Day 9 - Nevers to Digoin (73 miles)

Today the Loire was notable by its absence: it has mostly been a day of  canals. The first hour was on the Loire Canal, tree lined and peaceful with hardly a boat or a person to be seen; just me and my thoughts and my own physical effort propelling me along. There then followed more of the same: another hour and another ten miles on the same canal, little different except maybe a few more wiggly bits and a couple of locks. Altogether I did twenty miles along a fairly unchanging feature but it wasn’t as dull as I had feared; the few villages or towns that were signposted lay off the route so no distractions slowed me down and I managed to maintain a good steady rhythm on the smooth and flat tow path, noting the detail in the nature around me and keeping my focus and measuring my progress by the bends or features I would target in the distance. 

I stopped for coffee in the small town of Decize, uninspiring and modern outskirts concealing a traditional old centre, it is supposedly the largest pleasure boat port in Burgundy. It was then back on the canals, this time the Canal de Nivernais which links the Loire and the Seine. Noticeably straighter and lacking trees along its length, this section felt more open and less intimate than that of the Loire Canal from earlier in the day. 

Decize

An hour later and I was in the countryside on a long and beautiful section through farmland, woods and pasture. I passed through the occasional village and by the occasional farmstead but mostly it felt as if I were in the middle of nowhere, and not a river or canal in sight. But there were hills. And there was wind. The former was a minor frustration as I traversed the undulating high ground I found myself on, nothing too steep but sapping my energy as the miles went by. The latter however was an annoyance: it was a telephone wire whistling wind that blew me across the road in exposed areas where its full strength was felt; and it slowed me down on the inclines to a fraction of the speed I was making this morning. Despite the wonderful views I was grateful to get down to lower and more sheltered ground.  

The day ended as it had begun with a stretch along canal to Digoin, a small town that seemingly thrives as a centre for pleasure boats. My plan had been to spend another night camping somewhere nearby given the fine weather, but a suitable out of the way site proved impossible to find; canal paths have narrow verges that do not provide for good camping. It seemed the more appropriate course of action was to find myself a room for the night, enjoy a beer and worry about camping for another day.