goodshipcalliope

One river; three countries

170kms of La Moselle, travelling through France and Luxembourg …………. looking at Germany!

16th to 29th June 2022

We left Toul part way through a heat wave, with temperatures in the higher 30°C expected for the next few days. We were still on the canal de La Marne au Rhin for one km, going under two very different bridges – one that was part of the original fortifications around the city, and the other a modern lift bridge.

Then we went through two locks at right angles to each other and dropped down just over 6 m to join the river Moselle. At the second of these locks, 27 bis, the window of the old lock office had been replaced with a mirror! It’s me having fun – definitely not being vain.

And then we were on our way out to join the river.

In all the Moselle is 545kms long so our travels, just beginning, were along less than a third of its length.

The first section of the river, towards Pompey and onward to Metz forms the northern arc of ‘la boucle de Nancy’, a vaguely circular set of waterways comprising La Moselle and La Meurthe which go through Nancy at their south-eastern edge. It is an attractive stretch passing through lots of countryside, and in areas the river widens out to form lakes covered with swans.

After our ‘loop’ down the Moselle and up the Saar we would be heading for Nancy and see more of the ‘boucle’. For now the northern arc was our direction, and a gentle 16 kms of that on our first day.

Boating friends had told us of an ultra shady mooring at Liverdun, ideal for enjoying two or three extra hot days. There were two locks along the way and at the first we found a yacht form the UK waiting for us so that the lock keeper could drop two boats down together. They looked even smaller than us in the mighty cavern of the second 7.3m lock at Aingeray.

It was one of those locks where we needed to move our fore and aft ropes down the ‘step bollards’ in the wall of the lock.

Pleasantly, in this lock, the bollards were a comfortable distance apart for Calliope, although not quite as easy for the yacht who had to take both ropes to a mid point , and share step bollards.

Following the yacht, Magic Hen, along the river we realised that they were heading into the almost hidden entrance for the Liverdun mooring, and its 20m pontoon …….. would we both have space to moor there?

Luckily the answer was yes; the pontoon is ‘moorable’ on both sides and soon we were both secure in the small inlet with trees all round.

There was only one thing. At this tine off year, midsummer, the sun is so high in the sky that there is never any shade until sundown! Ah well, with our usual selection of parasols and drapes we will keep Calliope cool enough.

And there were colourful picnic tables under the trees just right for meals and drinks with new friends in the shade. (We discovered that the crew of Magic Hen were not only from the UK, but were from Winchester – a city we know well and not far from our town home).

During our stay there we went for a walk up (and up) the hill to the old town of Liverdun, perched way above the mooring.

There are many interesting old buildings up there, including the chateau and the church. There are also great views up and down narrow streets, some with pieces of artwork to decorate the way.

There was even a very smart lavoir building, dating back to 1901. Prior to this the washerwomen of the village had to go right down the hill to the river, then carry it all back up again!

I’m hoping that my photo of the sign outside the lavoir will give you an idea of the change for the local villagers!

It was easier on the way down!

We were also there on Farther’s Day – and had a great surprise. Our daughter called to wish the Captain a Happy Father’s Day, and said that as she could not take him out to lunch she had transferred some money so that we could go out for a meal courtesy of her!

Straight across the inlet from the mooring is a casual bar restaurant with plenty of trees and umbrella’s to keep customers cool. An evening stroll round the water meant we had a wonderful few hours eating and drinking. I think that looks like a happy Father/Captain!

The assiette of cheese and charcuterie to keep us going until our food arrived was HUGE! Sadly no room left at the end for any of their tempting desserts.

And all within sight of Calliope – actually about 50 yards away, although it looks like I could touch her. if you are observant you will realise that we are now on the inside of the pontoon. Magic Hen had gone, so we moved onto the slightly shadier side and were later joined by two holiday boats for the night.

After three nights at Liverdun the weather cooled a bit and we decided to move on down the Moselle to discover more of her charms, starting off under the bridge at Liverdun – a long and graceful arched structure.

The first lock and town we passed was Pompey – a special for me because that is my home town, the nickname of Portsmouth. It is not an exciting or scenic photo I’m afraid.

We passed various riverside industry that day, from the derelict to the functioning. I love the colour and structure that they add to the landscape.

Calliope cruised on until we reached Pont-à-Mousson, named after the bridge that went over the Moselle towards the hill named Mousson where a castle once stood.

We found the hoped-for mooring empty – one that has a notice suggesting that only VNF and commercials to use the space but the DBA (Dutch Barge Association) mooring guide says it is commonly used, so we used it and had no problems! It is a dead end start to the re-routed Meurthe river, and a nice place to stop.

There is a big abbey the other side of the Meuse, seen here through the huge windows of a building that is the covered market, open on a Saturday. Sadly, for me, we were there on a Monday!

There were other lovely historic buildings and quirky modern additions around the town, seen on our quick walk in search of a shop that sold fresh milk! The old lavoir building on the left now seems to be a centre of music, both learning and performing, and on the right is an innovative way to encourage people to recycle their plastic bottle tops – to my mind a great idea that could be adopted all over the world.

I went for a second walk later, round the park and leisure grounds adjoining the mooring. It was great to see all kinds of sport going on – tennis, boules, football, a gym, rugby – and a stunning sky as a backdrop.

We had planned just the one night stop here so were off next day after breakfast, passing by the afore mentioned abbey at closer quarters.

Before long we found ourselves part of a little convoy of four bateaux de plaisance, moving dow the Moselle through lovely scenery on another blue day.

Calliope shared a few locks with them – plenty of space for all.

And in one lock I saved the life of a little fish caught on the platform of a bollard in the wall as the water drained from the lock!

My good deed of the day.

Now we had a different set of sights to take in. On the left is part, I think, of an old roman aqueduct. Certainly there is one in the vicinity, so I hope this is part of it. And secondly the paraphernalia required on the water to repair a bridge from below.

It is one of the delights of our cruising life to every day be gently (mostly) introduced to interesting and/or beautiful things to look at. To be honest it is the main reason we chose to do this wonderful crazy thing, seeing Europe from the waterside rather than the roadside.

We were heading for Metz, apparently a vibrant historically interesting city. To make sure of our place there for three nights we had contacted the Capitaine of the port and reserved ourselves a hammerhead mooring. Unfortunately it was not to be. When we arrived another, much shorter, boat was moored across ‘our’ hammerhead and refused to move. The Capitaine could not be reached by phone and was not in her office – so after hovering around for a while in the middle of the port we decided to leave Metz to another day and find ourselves a good mooring for the night.

Continuing down the Moselle our nerves were soothed by the countryside around us, including this little old watermill on the eastern bank.

We knew, via the DBA, that there was somewhere to stop in an old unused commercial port, miles form anywhere. That sounded like our kind of place – and it was!

I had imagined lots of old half-ruined buildings, rusty cranes etc. Instead we found that all traces of industry had been raised to the ground, apart from the old quayside, and nature allowed to take over. We were moored to a high sheet metal piling quay – always a slight challenge for fendering until a commercial boat or two had passed the entrance to the port and we had tested our method.

The weather was heating up again, so time for some shade to be added to the back deck, and for the Captain to take a rest from a longer day at the helm than planned (I expect I took a turn – I always offer!)

Then all was calm.

Now some might look at this mooring and think it awful, but I suspect those of you who read this blog read it in part to see how peaceful the world of inland waterways can be – so this photo is for you.

My final two photos from PK287.7 are these – our damsel fly visitor – the only visitor we had that evening – and the final view over the top of the sheet metal piling before the sun slid below the horizon.

One task I had set myself for that evening was to find a mooring where we could book in for a few days, top up with water (although we still had almost half a tank) and top up with food. I chose Basse-Ham, and what a good choice that turned out to be!

But first a mini-review of our journey there – all good!

First of all, on a grey but warm summer day, we came to our first double lock at de l’oren. This is where one of the locks is a much smaller one for leisure boats – see it here on the left just after we left it. On the right is the ‘grand écluse’ we have usually been in.

Not much further down river we passed the one remaining furnace complex of the old steel mill at Ucknage, now a museum piece with exhibition hall.

Although interested, we did not stop as we had plans for another revitalised old steel mill on the Saar.

Then another lock experience at Thionville where, despite there seeming to be a small boat lock we were asked to wait for the large one.

The waiting was initially moored to a long lead in quay, but when we saw the very wide commercial barge that was to leave the lock and pass us by the Captain realised we had better move one further out of the way so that the working boat could swing her stern round to get back on track on the bend in the river!

It is hard to see at this distance but I hope you can see that the barge is almost the same width as the lock. I reckon there was half a meter each side, if that!

As we left the lock and headed towards Thionville town there was a neat juxtaposition of bridges and modes of transport – shame there wasn’t a train passing lover the railway bridge when I took the photo!

It was getting on for lunchtime by now so, knowing there was a pontoon in Thionville, we quickly hatched a plan to stop for half an hour, buy readymade sandwiches as a treat and have a lunch stop.

But, as you can see from the skipper’s face, the Thionville pontoon was sadly in a state of disrepair. We could have tied up to it, but exposed metal might have scratched Calliope – a risk not worth taking for the sake of a sandwich!

There is always the making of a snack lunch on board – I forget what we had that day – and it was only 7kms to Basse-Ham.

We knew the port was next to an aquatic centre, and through a narrow entrance channel, so easily caught sight of the huge sailing/canoeing centre building, and the Port de Plaisance sign.

And there we were on our home pontoon for the next three days, with the skies turning blue. Apologies for the messy ropes and hose – we were still sorting out the mooring and the water filling at the time!

Just to try and give you an idea of how pleasant this port de plaisance was, we were surrounded by reed beds, still waters, and reflections worth keeping.

