Sunny but with a chilly breeze. The Big Boat left at 9.40 a.m. to get to the first lock for 10.00 a.m. We left at ten to get there for 10.30 a.m. The resident keeper at lock 26 Sauzay was the guy from the day before. Today he was in his gardening gear with wellies and was on the ‘phone all throughout the locking. He opened both bottom end gates as we left so we thought there would be uphill traffic. There were lots of fishermen on the left bank by the old basin where the road crossed between Sauzay and Vandenesse. We met the uphill traffic, the Ozzies we’d met at Chatillon, well wrapped up against the cold. They asked if we’d found a winter mooring yet and we told them we were still waiting to hear from two places. They were going up to the summit to stay at Baye. The large lady with glasses was just closing the left hand top gate and closing the paddle as we went into the next lock, 27 Moulin d’Isenay. I stepped off and closed the right hand gate. She said thank you. She was on the ‘phone as we left, telling the next lock keeper we were on our way. 2 kms to 28 Isenay and we could see The Big Boat going down in the lock as the cut was almost straight. Just before the lock I noticed a lovely heavy horse in the field by the canal, it looked like a Pecheron. The fields around the Château du Tremblay had lots of horses in with the Charollais cows. Another lady keeper, one we hadn’t met before, worked the lock. She was a bit unsure about one gate and was poised to open the left hand gate too. Hooted and shouted OK with one gate. She said Mike was a bon Capitain to steer through one gate! It was getting close to midday and she told us we could run down to the next lock and wait in the chamber until one o’clock as it was full. Fine. She drove off down the towpath in her VNF van. 2.7 kms to Chaumigny. As we left the lock we saw a very large rat swimming, not big enough for a copyu it must have been a musk rat. Past the Château du Tremblay and through the open lift bridge (not used in years judging by the vegetation) and down to the lock. The Big Boat was in the lock. Didn’t think it was a good idea to go in the lock as they would want us to lock together again so we tied to a bollard and I made some lunch. At one o’clock Mike went out to lend a hand, but The Big Boat was already going down so he started our engine and I walked down to the lock to lend the lock keeper a hand. It was another new bloke. He was chatting with someone in the lock house and came out with a clipboard to take the boat’s name, registration number, etc (but didn’t ask us anything just wrote down what he read off the boat). I wound a top end paddle up (after asking permission first) while he wound the other to refill the lock. He went back in the lock house and I opened one gate when the lock was full. He was surprised we only wanted one gate open, he said most narrowboats have two gates opened - I told him most of them can’t steer! The guy who had insisted The Big Boat go through Bernay lock with us the day before came out of the lock house and took over - I heard the other bloke say he had an appointment and asked him to work the lock before he drove off in his van. The older chap reminded us that he’d worked a few locks for us the day before (how could we forget, M’s still traumatised!) He was chatty and asked where we were stopping for winter. 2.7 kms to the last lock of the day, 30 Cercy, where the lady from before lunch was getting the lock ready. Above the lock there seemed to be plenty of space on the quay and two boats were now out on the bank. The Big Boat was already tied on the downstream end of the pontoon. It was just after 2.00 p.m. as we winded to point back upstream on the river section and M and D came out to lend a hand with the ropes as the wind was blowing the boat off the pontoon.
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