Digoin was a very pleasant stop, with an abundance of shops, although there is really not a lot to see, apart from the beautiful Notre Dame de la Providence Church built in the Roman Bysantin style in the 19th century, in the centre of the village.
After the hottest day when we arrived on Monday, Tuesday was a wash out with thunder and rain throughout the day, so we did the normal things that we do when the weather is crap, like a clothes washing in the laverie.
I also had my first French haircut and that was good fun trying to explain with pictures, some pidgeon French, and a scene almost like a game of charades. The girl was great, and to be honest, it is one of the best cuts I have had for a while.
We spent Tuesday afternoon dodging the showers with a walk into the village, a couple of drinks in a few of the bars and then a nice meal back on board of Rabbit Chausseur with Pomme De Terre (very low fat - we are trying to be good this week due to last week’s over indulgence, although we had micro chip butties for lunch!).
We set off at 9.30am hoping to top up with fuel before we left, only to be told after waiting 15 minutes that they had run out! Communication in France between colleagues is appalling…… The next listed fuel stop is 55km away and provided they haven’t run out, we will be fine!
The weather today was a bit overcast, but warm through the clouds, and eventually the sun breaking through. We headed NE towards Genelard travelling at 5 knots and did 10 locks in total today. The locks on the Canal Du Centre are mostly automatic with Radar Beams picking up your presence and once the lock is ready, the doors open automatically. I then climb the ladder (my new nickname is Spidey because of my new hair cut and the way I climb the ladders) , put a mid-ships line around the bollard ashore and then pull the blue rope to start the lock, and then once the lock starts filling up and GG has risen up a bit, I get back on board to take over the line from Captain Jim. These locks are much quicker than the manually operated ones and they also work between 12pm and 1pm which means we don’t have to stop for an hour for lunch, which is ideal if you are travelling a longer distance.
The canal is extremely pretty, much prettier than the Canal Lateral a la Loire, and we arrived at 2.30pm at Genelard, travelling a total of 17nm.
The Halte Nautique is really beautiful here and it is free with electricity. The village is very small with the usual, couple of bars, couple of shops, a Boucherie and a Boulanger. Nevertheless, it is still full of French character and a lovely worthwhile overnight stop.
We visited the Demarkation Line Museum which is right beside the Halte and that was interesting, before having a few drinks in La Refuge bar next to it. I discovered a lovely new drink which was being promoted called Gloss which is a liquer flavoured with Cherry and Ginger, and mixed with Cola, it is very refreshing.
We had a nice night aboard, playing a Pub Quiz DVD, after our Meatballs, Potatoes & Green Beans!
Genelard is 46’34’.636N 004’14’.075E and we will move on tomorrow, further NE, to Montceau Les Mines where we will stay until Sunday (apparently it has a fab Saturday market!).
After the hottest day when we arrived on Monday, Tuesday was a wash out with thunder and rain throughout the day, so we did the normal things that we do when the weather is crap, like a clothes washing in the laverie.
I also had my first French haircut and that was good fun trying to explain with pictures, some pidgeon French, and a scene almost like a game of charades. The girl was great, and to be honest, it is one of the best cuts I have had for a while.
We spent Tuesday afternoon dodging the showers with a walk into the village, a couple of drinks in a few of the bars and then a nice meal back on board of Rabbit Chausseur with Pomme De Terre (very low fat - we are trying to be good this week due to last week’s over indulgence, although we had micro chip butties for lunch!).
We set off at 9.30am hoping to top up with fuel before we left, only to be told after waiting 15 minutes that they had run out! Communication in France between colleagues is appalling…… The next listed fuel stop is 55km away and provided they haven’t run out, we will be fine!
The weather today was a bit overcast, but warm through the clouds, and eventually the sun breaking through. We headed NE towards Genelard travelling at 5 knots and did 10 locks in total today. The locks on the Canal Du Centre are mostly automatic with Radar Beams picking up your presence and once the lock is ready, the doors open automatically. I then climb the ladder (my new nickname is Spidey because of my new hair cut and the way I climb the ladders) , put a mid-ships line around the bollard ashore and then pull the blue rope to start the lock, and then once the lock starts filling up and GG has risen up a bit, I get back on board to take over the line from Captain Jim. These locks are much quicker than the manually operated ones and they also work between 12pm and 1pm which means we don’t have to stop for an hour for lunch, which is ideal if you are travelling a longer distance.
The canal is extremely pretty, much prettier than the Canal Lateral a la Loire, and we arrived at 2.30pm at Genelard, travelling a total of 17nm.
The Halte Nautique is really beautiful here and it is free with electricity. The village is very small with the usual, couple of bars, couple of shops, a Boucherie and a Boulanger. Nevertheless, it is still full of French character and a lovely worthwhile overnight stop.
We visited the Demarkation Line Museum which is right beside the Halte and that was interesting, before having a few drinks in La Refuge bar next to it. I discovered a lovely new drink which was being promoted called Gloss which is a liquer flavoured with Cherry and Ginger, and mixed with Cola, it is very refreshing.
We had a nice night aboard, playing a Pub Quiz DVD, after our Meatballs, Potatoes & Green Beans!
Genelard is 46’34’.636N 004’14’.075E and we will move on tomorrow, further NE, to Montceau Les Mines where we will stay until Sunday (apparently it has a fab Saturday market!).
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