There was bird life to watch and be perplexed by. The kingfishers, magpies, crows, starlings, moorhen chicks and swans were easy to identify.

But this fuzzy creature, in fact a quite large startlingly black and white winged bird, with a pinky buff breast, foxed us for quite a while.

As did the very deep note croaking frog that was somewhere in the reeds, croaking regularly all day and night.

That is until we realised they were one and the same! The bird is a Little Bittern – a beautiful and relatively rare bird, especially in the UK, which is where most of our bird knowledge comes from. It hangs onto a reed, turns its long bright orange beak to the sky, and emits this strange deep sound. For those who are interested, this Youtube video is much better than the video I managed to take, although the sound of our bird was a lot louder! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM-DslEki4Q

We treated our three days as a bit of a holiday. Evening one was a stroll round the quite large area of the Centre Nautic, with its campervan park, playground, beach volley ball, chandlery and quirky outdoor ‘bar-in-a-hut’. And a fantastic sunset over the river.

Day two was partly taken up with a longish walk to the nearest supermarket for a re-stock. It involved starting off around the port, and all the permanently moored boats that we could see from our visitor’s pontoon. (the sunflowers are growing a bit at last!)

We were the recipients of a random act of kindness from a couple in a car who, seeing us walking steadily under the weight of our purchases, stopped and offered us a lift! Merci beaucoup. Next time we will get the bikes out!

That evening the skies changed! We knew we were in for a storm and sat on the back deck watching the black clouds stream in from south, hearing the rolls of thunder getting closer and more prolonged, and eventually having our share of the downpour. I always love this, for two reasons. First I love the cosiness of the wheelhouse when storms rage outside, and secondly heavy rain always gives the roof a good wash!

We ended up with our share of the lightning too.

I always admire those who can get good photos of lightning. Here is my best attempt.

That certainly cleared the mugginess from the air anyway.

Next day, back in sunshine, we walked to Basse-Ham village; the port is actually next to Haute Ham. It is a short country stroll, part along by the river, and then back through the fields. It is altogether a lovely area to spend a few days in.

Time to leave Basse-Ham – next stop Luxembourg!

Stewart took Calliope carefully out of the port’s entrance channel into the river, where a large barge was just passing so he slowed down to let her pass.

It was ideal cruising conditions and we followed Rumardo at a steady pace, noting our move into vineyard country – the famous Mosel region!

The first lock was not far away so crew got kitted out ready:

headset ✅
sunglasses ✅
lifejacket (required on Moselle in locks) ✅
sun visor ✅
cheeky grin ✅

[And I have not decorated my right ear to look like the skipper’s profile!]

Before long we were passing the castle at Serck-les-Bains. This time it is not down to Verbaun, but to a student of his called Cormontaigne – although his is just the latest restoration. There has been a fortress here since Roman times, which more latterly has belonged to the Ducs of Lorraine. These days it is open to the public, but we did not stop; it is there for another day.

Now the vineyards are really becoming the dominant landscape – neatly aligned rows of grapes growing on every hillside, using all available space.

And then, 4 kilometres after Serck-les-Bains, we are at the border of France with Germany and Luxembourg.

As we go through Apach lock with another commercial barge I am scrambling around on deck to take down our French courtesy flag and get ready to attach one for Germany – and I am still scrabbling as the big boat leaves!

And then it was done! This is where the Moselle divides Luxembourg, on the left, from Germany, on the right. Unfortunately we had not managed to find a Luxembourgian courtesy flag, so our EU flag, and ‘Women on Barges’ flag, had to suffice for the starboard yardarm.

We motored past the famous Schengen, and agreed that we both still agreed with the Schengen agreement! There is a museum and a mooring there, but the latter is mainly used by passenger boats.

Anyway we were in a bit of a hurry! We had heard that the diesel at Schwebsange, the next port, was cheaper than most places on the European waterways, so we had a plan to fill up with fuel. If you are reading this years later, 2022 was the year when oil/ petrol/diesel prices were rising crazily, for various political reasons. So filling up in Luxembourg where the duty and tax on fuel was cheaper was a good idea.

It was a Saturday and we knew that the fuel pump closed at 2pm, and was not open again until Tuesday.

We arrived by 1pm, with a big smile on our faces, and before long we were moored up at the fuelling quay with 500 litres of diesel pouring in.

The Captain sort of kept a close eye on proceedings – you never want the fuel to overflow! My old orange striped trousers were ready to soak it up if necessary.

The Capitaine of the port, Pascal, is an interesting and charming man. He had reserved a good long space for us to moor and before long we were secure.

That left us free for a walk round the little wine-growing village of Schwebsange before the storm that was brewing arrived.

The village was neat, small, and at every turn a reminder of its wine heritage. It was like an outdoor museum of the history of grape glowing in Luxembourg – fascinating. We had planned to have supper in one of the marina restaurants, and Luxembourg wine was now definitely going to feature.

We had a fine supper. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the river and marina.

Pascal joined us for a beer, and advised us on which wine to try – a Luxembourg Pinot Gris from the very hills we had been looking at – under two kilometres away. We were not disappointed.

Then we chose a very local dish – gromperekichelcher. They are a rosti style potato, but much tastier, much crispier, and in our case made even more delicious with cheese and bacon.

We wandered back to Calliope, expecting a quiet evening waiting for the impending storm, but were invited to join a couple at their camper van, and another boating couple we’d met a few days previously, for a good franglais style conversation. The few words of Luxembourgish I had learnt – moien (hello), äddi (goodbye), and the easier merci for thanks – were not much needed until we left. But we did try another very good local wine – a smokey Chardonnay from Remich, a few kilometres downstream.

All of this was a prelude to the storm. It did come. As it it began to splatter rain drops on us we all bid a hasty äddi and watched the storm unfold from under our own cover. At first it was mainly high gusty winds and the rain, all in a strange pink sky.

And then we had the spectacle of pink lightning to complete the show.

Wonderful.

We finished our time in Luxembourg with two short cruises. The first began with Calliope going astern out of the Schwebsange port, past the fuelling quay and onto the river. The weather still looked heavy, but was dry.

Our mini map of locks on the Luxembourg Moselle, and then the German Saar (next blog) showed that we had one lock on each day’s cruise – today would be Stadtberdimus/ Palzem.

First stop was Ehnen, a mere 13 kms down river. We did not know what to expect and were pleased to find another small , old Luxembourg village which has been dedicated to winemaking. Its streets are narrow and steep, set in amongst the vineyards.

The village is working towards being a major part of the Moselle wine trail; currently the tourist office is open, but the museum is closed, undergoing a massive renovation – still 2 years to go before completion.

The quay we moored up to is part of the renovation, preparing for the cruise ships to disgorge their passengers for tastings and knowledge. It is work in progress, but for us was a safe, sound, quiet place to stay.

We walked up through the village and intro the vineyards where there is a hikers trail.

From there we could look down on Calliope – hard to spot if you don’t know where she is!

And at the bottom of the hill, where the mill stream emerges, is an old bridge which, in UK, I would probably call a pack horse bridge.

I tried it out – it works!

It is centuries old (I regret I forget how many centuries!)

I had planned just to say a few words about Ehnen and maybe two photos, but there is still one more thing worth mentioning.

The small riverside park that separates the quay from the village is home to a set of modern sculptures that display various parts fo winemaking and the people involved. Vines are growing around them. Once the renovation is complete it will be a lovely setting for them.

We were still looking for blue skies when we set off to do the 12 kms to Grevensmachen. The terrain seemed to be leaving vineyards and entering tree covered slopes again, but in the mist it was hard to be sure.

What we could be sure about, and is worth sharing with prospective boaters in the Moselle, is that we always knew here we were.

The german bank of the river showed very clearly which kilometre mark you were at, with the tenths shown on a succession of smaller signs, and a + sign for half way. So for example above we would be at km221, then at km221.5, and later at km221.9.

The changeover of UKW (VHF) channels between locks was just as clear.

Then onto our last stopover in Luxembourg. So far it has made me want to come back by car or train and have a more thorough look round this Grand Duchy. The landscape opened up again and we were cruising past vineyards and pretty communes once more.

Before long we were through Gravenmachen and tied up at the quay. The owner of the boat already moored there, and an acquaintance of ours from several previous moorings, jumped down and brought us good news. This long quay, shared by passenger and hotel boats (who have priority), was empty for a week.

Luxembourg has a great system for quays like this. Often on a 100m quay there is 80m where hotel boats have first choice, and 20m for private boats like ours. If you don’t know when a hotel boat is due you dont know if you can use a big empty space. But in Luxembourg there is a lit up sign telling you when, to the minute, the next hotel or passenger boat is due! There we are down the far end.

So here we are on our first evening at Gravenmachen with the sun going down, throwing a magical light on the German shore

Gravenmachen was another revelation to us. Although modernised to a large extent the medieval centre of narrow streets is still there and some of the fortifications. Unsurprisingly there are many references to the grape!

There is a short and interesting walking trail around the town, including the one remaining tower, known locally as ‘the gaping tooth’.

One of the narrow streets follows around inside the rampart wall; houses have been built into the wall and are still there, mostly lived in, today.

Also just inside the wall is an artistic reproduction of the town’s lavoir which used two be two doors along

I find it a great atmospheric way to display what was there 100 years ago. It does not feel so distant to me. The image of the lady could easily have been my grandmother or one of my great aunts.

We passed two nights in Gravenmachen – our last two on the Moselle and our last two in Luxembourg. On day two we did go and find a local bar with a good outdoor area for a cooling beer before retreating to the boat for supper, and a glass or two on the back deck!

Ah, did you notice my funny one glass? That is because I am notoriously clumsy and it is harder for me to send that one flying!

Our last evening on the river was beautiful. Warm but not hot and with colourful skies and reflections.

