Walk: 12km; total: 260km
After breakfast, Greg went for a ride to see the places we missed two days ago, Cuffy and Forchambault, and the other canal bridge. 36km in total as he did a loop. Wendy opted for some admin and quiet time.
Greg was feeling guilty about taking a shortcut on Saturday and missing part of the Loire Cycle Route. So today he corrected that with a loop around the district. Took in a couple of nice villages with their lovely old churches, some fantastic canal paths and the Bridge Canal at Guetin. He said it felt like he was on an e-bike as he had no luggage on board. The weather was perfect and he had a tailwind for the return journey. Couldn’t ask for more than that.
It was almost time for lunch by the time Greg returned, so after a quick change of clothes, we set off for Maccas again. After lunch we wandered up to the new area of Nevers that has some more pricey shops and is a bit cleaner overall. We also went to see Saint Étienne Church, the one we missed yesterday. Being a 11th century church, it looks grand on the outside, however is really dark inside. It has the obligatory stained-glass windows, floor mosaics and pictorial walls, but not a lot of lighting. St Étienne is a Romanesque church and was an important stop over point during the Middle Ages on the way of St James.
Greg needed some new socks, and we just happened to find a Carrefour Market that is like a Woolies and BigW combined. We found a set of 6 pairs for €3.99 that were to his liking. Greg then set off to the Museum of Earthenware and Fine Arts while Wendy went back to the hotel.
About an hour later, we met up at the Carrefour and purchased our dinner. They were out of our favourite, (chicken Caesar salads) but had other varieties which was nice for a change. A slow wander home completed the day’s activities.
The Loire at Nevers
The inside of the Arch
Front of St Étienne
Back of St Étienne
Inside St Étienne
Abbaye behind St Étienne, 15th century
Museum of Earthenware and Fine Arts
A little port on the canal near Nevers
Greg has lost weight on this tour; he’s a shadow of his former self.
The canal and path today
Gunouille Church
The bridge canal at Guetin. Built in 1832, it’s 343m long x 9.32m wide
and has a lock that drops/raises the boats 9.6m. 25 to 30 boats per day use the bridge/lock.
Saint Maurice Church, Cuffy. It was locked which is unusual for this country.
The front door of St Maurice, note the damaged door,
maybe that is why it’s locked?
St Maurice
A working boat cruise/cycle type out of the Netherlands.
