Days 9 & 10 Bretagne Profonde

What a thing a canal is, millions of cubic metres of earth shifted, rivers channelled, people and businesses displaced, industries and trade routes established from scratch. And then you overrun on time and cost (of course) and the railway comes and the funds invested on behalf of widows and orphans are down the toilet. But after a period of dereliction, the high standards of architecture and landscaping begin to return a tourism dividend. Some redundant infrastructure can do this. 

Over the last two days we have been on old steam train lines and the epic Brest-Nantes canal, long deferred despite its purpose to help develop the desperately deprived interior and to provide a munitions/supply route to Brest, France's main naval base; it was only initiated under Napoleon I, who saw the sense in overcoming the English blockade of Brest and opening up the interior.  Cancelled from 2011 when his power waned, it was eventually taken up by a private company with state support. What an undertaking, and such a small proportion of the locks are now actively used  especially in the northern sections

Anyway, after a long climb, just before Rostrenon and many, many locks, we began to descend. This has been much better for Cath and Wednesday, day 10, we managed 59km, giving a total of perhaps 557km or about 30% of the total. Days 7-9 we had rather good weather with sunshine and little wind, beautiful spring days. Day 10 we had an afternoon rainstorm but not for long. The prospects for today are poor but we continue on a gradual downhill descent towards Nantes. 

Day 9 we stayed at an English run B&B (there are a number of these) at Rostrenon. John and Hilary are from Bedlington in Northumberland, near Cath's birthplace at Ashington and John is a recently self-taught DIY dynamo, who plans a swimming pool. Day 10 we stayed in the Hotel Rohan in Pontivy, a rather grand inland port on the River Blavet/canal.  This allowed time for washing clothes and generally tidying things before our next stage.