We set off promptly the next day to cruise the final 11 kms of the Moselle before we turned off to join the Saar. The Moselle continues on downstream for 200 kms to the Rhine and is navigable all the way I believe. But we were due in Saarbrucken to meet family so needed to take the right hand turn onto the Saar.

So we looked back at the Moselle scenery we had become used to enjoying – those vineyards!

We found our turn to starboard at km200.8. Goodbye Moselle; we have loved cruising you.

And hello Saar – we look forward to what lies ahead! The next blog will tell all!

A few days R&R at Toul

11th to 17th June 2022

If you have been following the blog you will know that we were making our way to Toul to meet our good friend Hilary at Toul station on Sunday evening.

We thought it best to get there the day before so that we had plenty of time to find a good mooring, get some food and wine in and prepare the guest cabin and en suite!

On the 10th of June we had arrived at the top of our voyage up the Meuse and it’s lateral canals, stopping for the night at Pagny-sur-Meuse. That meant we would be dropping down into Toul; the De Breil navigation map showed us that we had 13 locks and a short tunnel to go, but only over 14kms.

It looked like a nice half day’s cruise, the descent feeling easier than the ascent of the past 35 days. The weather was more than fine, so we slipped our ropes 20 minutes after the two Dutch cruisers who had been our travelling companions the day before.

It was one of our favourite days when not is warm enough to put down the front windscreen and feel the fresh air wafting through the wheelhouse. (Looks a bit of a mess! But we have all these things ready – binoculars, sun hats, navigation map, log book ….. and the fine collection of feathers we have gathered over the years!

Such a beautiful calm start along the Canal de la Marne au Rhin!

I used the first part of the day to clean some off the roof. I think I have said before that I love all the jobs that involve water and for me it is fun to catch buckets of water from the canal and throw them down the decks.

It wasn’t long until we saw the tunnel before us – the Souterrain de Foug, a mere 867m. But even so it must be taken carefully and slowly.

I always love the entrances, usually with ivy hanging down and plenty of vegetation around.

This was one of the ones where we could ‘see the light at the end of the tunnel’ as we went in.

There were lights in the tunnel as well. On this occasion the Captain asked me too shine our torch along the side to help make sure Calliope did not graze herself on either edge.

All was well.

We came out into a wonderful sunlit scene. There is a wide ‘pond’ between the tunnel and the first lock, including a small tree covered island that used to be one side of a lock that no longer exists.

Two smaller locks were combined into one larger one and that is the one we now needed to wait for.

In the meantime the two cruisers who had started ahead of us were making their descent.

After about 20 minutes the lights were green for us to enter the lock. The lock keeper came out to say ‘bonjour’ and to collect from us the trusty remote control that had taken us through locks for the past several days and kilometres!

That first lock is 6m deep, compared with about half that for all the rest, proving the point that this lock replaced two previous locks before the tunnel.

The doors opened and we were set free to make our gradual way down to Toul.

From then on each of the subsequent 12 locks opened automatically as we approached. Most of them had bollards set just below the top of the wall, in a recess, and easy to use. Once moored ready to go we set the lock in m motion using the usual blue lever.

There was always a waterfall at the upper end as we went down, helping to cool the space – it was a hot day, and due to get hotter.

And in this way we descended 27.8m gradually and sedately to Toul, ending up after the penultimate lock next to the port. The port was quite full, especially the longer berths, and we had fingers crossed that the mooring we wanted a bit further on would have space for us.

We had already decided, on the advice e of our good friends on Pavot, that we would also descend lock 26 and hope to moor on a lovely long quay that separates the canal from the ramparts and moat around Toul.

There is always this slight trepidation before a planned mooring -will there be space or not? And in this case we were rewarded with a wonderful totally empty 80m+ quay!

Not only that, but sheep had been ’employed’ to graze the grass round the ramparts. It may seem odd, but we love sheep. My uncle had a farm and we used to help with lambing each year, so developing a fondness for this rather stupid animal.

We settled in very comfortably. Enough shopping was done to see us through Hilary’s first evening next day, and after that it would be fun to shop with her.

But while we are mentioning the sheep I should quickly explain our ‘Lamb Rescue’ moment. I was having a nice siesta when the Captain yelled to tell me a big fat lamb had fallen into the water! I jumped up and together we went to rescue the poor struggling animal.

First Stewart had to switch off the electric fence that enclosed the flock. Then we climbed over, making our way through long grass and brambles to a small old weir where the lamb was trying to get out. The wall was far too slippery for the lamb to make it, but my sitting on the weir, half on the water, I could grab it by one ear!

The Captain followed up by getting a hold on the scruff of its neck, and together we hauled a wet, very unhappy, adolescent lamb from the water and onto my lap! It did not take long to regain some sense and leap from me into a very muddy reed bed below before struggling back to the flock!

A somewhat different day on the waterways. We did follow it up by finding a way to contact the owner of the sheep, who later came to move the flock away from the brink of disaster and onto higher ground.

But more importantly, our guest arrived. The train was on time, I was at the station on time, and the walk back was short but exceedingly chatty. Stewart stayed on board to cook supper, and we had been shopping for a good French cheese course which seemed to go down well!

I think it is best to opt together our fun of the next few days. Things tended to split between a stroll to buy breakfast pastries, a trip into town to buy food or drink a beer, a siesta, and evenings on the back deck or back in Toul.

We tried the closest boulangerie on the first morning and it was so good we repeated the exercise every day except the day it was closed. And on that day we went to the next closest, which was almost as good. The pain au raisin was especially good and went well with a cuppa.

Toul is a very pleasant small city. At its centre is a ’round’ rather than a square, with lovely gardens and a fountain to enjoy from the shade of the surrounding cafés and bars, as you will see.

Absolutely fascinating to me was the inclusion of architecturally placed crates planted with bright and very healthy vegetables.

This could be seen in several of the council flowerbeds and was just one example of innovation seen around the town.

It wasn’t long before we first tried out the bars around the circle, or Place des Trois Évéchés to give it its nom Français. It means the place of the three bishoprics, and there are certainly some impressive churches around.

I have a feeling many of the photos will evolve beer or wine, and having a good time, but hopefully also evoke the feeling of Toul.

We did spend time on the boat, admiring the water with the ramparts and steeples beyond, and having a necessary siesta. 1730 (the time, mot the year!) found the three of us venturing back out to find somewhere for a meal.

As many of you will know it can be difficult to find a restaurant in France that is open on a Monday, but we did, after an aperitif at Trois Évéchés.

It was an interesting selection of drinks, with two typical French – Ricard (well done Hilary) and kir pêche – one for the Captain who has been cruising in Belgium for three years!

The restaurant, perhaps better described as a funky friendly music bar / bistro, was just what we wanted.

We were not exactly sure what we were ordering, but Hilary and Stewart both chose a baked Munster cheese with fried potato and charcuterie! One delicious serving would have fed the three of us.

(I had an equally tasty large pavé of salmon)

No space for dessert – shame!

We tried a new way back to the boat. Stewart as both Captain and leader of the troup marched to the top of the ramparts to find us a way ‘over the top’.

But that did not work and we reverted to a nice route past the port.

The towers of Saint Etienne rise up in so many views of the city.

Also at the port, and in the background of the photo above, are two examples of the little locomotives that were introduced to replace horses towing barges. The system did not last for long because the barges themselves became powered and no longer needed hauling.

We did a bit of slightly more formal tourism, going to the tourist office to buy post cards for our grand daughters and taking a walk round Saint Etienne Cathedral, Cloisters and gardens. The one extra photo above of a fancy looking blue and yellow building is where earthenware used to be made and sold – at least that is what I read.

There was one more morning beer at Trois Évéchés, linked this time to a visit to the small market that gathers twice a week around the circle.

It could become a very pleasant habit! It is one of the many pleasures of having friends aboard – we are shaken out of our usual routine and happily join in the holiday mode of our visitors.

It kind of works both ways – they involve us in their holiday making, and we can introduce e them to things we have learned about the place or country we are in.

Which makes it kind off weird to say that for Hilary’s last evening with us we went for a Chinese meal! But it was because many of the restaurants chose to also close on a Wednesday, so choice was limited.

There is a tunnel through the ramparts that leads back to the mooring, and we had fun with our shadows as we returned happily for our meal.

I am sure there are many tunnels through the ramparts, but I think this is the only one that is open. The ramparts are part of Vauban’s many military works and are still in a great state of preservation.

Here are a few more illustrations of the fortifications still there to be seen. I went for an evening walk to see most of these after Hilary had left; it all seemed a bit quiet without her!

So, with the timeline of the blog slipping a bit, I go to Thursday, and sadly time for Hilary to go home. One more pain au raisin in the sun of the back deck together, with a quiche also purchased for her lunch on the train, and it was the hour for packing and preparing to leave. It was due to be a very hot day both in France and the UK, so both of us were getting ready to keep as cool as possible,

We walked to the station together. As she waved goodbye to Toul I realised that I would be waving goodbye myself the next day as we left to drop down onto the Moselle – the next chapter of the blog.

The Magnificent Meuse part 3

Canal de la Meuse from Charleville to Troussey

25th May to 10 June 2022

[Be warned – this is a longer blog than usual, but then the Meuse is a long river!]

In truth many parts of the Meuse are canalised, all the way down to Givet and the border of France with Belgium. However it is more canal than river from Sedan up to Troussey, and when we left Charleville we were on course for Sedan after a few days on the Canal des Ardennes.

It was previously called the Canal de l’Est northern branch, and is a long stretch of almost 200 kilometres and 42 locks, taking us up into a different landscape, and past a succession of towns, villages, and through the city of Verdun. Due to our 4 days on the Ardennes we only had 12 days for the rest of the trip as were heading to Toul for a rendezvous, but we still had time to enjoy some great moorings, discover new boating friends, and have one good meal out and one not so good!

