Mailly - la - Ville to Clamecy

We had a great weekend at the boat festival, a splendid affair well run by the Friends of the Nivernais Canal (twinned with the Kennet and Avon canal in the UK). The village really went to town and on Friday evening ladies were out attaching handmade paper flowers to shrubs and hedgerows all around. All the boats were gaily decked out with bunting, as newbies we didn't have any on board so thanks to Chris and Andy on Edwina Rose for lending us some of theirs. In all there were about 25 boats lined up along the canal with stalls set up alongside. We enjoyed live music, brass bands and social get-togethers. As it's all new to us it was great to get to know others doing the same thing as we were, to glean information and knowhow on the complexities of life on a boat in France.

Saturday afternoon saw the arrival of the Flottage du Bois and the giant pedalo which made their way down the canal past all the boats. From the 16th century until the beginning of the 20th century wood used to be transported from the huge Morvan forest in the Nivernais all the way to Paris by means of huge floating rafts, much bigger in reality than the one used for demonstration at the festival.

On Monday we moved on to Clamecy, 18 kms further down the canal. We shared all the locks that morning with a German family on holiday on a hire boat. They were fascinated by our boat wanting to know everything about it. The husband got off his boat in the locks taking photos and couldn't believe how luxurious it was for 2 people, although compared to a hire boat it definitely is! One poor lock keeper had opened the gates for us to go out and they were still onboard having a look round. They asked us if there was any news of the royal baby and were so excited when we told them it was a boy.

Clamecy is a lovely town of charming old streets full of ancient timber framed buildings. It used to be the capital of the flottage du bois, logs being thrown into the river further upstream were stopped at Clamecy and constructed into the huge floating rafts which then continued down to the Seine and into Paris to meet the huge demand there for wood for fuel .

It is home for what will be 11 days whilst we await the arrival of Sophie and Mark from the UK on Thursday. It is a convenient place for them to get to us by train from Paris. Our friends the two Terrys and some other new friends from the boat festival have stayed awhile too but are gradually moving on. No doubt we will meet up again further down the cut. I managed to find a Vets here to get the annual booster jab done. As soon as she heard my English accent she said ‘Ah, you have a new baby’. Little Prince George is doing wonders for Anglo-french relations. Out for a meal in a gorgeous little French restaurant last night we were offered cocktails, yes you guessed it, called Baby George and by george were they strong!!

We have spent our days here catching up with things that needed doing on the boat, visiting the churches and museums, picnics by the river, going to the markets (never seen a grandfather clock stall on a market before) and vide greniers (literally means empty attic ie. car boot sale). Just watching the world go by on the canal is always interesting, new neighbours come and go. We have moved the car down with us so can go out and about to explore the surrounding area. Although today Chris has gone off with a friend to a nearby boatyard for ‘some bits and bobs’ which means he will probably be gone for hours. What is it with men and boats?!

It’s been very hot reaching 36 degrees one day but as is often the case here we had an ‘orage’ (storm) in the middle of the night which has cooled things down to a more pleasant 27 degrees. The sound of hailstones on a steel roof is deafening. It was a good test for the boat though. Chris was up and running round checking the boat whilst the ship’s dog, a bit cowardly it has to be said, was trying to climb into bed with me.

In a few days our first guests will arrive onboard. We are really looking forward to seeing them and spending time with them again. They like to make the most of it and spend every day cruising so we have planned a 7 day cruise covering 105 kilometres and 75 locks. That’s some going for us in a week as we have adopted a more relaxed pace post retirement but it will be fun. There are a few challenges we have not come across before but it's all part of the experience. I will tell you all about it in the next post. Thanks to all of you who have said you are reading and enjoying this blog, it encourages me to keep it up. A Bientot