DAY 25 - NEVERS TO DECIZE

A long, long walk alongside the Canal Latéral à la Loire. 

After our traditional hearty breakfast, we followed the GR3 across the Loire, and soon joined the cycle path which goes alongside the canal for much of its course. It is part of Véloroute 6, a European long-distance cycle route from Constanta  on the Black Sea to St Nazaire, at the mouth of the Loire, on the French Atlantic coast.

The Cycle Path (Euro Véloroute 6) just out of Nevers. These were the first 2 of about 20 cyclists we saw on the path during the day.

We had our first stop after about two hours, on a bench by the canal, and ate the tarts we had bought in Nevers on the way out.

An attractive sight at a rest stop by the canal

Rejuvenated (French tarts seem to have that effect on us) we continued our trek by the canal. The path was well-paved, flat, and quite wide, and banned to all forms of motorised transport.

A summary of the day's walk - kilometre after kilometre of well-paved surface travelling next to the canal

About 12 kilometres after our first stop we had our second. There was a nautical welcome centre, a sort of rest area for the boats travelling on the canal, at Fleury-sur-Loire. No boats were moored there - we only saw 3 travelling along the canal in the nine hours we spent with it today - but it was a pleasant spot for weary walkers to rest their tired feet.

Lunch break by the canal. Everything today was by the canal. 

Several kilometres further on we came across a delightful wisteria-framed bower next to a small canal bridge. This made an attractive backdrop for another pause to take in some much-needed sustenance.

Chocolate break by the canal

The weather, which had again been rainy for the first part of the day, was now dry. but the sky looked ominous as we tramped the last few kilometres into Decize. 

Still smiling after walking 35 kilometres by the canal

In Decize we booked into our hotel-restaurant by the canal, and went into the restaurant to set about restoring some of the calories we had expended on such a long walk.

A welcome dinner after walking 38 km by the canal 

Day:  25
Distance:  38.65km
Walking time:  7hrs 27mins
Elevation gain:  337 metres
Cumulative distance:  637.06 km