The day we left Charleville started well, for about the first half hour! Then as we approached the first lock, leading out of Charleville-Mézières, we met a small cabin cruiser coming the other way. They were English, like us, and after passing us they turned round and chased us towards the lock!

When we managed to speak to them we discovered that there remote control would not work on the lock so we agreed that they would follow us in, as long as ours worked – which it did.

But what also did not work was the lever to set the lock operation in progress! So now both boats were stuck at the bottom of the lock.

Calliope crew to the rescue – I climbed up and up the slippery ladder to get service for this unresponsive, quite deep, lock – while the Captain remained on duty on his ship!

Soon we were on our way again, our new friends with a new remote control, so everyone happy. We passed by some of the impressive centuries old fortifications of Mézières which we had visited from the other side a couple of days before, and before long we were out in the country.

There were a few locks to share with the other boat, including this one at Dom-le-Mesnil where we had an audience of a couple and their bike-riding dog!

The way off the river onto the lock cut was interesting!! Can you spot the arrow telling us which way to go? Luckily the Captain’s eagle eyes did.

The lead out of the lock was interesting too – with an old ‘weir-keeper’ cottage on the island between the two channels, and some rather large timber to avoid as we rejoined the river.

Our ways parted as Calliope turned onto the Canal des Ardennes, the detour of which is described in a separate post ………. and when we re-joined La Meuse four days later it was with the intention of mooring at Sedan.

That was not to be; a combination of two large barges already on the wall mooring, and the floating pontoon being loose from its stanchions meant that we needed a Plan B.

Our Plan B was a super-quiet mooring in the countryside near Remilly-Aillecourt. We have stopped there before so know that there ARE bollards in that long grass – you just have to step ashore and wade through it all to find them.

We had just one night out in the sticks; it is beautiful peaceful place to be as you can tell.

But we needed a few new supplies, so next morning we ‘set sail’ for Mouzon. We had a special sighting along the first mile – storks on their nest with their young.

You will have to take my work for it that we saw this clearly through the binoculars – I could not get a good ‘sail-by’ photo on the iPhone.

More easily photographed was a family of swans, with most of their cygnets much whiter than I am used to seeing.

We had heard that the little port at Mouzon did not have much space for bigger boats like ours and that we might have to go in or come out astern. That is not necessarily a problem, but we still approached with fingers crossed – and found the whole quay just waiting for us.

It is an interesting little town – worth a wander to see the old Abbey and its gardens, a huge mural depicting the town’s famous personages and industries, the one old gate that still exists into the town, and various towers and other old buildings.

The famous family of the town is the Sommers. In addition to owning a now defunct but massive felt factory and an automobile part industry, the family included a famous racing driver, Raymond, and an early aviator, Roger. The Sommers also gave money to the town for several community buildings and charities. Much of this can be seen in images on the mural.

The evening there had us sitting inn the sun, looking out from the back deck onto the canal, almost in the shadow of the abbey, and toasting the town!

Despite its charms we only stayed one night. I would have liked to be there for their monthly Friday market, held right next to the quay, and with lost of local produce (apparently), but we had just missed it and the Captain was not keen to wait 25 days for the next. As we left we passed one of the Sommer’s old factories – I think for felt making.

You have probably noticed that we often look out for quiet rural moorings! That is just our choice, and we designed the boat with the PV panels and a good size fresh water tank so that we can spend time in more natural surroundings. But for those who prefer, there are plenty of lovely marinas and ports throughout France and Belgium (to our knowledge) and in the Netherlands too.

However our next choice was above the l’Alma lock at a mooring we had noticed three years before, but not had time to stop. It is such a good little mooring, with the bollards located in concrete bays, along a concrete quay – so easy to locate!

We thought we were all alone in the middle of nowhere, as you can see from the photos, but were later joined by a delightful Swiss couple on their barge.

And they had a drone! They went it up high and sent us this wonderful photo. We are the two tiny boats in the top left quadrant, above the lock and with La Meuse winding round behind us to the weir in the distance.

We did walk up to the weir which has an unusually configured fish ladder at the side – I don’t think it is for salmon, although efforts have been made to reintroduce salmon to the river. I didn’t see any fish leaping (wrong time of year) and didn’t take a photo of the ladder – apologies.

I also took an early evening stroll in the other direction, to the lock with it’s empty lock keeper’s house, and along the bank of the river – plenty of nature everywhere!

So after one night in the country we were moving on again, this time to Stenay. Again we were lucky with the mooring, as the first one in the ‘dead end arm’ of the port, (the best one for us), was free.

We had been advised to stop there and to visit a particular garden. It is highly productive and one can buy almost any vegetable or herb known in France, and many flower plants too. At the same time it is just a little quirky!

The path to the garden is exquisite in itself, with a lovely old walls either side and tiny stream running along.

We had a lovely walk round the town, finding amongst other things one of my favourites – a lavoir. This one used to belong to the convent of the Minimes. At the moment it is closed due to restoration work nearby, so my photos are a bit askew, taken through fences and front my clambering on forbidden walls. I wish I could have gone inside.

There is also a Museum of beer, just right for an early evening drink. It is on the site of a brewery and oast house so all the buildings were genuine beer making facilities!

My other favourite from Stenay is this old mill. You can just see the waterwheel at one side, although it is no longer turning. The building is now a hotel and restaurant.

The whole town is interesting, with a military history, and many old buildings. This is just a taste of the place. One of these is an old hydro electric plant, I think!

Then next day we went on to our other recommendation – Dun-sun-Meuse. To leave the port Captain Stu had to go astern back into the narrow channel leading to the lock; all was achieved with no fuss and bother.

We were helped through the next couple of locks by a ‘convention’ of éclusiers who seemed to have met up to discuss the amount of weed in the canal, clear some off it from lock gate areas, and have a good chat.

The landscape was changing dramatically. No longer the deep wooded valleys we had enjoyed so much further down the Meuse. Now the land spread out as a pastoral plateau with occasional villages on the distant hill slopes.

Then, as we got higher, the valley began to narrow again. We passed by the remains of two bridges as we got close to Dun-sun-Meuse.

I suspect they were blown up during one of the wars to slow down enemy advances, but this is speculation.

By around midday we had arrived. This place is marvellous. Firstly, for a bargee, there is plenty of mooring ….

…. water everywhere as the Meuse splits up around the town ….

….. an interesting steep walk up to the old mediaeval town at the top of the hill ….

….. to see the views, the old church, and some other features left behind from its long history ….

….. and a steep walk down but a different route (not sure this was such a good idea!).

We reward our walking efforts at a very good French restaurant where we went for lunch …

… followed by a brisk walk back to Calliope with a full tum!

This restaurant was the main recommendation we received for the visit to Dun-sur-Meuse!

And we recommend it to you too – Les Colimencarts.

Dun played quite a significant part in WW2, especially for the US army. In the months and years after the war the station became a central point for the bodies of soldiers to be brought, before being taken back to America.

Of course casualties were on both sides and a quiet German cemetery up a quiet track is a reminder of the many young men from that country who also died.

We actually stayed two nights in Dun-sun-Meuse; we needed that extra time to appreciate everything. I suspect we would have stayed longer if Toul had not been calling and we had to be there on time.

Before we left I went for my customary morning stretch to find a boulangerie and bread for our lunch.

I made the mistake of going before I had my breakfast and succumbed to the temptation of a giant pain au raisin!

It was the juiciest and most delicious I have ever had. Mmmmmmmm!

There was a change in locking habits after Dun-sur-Meuse; we were suddely presented with a lock that had nowhere to zap our remote control – and no ‘traffic lights’ to let us know what was happening. Then we saw our éclusier for the next few locks.

The weed growing in the canalised river along the next stretch was particularly bad.

All the éclusiers we met were as busy clearing weed as they were operating locks and taking ropes.

I am sure it is not what they signed up for, but they worked hard at it.

The lady above was the first of a series of helpful and amiable éclusiers. Some travelled with us for several locks; others did just one or two. Each day we were asked how far we would be travelling and what time we wanted to start next day. Their planning was immaculate and they were always there for us the next morning at the appointed time.

On we went, with Bobby the Ardennes boar keeping look-out for us from above.

The landscape was subtly changing again – still flatter than it had been, but now far more arable and farmed.

The weather just added to it all, setting the colours of field, sky and water more starkly against each other than normaL.

Our next mooring was easy to decide as we have been there before – Consenvoye. We were slightly concerned that there would not be space for us, and were kept in apprehension by the éclusier who was a little late meeting us there.

Another boat had already been waiting 30 minutes and we found a way to leap ashore and moor up to wait with them. Consenvoye lock is very unusual – it has sloping sides and a floating pontoon that rises and falls with the water in the lock. Boats tie to this and have a very calm ascent or descent. Here it is full, with the pontoon at the top, so just a bit of the sloping side can be seen.

We were offered the mooring above the lock, but it was not ideal – two bollards about 50m apart! and we like the little port, so in we went to join a boat we had been travelling upstream with. Shortly after we were joined by one more – space for all three!

It was pleasantly warm when we arrived; time to drop down the front windscreen and open the back doors for a nice cooling breeze!

But we had been warned by Meteo France of thunderstorms, and watched the sky carefully before going for a walk round the little village.

Luckily it didn’t rain much until we were back on board – but then it did rain, and rain! With the forecast next day for more of the same we thought we would give cruising a miss for a day and enjoyed a day’s rest.

During a more lengthy break between showers I went for a walk along the other side of the river.

Apparently I am of great fascination to young cattle as three fields of heifers and bullocks came running across to say a friendly hello.

When evening came the skies were not sure what was coming next, but put on a brave display for us.

We were due more striking sky displays over the following days and weeks, as you will see.

