On July 12 we enter the canal Lateral a la Loire. The canal, as the name indicates, follows the Loire river on its South side.

The canal was completed 1838. The construction was necessary as the Loire river is very wide, but shallow and navigation is only possible on a short stretch leading into the Atlantic.

The canal slopes only gently from Digoin to Briare; on a distance of over 120 miles the level falls only 400 feet allowing the 41 locks to be spaced generously.