L’ile aux Pies Tuesday 4 June 2013

There is a Google Map showing the location of all our stops

Well that’s the birthday out of the way now back to the holiday.

After breakfast we went for a walk around the town, One of the things we noticed yesterday as we drove back to the boat was a set of moss figures on the roundabout in town so we walked back to get some photos.

  The Boulangerie was full of very nice things to eat and their wall decoration was also impressive. This walk didn’t take as long and when we returned to the boat Ian whisked us off in the car to Rochefort en Terre which is perched on the top of a large rock. Again it boasts an interesting church where everything appears to be at different angles.

The town its self is a maze of narrow streets running up and down hill.     

One of the shops we visited was the sweet shop, I have never seen such a selection before.        

We went back to the boat for lunch joining Jane in the small bar the opposite side of the river for a before lunch drink.  It is beside this bar that the local cider is made that we had enjoyed yesterday. It is so popular that they are planting new apple orchards to keep production going.

As soon as lunch was finished we were off again down through Lock 21 where the old eclusier’s cottage is completely derelict inside, its such a shame and the lock keepers keep the gardens so nice around the locks even though they don’t live there.  Unfortunately in the case of this lock the Navigation Authority employed contractors to carry out repairs at the lock and one mooring they arrived without warning and destroyed all the garden and plants.

Further downstream at L’ile aux Pies the river widens out even though the far side is quite shallow and is buoyed off with green navigation buoys. here there are good pontoon moorings, substantial enough for us to use, a canoe centre, bar and outdoor climbing centre, we checked out the bar but the other two were closed.    

You can see Pippa making friends with the locals, latter in the afternoon a group of youngsters came down the far un-navigable side of the river wearing wet suits and flippers with what looked like boat shaped foam floats.