Friday 27th July 2007
Day's Progress: 20 kms : 7 locks (Total 428 kms : 201 locks)
At the 3rd lock and about 2 hours into the journey today the lock keeper had disappeared!! There was another boat with us and they were getting really cross. Not sure where he went but he appeared after we had been waiting for about half an hour. This lock has really been unusual with the keeper not being there waiting for us – maybe he was in the loo!
We stopped in a town called Bagneaux-sur-Loing for lunch today. This is where they make Corningware and they whole town is involved in this factory. There are ideal clay deposits nearby and lots of water! We had lunch in a smallish workers restaurant – tasty stew with chucks of meat in a yummy sauce. The town cemetery was exceptionally beautiful. Incredible headstones and beautiful porcelain flowers on the graves.
On our approach to Nemours we had to tie up alongside a battered old commercial barge whilst we waited for the lock to open for us. We were on a busy stretch of river and there was a lot of water traffic. We discovered that this barge was owned by an elderly Irishman – he bought the barge to do something different with his retirement. The barge is semi-converted to something vaguely liveable but he has now run out of money and cant afford to finish it or go anywhere. He also feels incredibly let down by all his friends who promised to visit and help him… no one turned up and I think when the word went round that he was broke and there was a heck of lot of work to be done they all deserted him – poor old bloke. One of the major problems with the barge is that the guy who sold it to him did some conversions but built the pilot cabin too high so it wont go under any bridges…. The Irishman bought the barge 2 years ago and I don’t think he has moved since. It was his 7oth birthday last week and is at the end of his tether. There is a fabulous BMW + sidecar on the deck but he has never driven it because he cant!
Once we got through the lock we went down a river towards the town and the only place we could
moor was up against another much smaller, beaten-up barge inhabited by a rather odd Englishman. He is settled there and grows strawberries, pumpkins and a few herbs on the roof of the boat in black plastic bags. When we arrived he was making marmalade on a small gas hotplate. His boat needs a lot of work and I am not sure it even goes – paint is peeling, windows are buckled…but he doesn’t seem to mind and he didn’t mind us tying up next to him. It was the only place we could! There is only one public mooring on this side of the river (the other side had private moorings only) and this old chap has it! We don’t have access to water and electricity but the batteries on the boat are well charged and we should have enough water for our showers and coffee in the morning.
At the 3rd lock and about 2 hours into the journey today the lock keeper had disappeared!! There was another boat with us and they were getting really cross. Not sure where he went but he appeared after we had been waiting for about half an hour. This lock has really been unusual with the keeper not being there waiting for us – maybe he was in the loo!
We stopped in a town called Bagneaux-sur-Loing for lunch today. This is where they make Corningware and they whole town is involved in this factory. There are ideal clay deposits nearby and lots of water! We had lunch in a smallish workers restaurant – tasty stew with chucks of meat in a yummy sauce. The town cemetery was exceptionally beautiful. Incredible headstones and beautiful porcelain flowers on the graves.
On our approach to Nemours we had to tie up alongside a battered old commercial barge whilst we waited for the lock to open for us. We were on a busy stretch of river and there was a lot of water traffic. We discovered that this barge was owned by an elderly Irishman – he bought the barge to do something different with his retirement. The barge is semi-converted to something vaguely liveable but he has now run out of money and cant afford to finish it or go anywhere. He also feels incredibly let down by all his friends who promised to visit and help him… no one turned up and I think when the word went round that he was broke and there was a heck of lot of work to be done they all deserted him – poor old bloke. One of the major problems with the barge is that the guy who sold it to him did some conversions but built the pilot cabin too high so it wont go under any bridges…. The Irishman bought the barge 2 years ago and I don’t think he has moved since. It was his 7oth birthday last week and is at the end of his tether. There is a fabulous BMW + sidecar on the deck but he has never driven it because he cant!
Once we got through the lock we went down a river towards the town and the only place we could
moor was up against another much smaller, beaten-up barge inhabited by a rather odd Englishman. He is settled there and grows strawberries, pumpkins and a few herbs on the roof of the boat in black plastic bags. When we arrived he was making marmalade on a small gas hotplate. His boat needs a lot of work and I am not sure it even goes – paint is peeling, windows are buckled…but he doesn’t seem to mind and he didn’t mind us tying up next to him. It was the only place we could! There is only one public mooring on this side of the river (the other side had private moorings only) and this old chap has it! We don’t have access to water and electricity but the batteries on the boat are well charged and we should have enough water for our showers and coffee in the morning.
Nemours is similar to Montargis – it is old and has canals bisecting the residential and business areas. The houses on the other side of the river where we moored are tall and narrow, with little gazebos by the river edge… they all seem to have moorings but we haven’t seen any boats tied up there. The town is busy probably because it is a Friday evening! It is quite pretty but has an air of shabbiness and whilst the streets have no litter it looks like it could do with a good scrub. There are a lot of young people about! We hear that there is a market in the morning in the park opposite where we have moored.
We decided to have dinner on board – didn’t see any nice restaurants on our walk around the town. This will be the second time I have cooked (apart from putting out the breakfast things) and I will make another omelette for us.
Whilst having my sundowner and feeding the ducks with the left over bread, a very large otter barged through them, scattering ducks left right and centre and gobbled up the brea
d. He wasn’t scared and came close to the boat just looking at us… so we fed him the bread which he grabbed in his front paws and guzzled. He was around the boat for quite a time and the ducks and other otters kept their distance! He knew the ropes and when he had enough he slowly swam away. H really was big and when the other otters came close by we could see that this old chap – he had grey fur on his muzzle – was much, much bigger. He had extremely long red front teeth and looked in exceptionally good condition – his fur was glossy and he was solid looking – took nips at the ducks if they got too close hahahaha. We saw him hovering dead still in the water with his tail bent like the Loch Ness monster and then he dived down – possibly after a fish. We saw another otter do the same thing and bring up a fish which he held in his front paws and devoured.
We went to the market in the morning and drooled over the fresh produce. They had artichokes as big as my head!
Whilst having my sundowner and feeding the ducks with the left over bread, a very large otter barged through them, scattering ducks left right and centre and gobbled up the brea
d. He wasn’t scared and came close to the boat just looking at us… so we fed him the bread which he grabbed in his front paws and guzzled. He was around the boat for quite a time and the ducks and other otters kept their distance! He knew the ropes and when he had enough he slowly swam away. H really was big and when the other otters came close by we could see that this old chap – he had grey fur on his muzzle – was much, much bigger. He had extremely long red front teeth and looked in exceptionally good condition – his fur was glossy and he was solid looking – took nips at the ducks if they got too close hahahaha. We saw him hovering dead still in the water with his tail bent like the Loch Ness monster and then he dived down – possibly after a fish. We saw another otter do the same thing and bring up a fish which he held in his front paws and devoured.We went to the market in the morning and drooled over the fresh produce. They had artichokes as big as my head!
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