13 August: Nantes-Blain
Getting out of town, even when you're already out of town is a struggle for all ages. It was great to meet up with two English girls of 30 who were lost at the same place as we were as we tried to get onto the right track north. Luckily a fifth person, who had some idea came along and we all followed. We eventually got onto the right path - but it was a path both parties had ignored before as the maps indicated straight on and this was a 90° left.
Our party of 5 stayed together until we reached the canal Nantes-Brest, where the guy ate his lunch then turned back to go home via back roads and the girls continued on to end up in the same camping ground as us somewhat later.
It was a little strange to be back on a canal again but familiar at the same time. Not a lot of wildlife evident, though people living in the lock-keeper's cottages had made a great display of flowers at times. Back to Le Boat hire boats again - the larger variety - and not always very well controlled. The canal passed through few towns or villages but we found a bar-restaurant at just the right time for a cold beer...
And when Blain, with a camping ground, turned up, we stopped. It is a deceptively large town with an enormous cathedral and a castle that was converted from a military construction of the 12th/13th century into an elegant residence when the Rohan family took over in the 16th century. Anne de Bretagne and Louis XII stayed at Blain, so it is somewhat famous in Bretagne.
14 August: Blain-Redon
This canal gets more and more interesting! It is made up of 5 rivers with junction canals and about 237 locks over the 360km. So today, we passed what they call a "key" lock, with no more locks for 22km. The canal then turned into what seemed more like a river, though without the flow, and became very wide, rather like a long lake. It was very pretty, with trees overhanging the water and reeds growing on the banks.
We reached Redon in good time, for the 59 or so km, put up our tent, off-loaded our gear and set off to find a bike shop. The nearest one to the campsite was a real find. The guy was going on his annual break of a week or two that evening but still gave us great service, fixing Rodney's spokes/wheel, gears and cyclometer and checking mine. He also changed brake rubbers for both of us where needed and all with a fantastic attitude. A joy to watch and it was wonderful to have fixed things that had been bugging us for quite some time.
Redon has a port, sadly now used only for tourist boats but you can imagine the activity back in its heyday, when it was the crossroads for sea traffic and river traffic. Salt, wine and tuffeau (tufo) stone were the main cargoes. Today there is a big supermarket nearby that can actually be reached by bike or on foot - a winner for travellers without cars. Luckily we had a table near our tent (= tent placed near table) and were able to eat our purchases in relative comfort. Ah, the small luxuries of life!
Getting out of town, even when you're already out of town is a struggle for all ages. It was great to meet up with two English girls of 30 who were lost at the same place as we were as we tried to get onto the right track north. Luckily a fifth person, who had some idea came along and we all followed. We eventually got onto the right path - but it was a path both parties had ignored before as the maps indicated straight on and this was a 90° left. 
It was a little strange to be back on a canal again but familiar at the same time. Not a lot of wildlife evident, though people living in the lock-keeper's cottages had made a great display of flowers at times. Back to Le Boat hire boats again - the larger variety - and not always very well controlled. The canal passed through few towns or villages but we found a bar-restaurant at just the right time for a cold beer...
And when Blain, with a camping ground, turned up, we stopped. It is a deceptively large town with an enormous cathedral and a castle that was converted from a military construction of the 12th/13th century into an elegant residence when the Rohan family took over in the 16th century. Anne de Bretagne and Louis XII stayed at Blain, so it is somewhat famous in Bretagne.
14 August: Blain-Redon
Not a lot of towns or villages en route but when we stopped for lunch at St Clair, it was a beautiful place. Camping ground going down to the water, port for pleasure craft, choice of restaurants with view over the canal. We chose a small cafe offering a galette 'complète' for 6 euros. That's the buckwheat flour crêpe, with ham, cheese and an egg in the middle.
The next place of interest was Pont-Miny, with a gîte d'étape - a sort of hostel, available for 10 euros a head. There is a kitchen available and usually a shared room, but it was just too early for us to stop. Also we wanted to get to Redon. We stopped to enjoy the picnic area and a display of the history of the canal Nantes-Brest. And the person in charge kindly allowed us to fill our water bottle.
Redon has a port, sadly now used only for tourist boats but you can imagine the activity back in its heyday, when it was the crossroads for sea traffic and river traffic. Salt, wine and tuffeau (tufo) stone were the main cargoes. Today there is a big supermarket nearby that can actually be reached by bike or on foot - a winner for travellers without cars. Luckily we had a table near our tent (= tent placed near table) and were able to eat our purchases in relative comfort. Ah, the small luxuries of life!
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