Travel diary

The section from Orleans to Nevers houses the transition from the Royal Loire, with the Château de Sully, and the wild Loire that mankind has tried to tame and exploit by building canals and canal bridges. The lateral canal will accompany us all the way to Nevers, as the EuroVelo route follows the towpath – at least it will soon, as the cycleway has not yet been built along these grassy tracks (except for the sections between Germiny-des-Prés and Sully-sur-Loire and between the Guétin canal bridge and Nevers). When finished, the route will pass through a succession of floral villages, each centred round the local lock. For every boat that passes, the faithful lock keeper has to open and close the lock gates.

Riding along the river dykes, cyclists have the time and opportunity to admire their unspoilt surroundings, home to beavers, swans, gulls and terns, and to discover the rich historical and cultural heritage of villages such as Cosne, Pouilly, and La Charité-sur-Loire. The village of Sancerre, perched above the Loire and surrounded by its eponymous vineyards, is well worth a visit, with the few kilometres of ascent being amply rewarded by the fabulous views across the valley. The immense cooling tours and fields of power lines around Dampierre and Belleville sur Loire lend this bucolic landscape a somewhat disquieting atmosphere.