After yesterday’s heat, it was a bit of a surprise to wake up to rain and a solid overcast in the morning.
Checkout time at the camping bungalows wasn’t until 1000, so Martin and I left our bags behind for a quick trip up the hill to see Sancerre proper in the drizzle.
Great views of the Loire and the hills south of it from the top of Sancerre, but the chateau wasn’t open yet.
By the time we got back to the campsite and loaded the bikes up for the forty-five or fifty klick ride to Briare it was raining properly and solidly, and it kept that up all the way to Briare. Mild temperatures, at least, so it wasn’t too unpleasant.
Briare has the longest canal bridge in Europe, carrying the Loire Lateral Canal across the Loire itself. It’s a spectacular piece of 1890s engineering, in which M. Eiffel of Tower fame played a role.
Staying in a salle municipale tonight, which basically means camping in a big hall with forty+ other cyclists. Lots of room, at least!
A really short day tomorrow, not even forty klicks to Sully-sur-Loire, so hopefully the weather improves and we can do a bit more sightseeing.