By now we were running out of a few essentials, although our big fridge and dry goods store always has the makings of something. The next stop on the schedule was Verdun, where we certainly could find all the shops and supermarkets we needed, so off we went.

Arriving in Verdun by water is always impressive, which ever direction you come from.

In this case we arrived from the North, past the big Porte Chausée, which unfortunately had a restaurant barge moored in front of it!

There is always this PMT (Pre Mooring Tension) when heading for somewhere popular like Verdun. Last time we went through the quays on both sides were full and quite a bit of rafting up too. We were therefore pleasantly surprised to see several spaces on the long main pontoon and found ourselves a space right at the upstream end.

This was another two day stop. It gave us plenty of time to shop, enjoy café life and sightsee. I don’t think my blog needs photos of Le Clerq Hypermarket, but a few of the old buildings of Verdun might be good to include.

Sometimes sightseeing and cafe life collided! The observant will notice that the two views are looking at each other.

One piece of history particularly interested us – the Pont-Ecluse Saint-Amand. This bridge, built in the 1680s, is also a special lock that can shut the water out of Verdun. This is done using planks lowered within each arch. The mechanism still works – the only one left in France. Along with two other buildings that have long disappeared, it would then flood the ground outside the city making it impossible for the enemy to attack from the south. It is yet another of that redoubtable engineer Vauban’s designs.

After dark the war memorial at the far end of the port was lit à la Française, made even more magnificent with the V shape metallic sculpture in front of it

Leaving Verdun to the South involves going up a lock and through a tunnel. As always the éclusiers were there at the appointed time of 9am and we were up and away

Looking at the map we could see that there were just two more nights to be spent on (Canal de) La Meuse. She had been our companion for over a month, apart from the 4 days on the Ardennes.

As we travelled along with our two éclusiers they did their usual work of clearing weed and small branches from in front of the lock gates; it all gets drawn in as the lock fills and can jam up the gates if not regularly hooked out.

On this occasion, not only was there the usual weed, but also a wooden bench seat! It took both guys to haul it out onto the side.

One night was spent at Ambly, somewhere we had moored before, but only for a lunch stop. It is another calm pastoral mooring, with a small recreation ground separating it from a quiet village.

If you ever got there, remember that the boulangerie (only shop in town) is closed on a Thursday! We of course arrived on a Wednesday and were not able to get fresh baguette next morning!

While there we had yet another big rain storm, which have way to rainbows and extraordinary skies – this is my attempt at a panorama of the evening sky from red/brown to blue/black.

And I cannot omit a rainbow!

As we left we had quite good blue skies with white clouds. but before long the rain set in, and out came my mother’s old sailing trousers.

They have come in handy quite a lot for locks in the rain over the years! Thanks Mum.

Eight kilometres up the river/canal we passed Lacrooix-sur-Meuse, its church standing out even against a grey sky. We have passed through here before and both times commented on how beautiful the mooring looks, but both times it has been full with other boats; maybe next time!

Of course there is natural beauty all the way, and I sometimes almost take it so much for granted that I forget to share it with you. So here, left to right, is a heron in flight, a visiting moth, and a tree I found rather lovely.

The day we left Ambly was to be our last with eclusiers for a while. Once we reached Rouvroy it was au revoir to our companions, until next time. Coincidentally we had discovered along the way that one of the guys had been with us when we went down the Meuse three years before! He looked up his records to check, and their was the name Calliope!

But now we were back to our remote control and ready to use it as we approached St-Mihiel lock.

As luck would have it, or in this case bad luck, the lock was ‘en pann’, that is not working!

As sometimes happens in these situations there was no easy place to stop an d wait so we went into the lock to make contact with the VNF.

It was a case of up the ladder again for Calliope crew to look for the usual intercom connection to the VNF office.

There was one attached to the lock office and I was soon reassured that help was on its way and the message was relayed on to the Captain. Before long we were travelling again.

We did have one more encounter with the VNF that day at Les Koeurs; the weed is so bad in this part of the canalised Meuse that clearing with a JCB grabber. And we had an intrepid engineer sitting on the gates repairing the flashing light that signals the opening and closing of the lock gates.

The only other excitement of the day was the negotiation of a ‘tight turn’, under a railway bridge and through a short tunnel. With Stu at the helm it all seemed a lot easier than the map had suggested!

By 1430 we had arrived at our overnight stop, Sampigny. Friends had described it as very quiet, peaceful, and dark over night, but our stay began with a good deal of (necessary) noise as the grass verges were cut!

We went to see the village while the grass cutting continued and found some interesting buildings, including a chateau above the village which was the summer home of Raymond Poincaré, president of France from 1913 to 1920 – a difficult time to be president! The chateau is now a museum: https://www.meusetourism.com/en/things-to-do/visit/museums-and-cultural-venues/F837000298_musee-raymond-poincare-sampigny.html

Our walk also took us past another lavoir for my collection. I know it was hard work but I somehow feel I would have found some enjoyment in meeting the other women of the village there as we washed and rinsed our sheets and clothes.

Back at the boat we were met with nicely cut grass, quietness, and soon after two other boats, both Dutch, about which more later.

That evening, using the long light evenings of June, I went for a walk in the other direction, and between huge flat fields of crops. I also saw my only sign indicating that the Meuse itself was meandering a way over yonder, and we were on the renamed Canal de l’Est.

And now we were on our last day going up. It was to be a slightly more difficult day than normal up to the top, but all manageable. Indeed part of the stimulation of this boating life is the occasional challenges, all of which Calliope and her crew are capable of overcoming.

We waited for the two Dutch cruisers to set off first as they were travelling a little faster than us. Having allowed time for them to get through the first lock, Vadonville, we followed on. Two features here that I liked – the little (sadly empty) lock keepers house, and the change of metalwork design for the railings on the bridge. Each canal or stretch of water has its own design. One day I will make a gallery of them all!

The next ex-lock house was happily inhabited, and by someone with a sense of fun!

It was soon after this that we caught up with our Dutch friends, side by side at the edge of the canal.

We slowed down and asked if we could help. One of the boats with a water cooled engine had repeatedly had the filter blocked with weed. There was nothing we could do and they had it under control so we passed on by

But we did understand the problem!

Luckily Calliope’s engine is keel cooled, meaning that water is not extracted from the canal

Even so weed can become a problem if too much gets wrapped around the propeller, so Captain Stu throws the propeller into reverse before and after each lock to dislodge any loose bits and this usually keeps us weed free.

However it was so bad on this canal that as we approached the last 4 locks and were having some lunch it became apparent that some more thorough untangling was needed!

That’s the crew’s job and I love it!

Calliope sensibly has a ‘weed hatch’ in the engine room, meaning that on the rare occasions when weed, rope, plastic bags etc need to be cleared it can be done easily without having to go into the water.

(Hmm, the engine room looks a bit untidy! But it was just moving things across out of the way fo the weed hatch!)

On we went towards the last 4 locks which would take us up the final 12.15m over 2 kilometres to the summit of this waterway. I remembered from our descent 3 years ago the three bridges – one railway and two road – making nice shapes against the sky.

The water level along the section between the last three locks seemed particularly low, and makes it quite difficult for boats that draw more than about 1.3m

On this we were OK, with a draught of 0.9, but even so we needed to keep clear of the edges!

On up past the cement factory next to lock 2. We were stuck inside the bottom of the lock here three years ago and gained a nice dusting of cement!

Ironically there was a problem here this time too and we called up the VNF service man who was with us in no time at all.

And then the last lock, No. 1, of our journey on La Meuse and her associated canals. I felt quite sad in a way. I both looked forward to the new waters ahead – the Saar, the Moselle and more – and at the same time felt I was leaving a friend. Soppy thing aren’t I???

At the top of the lock we lined the Canal de la Marne au Rhin and were invited to turn right towards Void and Bar-le-Duc, or left towards Toul. No question about it – we were meeting Hilary in Toul in two days time so a turn to port please Captain!

In truth that was the end of the Magnificent Meuse adventure, but to finish off the day ….

… we cruised along the ‘top of the world’ towards Pagny-sur-Meuse, so still sticking with our river.

Water levels were down here too.

We tied up in Pagny with blue skies all round. A bit later the two Dutch boats arrived and moored behind us and we all discussed the weed and water level problems.

I went back to the weed hatch to ensure all was c lear – only to find that as well as a bit more ‘non-troublesome’ weed there was a fishing line tightly wound round the propeller shaft. That is a bit more of a nuisance, but I really do like clearing it – anything in the water for me! So with scissors in hand I gradually cut it all away.

Calliope and crew ready for waters new!

4 days on the Canal des Ardennes

(The first 28.5 kms there and back to be precise!)

As we only travelled one third of the way along the Canal des Ardennes I will just give a short description of our few days there. Others who have travelled the full canal have far more credibility in talking about the journey.

We were on our way up La Meuse towards Strasbourg, but having a few days to spare decided to check out the first 30 km of the Ardennes.

Leaving Charleville on a bright and sunny morning we only had 15 km until the entrance to the canal. It all began with a bit of excitement in the lock out of Charleville, but that is all in the Magnificent Meuse part 3 blog.

Eventually we approached the three meter lock that leads from La Meuse up to the Canal des Ardennes. We now knew that we would operate locks on the canal with the same tele-command (remote control) as on the river.

Immediately we are in the lock we notice a difference – the way that the bollards are set into the lock quay.

Being a bit of a lock nerd I recorded this, ex[pecting it to be a feature all the way along the canal; it wasn’t!

Just this first lock.

We spent our first night moored below lock six at Pont-à-Bar. The bollards there were spread out rather widely and so for the first time in years out came a mallet and the stakes to be banged into the ground for a secure mooring. And we joined the camper vans for the night.

