It’s great to be back on the canals cruising again after the winter break in Roanne. Spring has sprung, the weather is getting a bit warmer and we’re loving the freedom of life on board Laura our canal boat. For us, there’s no better way to explore the beautiful country of France than via the canals and waterways.
Travelling on a canal boat
Here’s a little video to show you what life in the slow lane on the canals is like for us. There is always plenty of spectacular scenery along the way and we stop in little towns and villages to explore, meet the locals, buy food and to fill up with water. It’s a very peaceful and easy life.
Going through a canal lock
If you’ve never travelled on a canal boat before, the locks look like they could be a bit scary. They aren’t at all. And the big ones are often the easiest because there’s normally a lock-keeper to help with lines (ropes). The below video shows what it’s like inside a big double lock.
Peaceful nights
In France you can tie up to the banks of the canals for the night unless there are signs telling you not to. We normally like to use a mooring bollard. But if there are no bollards we hammer a metal stake into the ground and tie up to the stake. Most boats like ours don’t need to plug in to electricity because our motor charges up our batteries which powers the lights and phone charges etc. We use bottled gas for cooking.
In towns and villages there’s normally a space where you can plug in to electricity and get water for a small fee, normally €10-15 per night. Some towns it’s free which is a lovely surprise. In bigger towns and cities there’s normally a marina which might be a bit more expensive but I don’t think we’ve ever paid more than €20 per night.
Anyway, we’re well and truly back into the swing of things after our long winter break. And we’re loving it!
A visit from family
When we left Roanne, we had visitors on board. My brother Steve and his wife and two children joined us for 10 days and we had a wonderful time with them. We hired a campervan so that we’d have enough beds and travelled along together along the canals.
We had a couple of days of beautiful weather. In fact we had two days when it was really hot and we thought winter was well and truly behind us.
But then it turned chilly. VERY chilly. I’m talking minus 1 overnight and not much better during the day. Brrrr!
But of course, the weather didn’t stop us from enjoying being out on the water. My sister in law Nic loved being on the helm and Steve did a great job as crew.
Lots to see and do on the canals
We visited many villages and towns and the family got to experience what life on a boat in France is like. They realise now why we love it so much.
Nevers
One of the really special places we visited that we all loved was the ancient city of Nevers. It dates back to Roman times and is almost smack bang in the middle of France. There’s winding cobble stoned streets and gorgeous old buildings.
A night in an ancient home
For a special treat with the family we decided to stay in a beautiful home in Nevers. You would never know that behind this non-descript gate…
…was an extraordinary 500 year old home with the most magnificent garden. We stayed here in the Hotel de la Chasseigne for two nights. Our host Dominic has owned the home for 63 years and treated us like we were family.
On our own again
So we loved our time with family, and it was very hard to say goodbye. But it’s hard to be sad for long when Ivan and I are living our dream in France. Right now we’re on the Canal Lateral a la Loire and the scenery is breathtaking. In our next post we’ll explore the Sancerre wine region, show you our visit to one of the most beautiful villages in France and our night in a 650 year old castle. We’ll also show you our favourite village so far, which is where we are right now. It’s called Chatillon-Coligny.
But before I go, here’s a final photo. It’s 10:00 at night and as I’ve been typing this, Ivan has just stepped outside and taken this photo of our boat Laura.
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