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| Canalside restaurant at Fleury |
13.9ºC Grey clouds a few light showers of rain.
Sunny after we’d tied up. The boat was still wet from overnight rain when we
set off at 9.45am. 6kms left to do of the 8kms pound. Mike phoned at
10.20am to tell the keeper at the first lock that we were coming – his phone
was on voicemail. Mike left a message. The keeper has the two locks, 16 Acolin
and 17 Abron, which are only 1km apart. Noted that there was a sensor powered
by a solar panel at the last bridge before lock 16. When we arrived the lock was
empty with one
bottom end gate open, so we sat in the aqueduct over the river
Acolin that leads to the lock and waited. Mike rang the keeper again – he was
on his way, bringing two boats up, a cruiser and an Irish barge. They
cleared the lock and we went down, dropping 2.3m. Short distance to the next 17
Abron and descended a further 3.4m, the keeper set feed paddles as we set off on a
4.7kms long pound. Through Avril-sur-Loire, mostly invisible from the canal and on to
Fleury. We arrived at lock 18 Fleury at 12.40pm. No one at the
lock and all the
gates were closed so Mike attached a stern rope to a bit of bramble – no bollards
anywhere – to wait for the keeper to arrive. He was resident (we assume) and
came out of the lock house at 1pm and worked us through the lock, a tiny wee
baby girl toddler and a grey kitten were playing outside the house but safely secured
from the lockside by a fence. The lock keeper took photos of my roses and our
Buckby can – Mike explained to him its original use. Down 2.25m and on
to
another 5kms pound. Long open fields of
wheat made a change from grazing cattle (and all the flies they attract, not to
mention the horseflies). A French cruiser went past heading uphill and not long
after a Le Boat hireboat with its skipper on the roof videoing. Lock 19 Uxeloup
was ready with both gates open. A pleasant, chatty VNF man in a van was there
to work the lock for us. A cat walked past and a chicken was scratching for
food on the lockside. Down 3.9m and just
3.9kms to our last lock for today. Honeysuckle
was blooming among the reeds and brambles along the offside piled bank. Into
lock 20 Jaugenay, a shallow one with only a 1.4m drop, but the locksides were
high when the lock was full. Said Au’voir to our VNF man and set off on the
21kms pound. A moored pénichette had a for sale sign on it and its owner was on
board, we chatted as we went past. Winded at Chevenon (just enough width and depth
in the canal to do it with an 18m boat) so we would have the side doors on the
wet side. An old loading
quay with rings, 80m long on one side of the run off weir and
40m on the other side. It was 3.45pm. A bird scarer was booming in the distance
and a cruiser went past heading uphill just after we’d tied up. The towpath was
busy in the evening with dog walkers.
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| Bridge near Jaugenay |
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| Piling in a sorry state nr Jaugenay |
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| Solar powered sensors |
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| Moored in Chevenon |
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| Moored in Chevenon |
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