We were there in time for lunch and I couldn’t wait to try my blue dessert! It’s an Ardenoisse I had bought in Charleville to eat just as we joined the Ardennes canal.

It’s a very delicious series of layers of chocolate sponge. a nutty mélange, and a blue moussey/ custardy/creamy bit on top.

Definitely worth a try.

It wasn’t a particularly splendid place to stay but we did have a nightingale singing and when walking back to lock 7 for some exercise I got this nice photo of some of the old aiguelles from a needle weir.

I cannot help but be intrigued by these old weirs, that stopped the water by a line of these needles (aiguelles). The men, and I suspect they were all men, who walked along the weir adding and removing these wooden stakes according to the flow of the water deserve huge credit and admiration in my opinion.

This rather grainy photo is of the Charles family, a farming family, who earned a ‘few more pennies’ by being at the beck and call of the local weir management, and when the river Saone was in flood they would adjust the needles and thereby the flow.

On a lighter note, the verges of the canal were covered in all manner of wild flowers and grasses, just a couple of which are given space here.

As we set off next morning we were joined by family just starting out on a holiday boat. They were learning about locks as we passed through the first, and helped by operating the levers.

We were up and off, into a very different terrain. The landscape around this section of the Canal des Ardennes is open pasture with dustan woods ands hills; very calm and beautiful.

The next obstacle that we all encountered was the two locks and tunnel at Saint-Aignan. We all went through together– I guess quite an exciting trip for a family on holiday.

Then at Malmy lock we were all held up by a lock with no lights on the ‘traffic sign’ and nowhere obvious to stop for me to go ashore and call the VNF service.

OK – no lights on lock, no response from telecommand, and nowhere to drop off crew ……. Except onto little metal platform attached to lock bridge. That’s one for me then!

Stewart was magnificent in approaching the bridge just slowly enough for me to leap onto the platform. This allowed me to get to the intercom at the lock – which also was not working! Hmm – what next?

The phone number we had for the VNF did not work, but luckily a short discussion in broken French across the water to the holiday family ascertained they had a different number and would call up. This worked, and help was on its way.

In the meantime Stewart was manfully keeping Calliope midstream whilst she was being pulled towards the pumping system that puts water back above the lock. I realised that by sliding down the bank through long grass and nettles I could secure Calliope to a giant drain! This was done.

I love it when there’s a bit of adventure. Then a short wait for the VNF van …. and all was back to normal.

We had been advised to stop at La Cassine and were delighted to find the mooring completely empty when we arrived. The family stopped too – but just for their lunch. Then we were alone in the landscape.

There are two outstanding things about this morning.

One is its location out in the country with nothing but a couple of chickens from a local house to disturb the peace.

And some cattle to show benign interest.

The other spectacular thing about the mooring is it closeness to the ruined chateau of La Cassine.

The ruined chateau at La Cassine is such a find! Originally C17, and destroyed by a thunderbolt, it has had various owners and iterations. Finally it succumbed to fire in 1920 I think.

Now used every summer for Son et Lumiere spectaculars, it used to have acres of formal French gardens, of which little now remains.

All of this is a short walk from this peaceful mooring on Canal des Ardennes, as many of my boating friends will know! If you are ever near La Cassine and you like old buildings we strongly recommend you go and have a look.

After our peaceful night we carried on at the canal to Le Chesne. This was just a 12 km 2 lock journey!

Along the way we noticed several places where the canal bank was being restored with huge sandstone boulders.

In places the canal is quite shallow, with a fair amount of weed growing. It is good to see that work is being carried out to maintain this old cross country canal.

We moored up in the middle of town and soon discovered an excellent boulangerie for our lunch.

The afternoon was spent having a look round the town on both sides of the canal. It is a quiet place with just enough in the way of food shopping to keep us going. The old church next to the canal is interesting, with its side tower. The town seems to have been founded on its agriculture, but I have struggled to find much information and am open to correction.

In the evening I walked along to see the start of the dramatic drop of almost 60m over 8 kms and through 25 locks. This is much described in other peoples’ blogs etc; one day we will do the journey up or down. For now, here is the start.

Then back to the boat for a perfect summer’s evening aboard Calliope.

We were then at PK 29 and the extent of our short exploration! So the next day we used the winding hole to turn round and go back towards La Cassine.

This time we were not so lucky! The mooring was full and we had to continue on downstream . But then our luck turned and we found the mooring at Malmy completely empty.

For the second time on this canal out came the pins and we moored up to one bollard and a couple of stakes in the ground. It’s funny how those old skills of jumping ashore with mallet and pins come back to one, and for the skipper, his hammering in of the pins is a never forgotten art!

Whenever we stop at one of these quiet rural moorings we are so glad we made the decision to have a good set of PV panels rather than a generator. It means that we can go days without needing to plug into shore power, and without disturbing the peace with generator hum.

Once again we had something to explore. This time the 13th century church just outside the hamlet of Malmy. We were disappointed not to find a mooring space at La Cassine today, but stopping at Malmy has meant we could visit this little C13 Romanesque church. It is interesting to see the features that are very similar to the church at Le Chesne – note the roof on the tower.

It had come to my consciousness rather late that the mooring at Pont-à-Bar was so called because of the bridge at that point over the River Bar. I then noticed on the map that the river tracked the canal nearly all the way up to Le Chesne, and was in fact alongside us here in Malmy.

I went to investigate and found the river close by. The map shows Malmy at the bottom, with the canal shown as the main blue channel and the smaller wriggly blue river to the right. My photos are up and down stream at Malmy bridge.

Back on the boat we had a quiet and very peaceful night with a beautiful sky at sundown, before heading back towards La Meuse next day.

On the way we noticed the interesting little hamlet of Omicourt. It has quite a history – worth googling.

Then we had the Saint-Aignan tunnel to go back through, on our own the time.

The tunnel is a shortcut through the hill that the River Bar winds slowly round. You can see in the map above how much time is saved!

It’s such a lovely view when you emerge the other end, heading towards écluse 4 for the first drop down ……..

……. and then, after a neat 90° turn to port, go into écluse 5 for second descent.

Of course we were lucky with the weather; it makes the scenery all the more stunning.

Less than an hour later we were motoring slowly past all the boats moored up in Pont-à-Bar, some seemingly still waiting their awakening from winter.

We also noted the very useful looking chandlery and small boatyard. These places are surprisingly rare along the waterways and you never know when you will need some ropes or boat cleaning products etc – or even the help of a boat mechanic!

We continued on to the lock, dropping down behind the big metal doors that would let us out on to the river; that tell tale gap at the bottom letting us know that we were level with La Meuse and the doors would open any minute.

And turning to starboard we set off towards Sedan, and eventually Strasbourg.

A short but pleasant sojourn on the Ardennes! One day we must return to do the more exciting flight of locks down the other side.

The Magnificent Meuse 2

Part 2 – From Givet to Charleville

13th to 24th May 2022

(This year we joined the Meuse in Namur and headed upstream. The first section of the journey is in the previous post – https://calliope.blog/2022/05/26/the-magnificent-meuse/)

After our one night in Givet next on the agenda was Vireux-Wallerand. To get there we had three locks, 10 kilometres, and a small tunnel to navigate.

At Givet we had been handed a telecommand, or remote control, to operate the locks for the foreseeable future.

It’s always quite nice to have this control, and not be radioing lock keepers in my faulty French!

The first place to put it into use was at the beautifully named ‘les 3 Fontaines’ écluse – although the three springs were not to be seen from the lock!

We were nonetheless pleased to see the arrival of a lock keeper to help us with our ropes in this 3.28m deep lock. It is not all that deep in the scheme of things, but with the bollards set back out of sight from the deck below it was more than handy to have the ‘hook-on-a-long-stick’ lowered to pick up our ropes and drape them cosily around bollards!

As the water raised Calliope to lock-keeper level Captain Stu got quite chatty with our new friend.

From the lock is it a matter of around 200m before the entrance to Ham tunnel – and 564m to the other end. This 142 year old tunnel has no foot or tow path through, and no lights, but as one can see the daylight at the other end it is not too bad.

The only thing is ….. we know that the middle section is not lined, and has quite rough overhangs, and ‘underhangs’ of rock, so the crew’s task was to help light the way with a torch.

As usual Captain Stu steered us through perfectly, and soon we were rediscovering the daylight at the top, south west, tunnel cut.

This tunnel cuts out a huge 8-10 meander of the Meuse, and we avoided passing Chooz Nuclear Power Station, which is situated at the end of this Meuse loop. Probably just as well as two of the reactors are currently closed down due to corrosion!

At the 3.2m deep Ham lock the other side of the tunnel we were pleased to have the assistance of an éclusier again – her you can better see the passing down of the hook!

You can also see how I, on deck, have absolutely no sight of the bollard that I would otherwise be throwing a rope around!

The cut leading away from Ham écluse and tunnel is about 1km in length. At it’s end is an old pont levée, now permanently raised in a salute to the many boats that have passed beneath. As we left the cut I looked back at the difference in width between the main Meuse and the channel we had been following!

The next things to catch the eye are the white sculptures lining the bank. These are by the late artist Georges-Armand Favaudon who died in the village here earlier this century. There is more to come of his work in Fumay.

I am sure I have commented on the stunning scenery of the Meuse valley in Part 1 of our Meuse journey, but I have to say it again! And I will repeat this several times as the days go on. The open expansive space, the colours unspoilt by pollution, the air, all lift the spirits and just put a wide grin on the face!

Another 4 kilometres and we arrive at our stop for the day. The river separates the two small Vireux towns (Vireux-Wallerand and Vireux-Molhain) and the mooring, on the Wallerand side, is near the bridge that links the two.

A walk round the two towns did not take long; sadly they are past their prime, but the mooring was agreeable, and looked great from the far side.

