‘ello Loire

After climbing out of the Saone valley and descending the side of the Loire valley we crossed the mighty river itself at Digoin on a dramatic bridge.  This marked the end of the Canal du Centre and the beginning of the Canal lateral a la Loire.  The Loire has never been tamed and is not navigable so the canal runs along the edge of the flood plain and is very different from the Canal du Centre.  The winding stretches and automatic locks have been replaced by long straight runs between trees with occasional glimpses of the river, the hills opposite and briefly, a Chateau. Here the locks are infrequent and manual and manned by lock keepers who still live in the cottages by the lock and therefore take pride in their appearance and the gardens.  But it is well maintained and we can stop and put down stakes for a quiet rural mooring wherever we want.

Agriculture has changed from the vineyards on the Saone side of the Cote, and the Charoillais cattle on the Loire side ( the beef from the supermarket is some of the best we have had) to a varied mix in the plain of the Loire. They seem to to take pride here in the farm buildings and we have seen some lovely half timbered barns we would call Tudor but I am sure the French would not – Renaissance perhaps?

The weather is getting hotter and seems to build through hot and muggy to dramatic thunderstorms that have reshaped our bimini to where it needs a little help.  As much as I have discounted the weather forecast I now know that when it looks like this for the next day I should pay attention.

After we get to Decize we will turn off into the much more rural and quaint Canal de Nivernais where we will start climbing again.