This is the sixth part of our journey on the Canal Lateral a la Loire which takes us from Beffes to Cour-les-Barres , with a lunch stop at Marseilles-les-Aubigny.
We have been been so lucky with the weather on this canal trip, and today is no different although it is starting to get very cold. The mooring at Beffes was ideal, very quite with a fantastic outlook and we shared the location with a single barge only. Unfortunately there was no time to stay any longer than an over night stay. I took the opportunity to top up the water tanks before warming up the engine and making our way.
The locks are becoming second nature now and it is great having the assistance of the lock keepers. There is very little traffic on the canal and most of the time other than a few fisherman we had the canal to ourselves.
The morning passage was beautiful winding through amazing countryside. From the chart I could see that Marseilles-les-Aubigny looked like an interesting village, with a small boulangerie and bar. We stocked up on some supplies before exploring the rest of the village. The canal runs parallel to the river Loire, for most of the time the river is not visible from the canal. However at Marseilles-les-Aubigny the canal and the river are in close proximity, so we took a stroll along the river bank and were treated to a fantastic display of bird wild life. After looking at the river punts we made our way back to the boat and enjoyed the sunshine while having lunch on the stern before making our afternoon passage.
To be continued…..visit again soon
Thank you for watching
