchased a few bits and
pieces. If you like cook shops then it’s the place for you!
We
have enjoyed coming back along the Canal de Roanne à Digoin. The
canal is very quiet, with hardly any other boats travelling on
it. Tomorrow is the 7.2m lock and we will be stopping in Digoin.
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| Melay town mooring we moored on the bank before the town mooring |
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| 6m lock, it empties very slowly and gently |
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| As there are sloping sides to this mooring at Chambilly I walked from the lock to be able to catch a rope from the bank |
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| A sketch of the canal and our boat! |
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| Another great sketch they told us we moved too fast for them to draw us but we think they did a great job |
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| Marcigny town centre |
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| Marcigny |
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