Mick started to get excited when he saw boats cruising along this canal. We later found out it was called the Canal Latéral à la Loire, and it was built in the early 19th Century because the Loire River had reliability problems caused by droughts and floods . The backroads we took to and from Sancerre a few days ago travelled beside this canal for quite some time, and that gave Mick just enough time to come up with an idea.

During our return trip to Samois-sur-Seine, between Sancerre and Montargis, we made several stops, as we were in no hurry.

The first stop allowed us to watch two boats pass through a ‘manned’ lock. Actually, the lock master was a woman, and just watching the process got Mick’s pulse racing. The two boats, like many we had observed moored in Saint-Satur, were hire boats, and the drivers were novices. That was obvious.  It took several attempts before the first boat could actually enter the lock. And from experience, it is always harder when you have an audience. The small lock on the canal where we live in Australia seems to become extremely narrow if I have people watching me navigate its entrance. But thankfully, nothing flusters Mick!

This particular lock had quite a big drop. Mick estimated between 4 –  5 metres.

Although there were a lot of fenders to help protect the boat and the edges of the canal, the first boat could have used a few more. One of the rear ones was totally destroyed on entry.

In this photo, the gates are almost ready to open to let them through.

And off they went. Glad to be rid of the spectators.

Our second stop was in the village of Briare, where we stopped for lunch. There was quite a large marina and lots of advertising about hiring boats, and it appeared to be a busy port. We found out that Le Canal de Briare starts here and connects the Loire and Seine valleys.

There is also a canal bridge that carries the side canal to the Loire over the Loire – pretty clever. It is called the Pont Canal (canal bridge). It was built by the Eiffel company between 1890 and 1896. I borrowed this next image to show what I mean.

Mick and I spent a week in 2010 on a narrow boat with my sister and brother-in-law in the UK, and we loved it. Now Mick wants to spend some time on a French canal.

There are so many beautiful canals in Europe from which to choose for an adventure, but if we can go, Mick wants to spend some time in Britanny. Sadly, I think we may have run out of time on this year-long adventure because the ‘boating season’ finishes at the end of October and we are ‘booked up’ until then, although one of the house sitting dates is a bit flexible. So, we will have to wait and see.