We were next to a small local chateau, now hotel; we had visiting water fowl, a friendly Capitaine, and a good place to cool hot toes!

And also we had a friterrie very close by!

I forget whose turn it was to cook, but a decision was quickly made that one more fritterie meal was in order!

This was just a one night stay, with Viereux-Mulhein delightfully illuminated; in less than 24 hours we set off for Fumay. We had heard good things of this town, recent host of a DBA barge rally.

We were lucky with yet another beautiful day; I have to say that this style of retirement might not suit everyone, but it absolutely suits us – the ever changing scenery, the interesting places, the overall tranquility, and always just that slight frisson of adventure and challenge.

The largest photo above illustrates this perfectly – wonderful scenery, calm waters, an interesting bridge – and just ahead a much narrower opening to steer through. Never a dull moment.

We arrived to find two barges already on the long quay, but the space at the upstream end was empty and just waiting for Calliope. Two other boats arrived later – plenty of space for all.

So what did we think of Fumay? We liked it; we stayed two nights! Here is a taster of the town.

Fumay’s history is in slate mining. I said that the sculptor Favaudon would be mentioned again. He made a memorial to the slate workers of the past – a long bas relief showing much of the hard labouring that this industry required.

There is only one pit head left to see now, high on a hill above the town, but the many slate roofs and walls are good evidence that it was much used locally.

Whilst in Fumay we discovered a need for that old thing called cash!

The Capiatine only took cash, as did the very special butcher (where I bought some of his boudin blanc with onion, rillettes, tête de fromage and paupiettes).

The only cash point in town was not working, so we walked a couple of kilometres back down the river to Heybes, where we had stopped on our Meuse cruise downstream three years before.

The ATM was easy to find, just by the town hall.

Phew – back to pay our debts!

It was pleasantly hot while we were in Fumay – a good excuse to get the front windscreen down for its 2022 debut. It’s a feature of Calliope that we really value in hot weather, especially when cruising. (And yes, we really do own that many hats – and a few more in a cupboard below!)

It was sufficiently hot for another 2022 first – my first swim!

It was lovely.

And after the swim, chairs draped with black towels to dry off in the sun.

(Sadly one of these chairs was misappropriated that night. I hope it is enjoyed by a Fumay resident.)

It is clear that Fumay has had a busy commercial past. The town steps up and back from the quay along quite steep and narrow lanes. There are some fine houses, and even the smaller abodes have plenty of character. Many date back to the 17th and 18th centuries – a few older still. Naturally there is many a slate roof, and quite a few are decorated with bright tiles.

Our time there coincided with the town swans family visit – and not just on the water! I’m not sure if they are looking for the Salle des Fêtes of the Voie Verte.

There is not a lot of space for gardens up and down the streets, so this wall high display of irises made a real splash of colour.

The quayside has more than a row of pretty houses. Almost hidden is a little courtyard that leads to the offices of a drinks wholesaler, Ets Deillon Billuart, and their super little wine shop!

All looking far too good to drink except on a special day – so I expect a few special days will be invented very soon.

Luckily we had ‘every day’ wine stocks aboard so could do justice to sundowners on a back deck on a warm evening – our good-bye to Fumay as it was time to move on upstream.

Looking on the map we found we were within striking distance of one of Stewart’s favourite moorings – Revin. A plan was hatched to move on there and keep fingers crossed for a mooring space.

The first lock, amusingly called l’Uf, is around a long bendy loop in the river; in fact it is more than 90% of a full oval. When we arrived we had to come up quite close in order to see the lights – and found two reds. This means the lock is ‘en panne’, or out of order. Stu thought we might moor up to wait, but the thoughtless crew distracted him and the current from the weir unhelpfully pushed us away, so the Captain took us back down stream a bit to turn round and return.

By this time we could see that another barge was waiting to come down the ‘broken’ lock (just visible far right on photo) so when the VNF service man arrived we had to wait for their locking down before we locked up. A small hitch in a beautiful area.

The wait gave me a chance to get a photo of the weir – these new ones have replaced the old needle weirs over the past 20 years or so.

Up and on we went. I cannot help noticing the grand houses built on the banks.

What was it like to live there in its heyday?

Probably Air BnB now 😅

Then we just had 8 kilometres and one more lock before the lock and tunnel complex at Revin.

We have been through the lock and tunnel before 3 years ago, but in the opposite order.

Then out of the lock, an immediate left hand turn, and into the tunnel. It’s a short tunnel, with very definite light at the end of it!

Then after an about turn in the river and a sweep round the curve we came into the port. The photo here is taken next day from the bridge over to the main Revin town. Calliope is in her favourite place – the very far end!

Revin port is very pleasant. Trees, flowers and shrubs are planted along the bank, and a hedge separates the port from a park.

Deciding to stay two nights or more is always great for a bit of maintenance – or cleaning in my case!

Stewart fixed up our pump that uses the river water and I was off on one of my enjoyable ‘cool morning of a hot day’ sprees.

Messing about with water is my forté.

(The bridge in the background is the aforementioned bridge over to the main Revin town)

After two good days in Revin, with food and drink supplies taken aboard, we were ready to go back to the county life and wilder moorings. Once more it was to be a short day – 10 kilometres and just two locks.

But what a 10 kilometres! This is without doubt one of my favourite parts of the river. The railway bridge near Anchamps exemplifies this; who could fail to be impressed by the river, the bridge, reflections, hills and scenery?

The second lock, just after the railway bridge, is called Dames de Meuse. It is named after the giant rock formations just upstream of the lock. Unfortunately I did not know the importance of the Dames rocks until later. I was more interested in the new lift bridge at the lock, and other work going on there.

This photo shows us just leaving them behind.

Here is the legend: in 1080, the Lord of Hierges had three sons who married the three daughters of the Lord of Rethel: Hodierne, Berthe and Ige. Shortly after their marriage, the men set off for Palestine to fight in the Holy Land. Hodierne, Berthe and Ige, the 3 sisters, betrayed their promises, welcomed 3 knights into their castles – their marital beds. But on the very day that Jerusalem was taken, God punished the adulterous wives, changing them into three enormous rocks, attached to each other, and overlooking the Meuse. They were given the name the “Dames de Meuse”.

Just one kilometre further is Laifour – a tiny village famous now only for its links to the Dames de Meuse and the walks to the viewpoint to see them. But it is a totally delightful spot for those who love rural mooring. The quay sits beneath some of the highest wooded hills around, almost ‘ravine-ous’ in parts.

Here are a few of the buildings of Laifour, important in their day. In fact there is still a station; you could visit!

We were recommended a walk to the ‘red fountain’ a kilometre or so along the other bank. A walk round the little village only took ten minutes so we had plenty of time for red fountain exploration.

Here is our trip to the red fountain – a ferruginous stream bursting out of the rocks. Fable has it that it’s the blood of a young girl who spurned the advances of a local lord and took her own life. We started off across the railway bridge just outside Laifour, down the other side, past some foxgloves, and on along the opposite bank.

It really does run red – well rusty red to be honest. And that is no surprise, because rather that it being a young’ girl’s blood, it is the iron laden rocks of the area that lend the ruddy colour to the water.

On the way back the Captain strode out to avoid an impending rain storm.

Calliope was in his sights – on the opposite bank, in the distance.

Whilst I dawdled, took photos of flowers, and got caught out.

Luckily I could shelter under the railway bridge until it blew over.

Soon after I got back the wind got up and it really did start to rain, – and thunder. There is something nice about battening down the hatches and watching the storm from the warmth and dryness of a snug wheelhouse!

Soon after the dry weather returned. We were moored at the upstream end of the mooring on our first night, but when another boat arrived and could not get satellite reception at the other end we obligingly moved downstream! Here we are coming back in to moor behind them.

(We don’t understand why watching TV is more important than watching the nature and scenery – unless maybe your football team in a cup final?)

The most engaging of the local natural world was this family of goslings – the word cute is overused, but what else can I say?

Having said above that scenery is more important than watching screens, we do like internet connection for various things, including the news and this blog. The old iPad we have been using as a wifi hotspot was slowly dying and we needed a shop that sold mobile wifis, so reluctantly we left the Laifour paradise after two nights to head for the metropolis of Charleville.

On the way we made two stops – one for lunch at Chateau-Regnault, because they have a boulangerie, then on to Joigny-sur-Meuse.

Before we even reached Chateau-Regnault we there were a couple of locks.

The first, just outside Laifour, still had us sharing the wonderful scenery of the Dames de Meuse region.

The next, at Deville, was a little more interesting, being 3.30m deep and bollards set out of sight of Captain and crew.

Climbing on the roof is the answer, and soon we were secure.

Then there was a ladder …….. next to a pair of every muddy levers.

The debate – to climb up to a clean section, getting muddy hands and feet on the way, or just grab the blue pole and get one slimy hand?

I went for the slimy hand option.

Coming out of Deville lock we entered a 3km narrow canal which led us back to the main river.

We were lucky not to meet another boat on this section, and the barrage at the end looked quite narrow for Calliope, but it was all fine.

There is really no need to add any more photos of our journey that day, but it looked so nice going through Monthermé, and a lot of people choose to stop there, that I have included one picture of the town.

So after the lunch stop at Chteau-Regnault we carried on the last 7 kms of the day. The little pontoon at Joigny looks a bit ordinary, but for us it was another afternoon, evening and night of tranquility.

And the reflections, evening and morning, were amazing! It was good to have all this calm as the next stop was big city Charleville.

Joigny lock was just around the corner, and was jolly sight with its various metallic works.

After this just 1 lock and 10 kms separated us from our destination.

I had it in my head that the lock into Charleville would be our last using the zapper (remote control) – mainly because it says Givet – Charleville on the back.

So I zapped with verve as we arrived.

