Grey clouds all day, much colder but no rain. Sun out again late evening. All the other boats left before we did at 10.30 a.m. There were no lock lights on at lock 8, Abbaye, so we hovered in the middle. Within a few minutes the VNF man in a car returned (Mike had already confirmed with him that we would set off at 10.30 a.m.) and switched the automatics on. Into the chamber up to the front to pull the blue cord then backed off to the tail end and the lock filled. 5.13m. All the locks to the top had no houses, just old concrete lock cabins alongside the chambers. A short twisty pound took us to lock 7, Rocher, a shallow one at 2.5m. Mike went in too close to the lock wall and the censor (in the middle on a beam across the chamber just before the tail end gates) didn’t “see” the boat. Backed out and came in again, this time it worked. I made a cuppa on our way to lock 6, Motte. Another 5.19m rise. 
Took photos of the museum and the boulangerie that isn’t, plus the boats on dry land and a building with a beautiful arched gateway. The VNF man returned to ask if we were continuing (there was a quay above the lock); yes, all the way to Montchanin. The old houses along the road on our right had colourful Burgundy tiled roofs. Lock 5, Forge, played up and refused to work. I climbed the ladder and used the intercom. Typical, an elderly couple had stopped their car alongside the lock to watch. The VNF man turned up, asked if I’d tugged the string (of course) but he tried it anyway – it didn’t work - so he went in the cabin and restarted it for us. He had another phone call and sped off downhill in his car. The road alongside the canal at lock 4, Ravin, was very noisy. It was midday. The flow pushed us hard to the left although our notes said it filled on the left, it didn’t. A very short pound lead to lock 3, Fourneau. Up another 5.18m and the water pinned the boat to the left hand wall. Another short pound to lock 2, Charmois where the boat rose 5.18m glued to the right hand wall.
We could see a boat (a pénichette) had just entered the top lock, a shallow one (2.31m) called Méditerranée. The boat rose gently in the lock as it had no gate paddles, only grounds. Mike paused above the top lock to take photos of the paintings on the lock cabin before we set off on the 4kms long summit pound. It was 12.45 p.m. The TGV line crossed the canal immediately above the top lock. Back to a “proper” canal as we entered the summit cutting, no road alongside just a two tiered towpath, no tarmac all green and grassy, without the bikes, cars and skaters. Peaceful for at least the first 2 kms. Under an old rusty girder bridge that looked like an old railway bridge, then the ultra busy N80 trunk road and the top tier of towpath came down to join the one just above water level as the cutting finished then the road reappeared on the right hand side. Peace over. Lorries and campervans passing by honked their horns and the drivers waved. We waved back. There were no boats moored now along the non towpath side by the reservoir where we had once moored under the trees. Through the next bridge we could see the stern end of our friend’s boat moored on the quay by the VNF workshops. M and D came out to welcome us and invite us over for lunch as we tied up. It was 1.30 p.m. We finished tying up, put all the gear away and joined them on their stern deck for lunch and a beer. We talked about moorings. Decided not to give up 100% on mooring on the Nivernais, but to check out the moorings between Montchanin and there.
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