Canal de Roanne a Digoin

Briennon fishing competition

Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th August 2017

Briennon to Roanne

We were getting very close to the end of our trip so the pressure to get moving was less. And we only had a short way to go to Roanne so decided to spend the morning here in Briennon and head off after lunch. I contacted VNF lockie and arranged our departure. In the meantime there was a huge fishing competition going on on the other side of the canal. The French love fishing! People of all ages were taking part. There was much jollity, but I did not actually see anyone catch a fish!

Our new umbrella at work

We walked up to the village and found a market stretching what seemed like forever, in the streets. We wandered the whole length. Being close to the end of the trip we did not really want to buy stuff, but we did spot a beach umbrella with a stand for Euro 5. Hopefully this would give us some protection while we had to have the awnings down.

Locking up on the Canal de Roanne a Digoin

As planned we set off after lunch – only a short distance – 11 kms and 2 locks, rising a total of 6 metres. The locks were ready for us with enthusiastic young female lock-keepers. This seems to be becoming quite the norm, particularly in this area.
A lot of low bridges again so a chance to try out our new umbrella. Well it actually worked quite well. It does not look very nautical I am afraid…. but…!

Roanne

We found a stopping place just a short distance away from Roanne. The canal is veru shallow at some places and here we struggled to get alongside – ended up with just the bow close to the bank.

Wild top on Canal de Roanne a Digoin

I had only booked in there from Tuesday so we decided to take 2 nights here to relax before starting the wintering process. But we walked into the marina to check it all out. Gosh it was a huge marina! But surprisingly little services offerred. Being Sunday the Capitainerie was closed. Checked out the town a bit, but again not much happening on a Sunday. So back to the boat.

Roanne marina by night

Back home we both love cooking, but when aboard I tend to be more involved with running the boat and the galley becomes Karen’s domain. Now with some time in hand I got back into cooking. We follow a plant based diet (no meat dairy or animal products) and love taking iconic French cuisine and making it vegan. I made crepe suzettes, amongst other things – delicious! Later I will do a post about cooking aboard. But in the meantime, have a look at Karen’s latest post on this topic.

Next – Exploring Roanne and preparing for winter.