Briare, Chatillion-sur-Loire 21-24 May 2023 We had planned to stay a few days in Briare where we had originally planned to moor for the winter last year, but were unable to get there due to low water levels. On Sunday we were heading down to Briare. We knew that the locks 6 and 5 were only open between 10 and 12 so we left at 9:50 and found both locks ready and waiting for us, so we cruised up to lock number 4 which is on the former canal de Briare at 11:25. This branch of the canal has different times and we knew that we would have to wait until 2:30pm before we could go through, so we took the bikes off to have a look at where we would moor and a look around the town. After we finally were able to enter the port and get settled, we headed down to the Pont-Canal where we hoped to catch "Le Petit Train" that only ran on Sundays. However it seemed that the 3:30 train was the last one to operate so we missed it. But as the audio guide was only in French we weren't too upset. So instead we had a quiet drink at a terrace overlooking the Pont-Canal. The Pont-Canal is the unique thing about Briare. It was built to carry the Canal Lateral à la Loire boat traffic over the Loire river to join up with the Canal de Briare. It is a 663m long aqueduct which takes the canal over the Loire river. It is quite an impressive sight, especially as it was opened in 1886. The next morning on my way to Chatillion-sur-Loire I actually crossed over the bridge on my bike, and was able to take a few more photos. I had made an appointment on Monday morning to see an accupuncture person. Her address was in Chatillion-sur-Loire but the map on her website showed it to be in Saint-Firmin-sur-Loire only about 8 minutes by bike away on the other side of the Pont Canal, as opposed to 24 minutes to Chatillion. I got there with time to spare but it became obvious that it was an incorrect address. After calling her I had to rush over to Chatillion about another 13 minutes away. Even then Google didn't know the street so I had to call her again. Anyway - I did finally get there. After my appointment I was able to have a little bit of a look around Chatillion. I then decided to go down to the Mantelot Lock. Before the Pont-Canal was built in Briare, boats had to cross the Loire river. They passed through Mantelot Lock near Chatillion sur Loire on the south side of the river and then left the Loire at the Combles Lock about 1km downstream on the other side. Both locks are at 45 degrees to the river facing downstream so that the current will not force water into the lock. Often boatmen had to wait days for good conditions before attempting the crossing so there was quite a large lake for them to wait. Over the years various improvements were made to make the crossing safer, including a dyke built to help boats going up stream against the current. The lock has been renovated so boats can use it - especially to come out of the river in the winter or in times of flood. After looking at the lock I decided to take the route back towards Briare along the river. This led me to a bridge crossing and then to the Combles lock, so I was able to see the other side of the crossing. And then I was able to follow the old part of the Briare Canal for a short way on my way back to the boat. We had 4 nights in Briare which was a chance to get a few jobs done around the place. Howard cleaned and touched up the side of the boat and did 3 trips to the supermarket in preparation for our guests arrival on Tuesday evening as well as lots of little jobs around the boat. His working outfit isn't exactly sexy. On Monday evening we invited an Australian couple, Cecilia and Greg, whose tjalk was moored near us, to join us for drinks and we had a nice time sharing stories. Tuesday was another relatively quiet day, but in the evening Howard walked up to the railway station to meet our friends Janet and Peter, who were to stay with us until Sunday. On Wednesday we set up Janet and Peter on bikes and headed out to look at the town. This time we went into the church, which has some remarkable mosaics - which the town is know for. Of course we went to see some of the other sites in town again including the Pont-Canal, which we cycled across and back. In the afternoon we went up to the Musée des 2 Marines et du Pont-Canal, which was about the Loire and Loing Rivers and the canals that allowed commercial trade, and especially the building of the Pont-Canal. Howard and Janet walked to the museum while Peter and I cycled taking a couple of detours on our way and on on our return. That was the end of our stay in Briare as Thursday morning we were to set off to the Canal Lateral à la Loire. Feet Update
Unfortunately my feet have been slowly getting worse since I left home. I am still able to walk short distances but if I walk too much I go backwards. I have a daily regime of soaking my feet, doing moxa and guasha and taking herbs, which I hope is at least slowing down the deterioration. It is quite frustrating, but at least we can look around from the boat and the bike.
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