Cours-les-Barres

We moved on from Nevers last Tuesday, and made our way up the branch towards the Lateral a Loire Canal.

The port at Nevers

This duckling, and its siblings, was floating on the piece of plastic but by the time I had geared up my camera they had all jumped off!!

We had similar trouble with the last lock before the canal it decided not to work for us. This time a very nice man (lovely looking too...!) came and operated the lock for us but I had to get off the barge and then get on again without their being a proper mooring place, but eventually we got through.

                             

 We moored in the wild for the night and Patrice took this photo opportunity to look really cool with his beer and guitar!!

 Wednesday we moved on and went over the spectacular aquaduct over the River Loire. It was 32 degrees and people were paddling on the man made beach below us. We entered a massive double lock which dropped us over 9 metres, my rope ran out in the second lock!

Looking over the viaduct before we reached the Loire.

The beach on the Loire

Looking in the opposite direction, the Loire is a really massive river.

Inside the double lock.

At last we leave and moor at Guetin, a lovely quayside but it was boiling hot and although trees have been planted they are not really big enough to give us shade. They are building a Capitainerie here but at the moment the only facilities here are dustbins and bollards! We wanted to see the famous round lock on the disused Lorrans Canal but it was too hot for the six kilometre cycle, so waited for the evening for this. We left the boat at 8.30pm when it was beginning to cool from the 34 degrees of the day.

 We cycled along the towpath with some beautiful bridges to look at along the way.

At last we found the lock, an extraordinary site, with a wonderful house overlooking it. sadly they had had a breach with the River Allier so it was all fenced off but we went in anyway after our long cycle ride!

Building works filling the breech with the River Allier

This official turned up whilst we were snooping around, he didnt seem to mind that we were inside the fence, and suggested that we cycled another 4 kilometres to see one of the most beautiful villages in France. So on we cycled!

This village was amazing, like something out of a Harry Potter film, or a Disney film set, we have never seen anything like it!

These photos dont really do it justice as it was getting dark and many of the photos I took didnt come out, but I think you can get the idea!

This was the villagers view from their back gardens, the River Allier.

It was dark when we returned to the boat at 10:45pm but we had a beautiful sunset. Yesterday we moved, quite early in the morning for us as it was another really hot day, too hot to stay at a quay with no shade. we moored up again here at Cours-les-Barres, one of the prettiest we've seen to date. They have given us free water and electricity (although this was well hidden, but we found it!) and even showers......

......and toilets, though not really as we Britishers expect from a toilet! Still it was very clean.

Patrice found a cool leafy bower.......

.......and John found a cooling footspa!

We didnt go much on the face in the fountain though!

John couldnt leave the water alone, mind you cool feet and it cools one down nicely!

So, that is us up to date again! we will stay here a couple more nights the weather is supposed to reach 38 degrees tomorrow, but I'm taking the advantage of getting all my washing done as it was impossible last week with torrential rain everyday>

Patrice is just sleeping through this very hot weather, thank goodness we don't have fur coats!!!