Booking Codes F108 & F111 Cruising in Loiret - Châ teâux & Vineyârds 9 days staying part board Monday 25th July Friday 12th August £1,575 Single room supplement only £295 Once the longest aqueduct in the world, the 700m canal bridge at Briare takes us from the Canal de Briare to join the Lateral Canal of the Loire on the far side. Join Backwaters for this memorable blend of cruise & tour exploration in Loiret and Bourgogne, staying in Montargis – the Venice of the Gâtinais! Our cruise pathway follows the course of the Canal de Briare from Montargis southwards through to the great 700m aqueduct over the Loire at Briare, and onwards along the Lateral Canal of the Loire as far as our turning point at Léré. This fascinating waterway takes us for 76km over the world’s first summit canal, with 33 locks lifting the canal to its summit pound above Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses and then dropping the canal down into the Valley of the Loire. It is delightfully scenic cruising throughout. We stay throughout at the welcoming and convenient Ibis Hotel in the centre of Montargis. Known as the “Venice of the Gatinais” because of its profusion of linked canals and rivulets, Montargis is a splendidly characterful town, with its network of narrow streets and alleys offering a delightful stroll and a busy covered market on Wednesdays and Saturdays to attract our early-risers. The Loing/Briare navigation holds an important place in waterways history. The River Loing, tributary to the Seine, had been utilised since medieval times to float wood towards the Paris basin, but in 1604 it was decided to make the Loing fully navigable by canalising it, and at the same time to construct the world’s first summit canal to link the Loing southwards into the Loire valley. It was in 1642 that this new waterway - the Canal de Briare - was finally opened to barge traffic. By the mid-18th Century more than 500 barges were operating Booking Codes F108 & F111 along the Briare and Loing canals, with typical cargoes of wood, iron, coal, fine ceramics (from Nevers), fruit, and wines from as far away as Languedoc. All hauling in those days was done by men, generally two to each boat. Our cruising between Montargis and Lére comes in four legs which may be cruised in either direction. Here we describe each leg as though cruising from north to south though of course the content is the same either way. Backwaters’ proof-of-concept cruiser the Natalia pictured in Montargis Montargis to Montbouy Starting from Montargis, we board on the long commercial quay north of the city centre and we then negotiate the sharply twisting channel which takes the waterway through town. Two locks here delay us and give us more time to enjoy the city centre spectacle before we continue southwards. A series of four more closely-spaced locks at Le Petit Chesnoy bypasses the staircase locks on the original canal cut – one of many stretches during the cruise where there is opportunity to stroll the towpath. Next we come to the pretty village of Montcresson, we pause here by the road bridge to offer guests the chance to visit the restored lavoir - the wash house - alongside the canal. From here we continue into Montbouy, passing the site of the Gallo-Roman ampitheatre discovered in the early 17th century by engineers digging out the canal channel. Although the ampitheatre is fenced off to protect it from interference, it can be seen from the road and we will visit en route to or from Montbouy in our coach. Booking Codes F108 & F111 Montbouy to Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses Today our cruise continues south through the Loiret Department, with the River Loing still running alongside. Mid-morning we pause in the small town of Châtillon-Coligny for a guided visit to the small Museum d’Ancien, a fascinating insight into the history and archaeology of a town steeped in Protestant tradition. Between Châtillon-Coligny and Dammarie-sur-Loing there are 6 locks in the space of 5km, so good opportunity to walk-off lunch before a prolonged level stretch takes us into Rogny-Les-Sept-Écluses where we conclude for today. Here the canal finally leaves the valley of the Loing as it climbs via 6 closely-spaced locks to the summit pound. The old staircase of 7 locks built for the original course of the canal are preserved, set in the hillside overlooking the village. Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses to Ouzouer-sur-Trézée Resuming in Rogny, we will spend our first two hours climbing the lock flight to reach the 5km-long summit pound, and six more locks then follow as we begin our gentle descent into the Loire Valley, so today there are more locks than kilometres! Today’s cruising is especially rural, with lovely countryside views and little sign of habitation until we reach our mooring in the village of Ouzouer-sur-Trézée. With all the locks there will be plenty of opportunity for a towpath stroll. Ouzouer-sur-Trézée to Léré Today’s cruising covers more ground – some 30km in all – but with only 5 locks on the day we can expect to make steady progress. Our morning’s cruise drops us through two more locks as the canal winds its way down to Briare. There is a branch canal here which descends through three more locks to the busy pleasure port down at river level, but we stay on the elevated navigation to take the famous 700m aqueduct carrying us across to the west bank of the Loire and the start of the river’s own lateral canal heading further south. We will pause either side of the aqueduct for our photographers, then continuing along the Loire Lateral past Châtillon-sur-Loire, Beaulieu, Belleville-sur-Loire and Sury-près-Léré before we reach Léré proper and journey’s end. From Léré it’s a straightforward autoroute transfer back to Montargis taking just under an hour. Our four cruise days are separated by three intervening days which we spend exploring this region of châteaux and wines. For the first of our excursion days our coach takes us eastwards into the Yonne Department of Burgundy, a lovely cross-country drive on quiet D-road bringing us to the valley of the Yonne and one of the principal cities of the region, Sens. The city still has many traces of its medieval past. Its 12th-16th century cathedral of St. Stephen is one of France's great Gothic cathedrals and much visited for its magnificent stained-glass windows, and the old city centre and nearby garden boulevards are a delight to visit. We allow ourselves a couple of hours to sightsee at leisure before rejoining our coach for the short onwards journey further upstream on the Yonne where we find the gated town of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne. Here we set-down alongside the river at the Auberge La Lucarne aux Chouettes, always a highlight of our Yonne cruises. We will enjoy lunch today alongside the river, preceded by a tasting of “Gateway to Burgundy” wines, to include locally-produced Crémant, Chablis, and Vézelay, the latest appellation to be admitted to the Bourgogne AOC. After lunch there will be time to explore the town, which is circuited by a partly intact 12th century wall, built when Villeneuve was one of the residences of the French kings. There are classic entrance gates at each end of Booking Codes F108 & F111 the main throughfare and visitors are also drawn to the lovely Gothic Church of Notre-Dame, which has some stained glass windows dating back to the 13th century. In mid-afternoon we depart for our return to Montargis, less than an hour away and again a scenic cross country drive, with deer often sighted along the way. Our second excursion day takes us first to the Château de la Bussière, located close to our cruise route near Rogny-les-Sept-Écluses. Also known as the Fishermen castle, the château is surrounded by water and hosts a collection of works of art themed around freshwater fishing. Visitors can explore its splendid gardens, including a formal garden designed by Le Nôtre, and an 18th-century vegetable garden where heritage plants, fruit and vegetables are grown. There is also a lakeside walk. We will spend a good two hours at La Bussière before making the short onwards journey into the town of Gien, where guests will be free to choose a spot for lunch in Quai Lenoir, overlooking the River Loire. Another town steeped in medieval history, Gien is known for its earthenware and despite having to recover from terrible wartime damage the city still offers a lovely backdrop to the river. Its old stone bridge dating from 1734 is much photographed, and the 15th Century Church dedicated to Joan of Arc is admired for its bell tower, which survived wartime bombing. Alongside the church stands the Château of Anne de Beaujeu, with its brick and stone facades and one of the oldest castles of the Loire. The Château is now home to a museum dedicated to hunting, history and nature in the Loire Valley. Château Sully-sur-Loire Leaving Gien, we now follow the Loire downstream the short way to Sully-sur-Loire where we enjoy a guided visit to one of the great Châteaux of the Loire. This fairytale medieval fortress is built alongside shallows of the Loire known to have been a fording point across the river in Roman times, and the Château has a history of at least 900 years having been repeatedly reconstructed, pillaged, fire-damaged, abandoned and restored.