Our journey there had been relatively uneventful, but entering the city was funkily colourful!

We fully expected to be able to moor on the long quay just outside the marina – especially suitable for bigger boats like us who cannot easily fit under the bridge entrance to the marina. But it was full, full, full.

We knew from the DBA Waterways Guide that there was another mooring opposite, but some people had described it in less than glowing terms. Nonetheless we were determined to stop in Charleville, even if just for lunch, so we moored up on the South bank by a café.

It turned out to be absolutely fine. In some ways we were lucky to arrive on a Sunday; we found out from boating friends across the water that a very local nightclub exuded a lot of noise on a Friday and Saturday! Whereas our evenings were brightly lit in an alternative way!

We had hoped to buy a new mobile wifi in Charleville but that was not to happen. What we did achieve was a good walk round an interesting city, created and designed by Charles Gonzaga in 1606. A good size statue remembers his efforts.

The main square, Place Ducal, is huge. My photo does not do it justice and when we were there a huge marquee sort of spoilt the view.

It is surrounded by bars and restaurant in typical French style, and we found ourselves first at a bar, and then out for a pizza; all very pleasant. I hope my (squiffy) photo from the restaurant gives a better idea of the ambience of Place Ducal.

Next day we decided to walk into the adjoining 1000 year old town of Mézières. Some of the fortifications are still in place, and currently being renovated to show them off better.

Even more amazing in Mézières are the wonderful stained glass windows of the Basilica Notre-Dame d’Espèrance. They are surprisingly modern, made between 1954 and 1979 and based on the cartoons of the painter René Dürrbach. I rarely manage a good photo of stained glass windows, but the pools of rainbow light they throw onto the floors and columns of the church are easier to capture.

On our way back I noticed that the time was 1550 – ten minutes before one of the Marionette clock ‘performances.

There is a puppeteer school in Charleville and a clock has been set up with an automated puppet show every hour. Each show only lasts about two minutes, and is part of a total story.

The bit we saw was spectacularly uninteresting, with four shadowy black puppets slowly making there way across the stage – if we had understood the story, told in French, it would; have been better I know.

And I am not knocking it – it is a marvellous thing to have going on every day.

We really did like our mooring – closer to town, completely safe, and free! We ended up staying three days, which is quite a long time for us constant travellers.

We were on the town side of the passerelle over to the main mooring, marina, night club and various other leisure pursuits.

We had old friends on two of the barges opposite, and made new friends with another, and able to meet up with them in one of the bars; it is always congenial to have a bit of a waterways gossip.

We were right next to the old mill building which now houses the museum to local poet Rimbaud. It is a glorious monument, specifically placed by Charles Gonzaga at the end of a street leading out of the main square.

The arches underneath were no longer used to turn waterwheels, but made good photographs.

And outside on the pavement is a lovely installation of chairs, the back of each one designed by a different artist.,

All good things come to an end, and we had many other good things ahead, so after three nights we got ready to continue our Meuse experience, but with a dalliance on Canal des Ardennes along the way – the topic of the next edition of the blog.

The Magnificent Meuse

– part 1 From Belgium into France

7th – 13th May 2022

We didn’t start at the bottom, or the mouth, of the Meuse; we joined at Namur, so this account does not do full justice to the river. It was a rather overcast day when we left the Sambre and found turning upstream to head South a somehow counter-intuitive experience, but at least we were heading towards the sun!

The first lock on the Meuse looked quite small, despite the width of the river, after the bigger ones we had been through on the Sambre. Probably there is not a lot of difference

We shared the first lock, at Namur, with a pretty little passenger boat, seemingly out for an afternoon of female fun!

We didn’t stop in Namur this time but carried on to Profondeville, on the way passing some of the many many grand houses that border the river.

Here is a taste of a few!

And when we were not looking at mansions and chateaux we were looking at increasingly wonderful hills, trees, and rocks – often with people, like ants, climbing up.

Once there we spent a little bit of time working out which was the official 40m mooring place. Luckily the 30 meter barge ‘Cinclus’ that was already moored there offered to budge up a bit so that we could fit on too. Ecco and Sasha from Cinclus were to become good friends as we all motored on up the river.

It’s a nice spot on the edge of the little town and we were able to use the small supermarket and excellent boulangerie to top up for a few days. Apart from the view of wooded cliffs there is not a lot to see, but I enjoyed the giant ‘coq gauloise’, the street art, and the ability to exercise while sitting down!

Despite the beautifully lit cliffs, we had something of a disturbed night with water levels going up and down by at least 18 inches because of a great deluge up-river the previous day necessitating frequent adjustment of the ropes. Even this great effort did not avoid one of the ropes ending up so taut and tight that we could not undo it and it had to be cut. That’s the first time in eight years we’ve had to do that.

Onwards the next day through Dinant, firstly past the Leffe brewery, just spotted by the towers and steeples of its Abbey, and the gaping black rectangle where the Leffe river joins the Meuse.

Then on past more tall graceful buildings and churches, and under the bridge celebrating the famous Mr Saxe, native of Dinant.

Leaving Dinant the scenery became even more dramatic, with colourful little houses crowding onto strips along the river, below the mountains.

Our destination was Waulsort where we were due to meet up with friends. As we moved slowly up river the cliffs became craggier (and the people climbing them braver); the houses more fascinating.

We had no idea what to expect at Waulsort and we therefore delighted to find the long pontoons set out from the riverbank in a glorious part of the valley.

Acquaintances were very soon re-made, especially with TinTin who ran down the pontoon to greet Stewart whenever he appeared!

By evening the Captain was taking on a saintly appearance under the setting sun – all perfect!

There began a perfect four days of working on the boat; Stewart did useful things like painting, but I am dangerous with a paintbrush so got to catch up on the washing.

Our views were this ….

……… and this ……

…… and this ……..

……. and this.

What is not to like?

There were walks in the woods (one longer than expected), trips across the (free) man-hauled ferry – and yes, I asked if I could have a go – meals shared with friends and such a good time that our four booked nights flew by.

Part way through we moved to there opposite side of the pontoon to give Stu a chance to touch up the rubbing strake on the port side – in the process of which a fender escaped and we had to take a short trip downstream to retrieve it with a boathook!

Such is the life of the sailor.

The best and most exhausting walk was when we offered to take Tin Tin (ship’s dog on Pavot) out and in trying to follow our own instincts got lost at the top of a hill which then required descending into and scrambling out of a series of ravines. All good fun, but not what we had signed up for!

The views and the flowers more than compensated for the energy expended.

The whole experience – only 8 kms, but rough up and down terrain for two pairs of 70 year old legs – led to a relaxed evening on the back deck, as far as I can remember …..

The fifth night was guaranteed by friend Sally calling the captain ‘Honey’ and inviting him to a curry on the pontoon. This has to be one of the most wonderful evenings of my life – except that poor Sally came a very painful cropper onto a bollard, badly bruising her ribs.

While there we also walked along the river, past the weir, to the next village, Hastière, for bread. The church there is rather lovely, sitting next to the water by the bridge.

Actually the 2 km walk on old legs already tired from the hill top excursion made us decide to buy ready-made sandwiches instead and sit by the weir to eat them on the way back! Well we all deserve a treat from time to time.

It was sad to be leaving our Pavot friends, especially after Sally had fallen and hurt herself on our final evening. Still, off we went, waving goodbye, and heading upstream to Givet, just across the French border.

In no time we were crossing the border – goodbye Belgium, for now. We have loved being with you for the past three years. And hello France; thanks you for being the country who would offer us a 6 month visa.

Although it is a town mooring with a quite noisy bridge nearby, it is also okay for shopping, good for boulangeries, and great for bars!

The long quay is divided into commercial and ‘pleasure boat’ use; I think we got ourselves into the right place! 😁

Many of the towns and cities along the Meuse have huge forts (citadels) perched on hills way above the river – the Meuse has been a frontier in many wars. Givet is no exception with its Fort de Charlemont, and also the ancient old watch tower, named after St Grégoire’s chapel that once was nearby. I have added the simple old church opposite the mooring too as it glowed in the setting sun.

Givet is a town of towers! The Victoire Tour is just along the quay and was originally a corner tower of the seigneurial manor that occupied the south west corner of the old fortified town. It has been utilised both as a toll house, for river traffic, and as a prison over its long life. For sone reason I did not get a good photo of this tower, but it can be partially seen from our table at the local bar.

As twilight fell the town across the water looked more and more attractive, with the full moon shining down from the sky and up from the river.

With all that history the town probably deserves a longer visit, but we wanted to get into the countryside upstream so we were off next morning, but not until a good French baguette was found for our first morning back in France .

Sorry I’m a bit bleary – must have been the wine from the night before!

Next on the agenda was Vireux-Wallerand, a complete unknown to us. All is to be revealed in the next chapter – The Magnificent Meuse part 2!

From the Haut Escaut to the Meuse

Up the Nimy-Blaton-Péronne, through the Canal du Centre, down the Brussels-Charleroi and along the Sambre.

April 28 to May 7 2022

After 3 splendid nights on the new curved pontoon of the Royal Yacht Club of Péronnes it was time to move on.

While there we had had a couple of good walks around Le Grand Large, and along part of the old canal. The old Pommereul-Antoing canal came up out of the Petit Large, along the western edge of what is now the Grand Large, then off around the hill, using 5 small locks to gain the necessary rise.

Looking towards Lock 1 (Maubray-Péronnes) from Lock 2 (Péronnes)

The new Nimy-Blaton-Pommereul canal replaces the old canal; it was opened in 1826. At that time, the Borinage mining area needed an efficient means of transport for the enormous amount of coal mined in the region. This meant a much wider canal and two much taller locks; this would be our route when we left.

In the meantime we took advantage of the on-site bar and restaurant, treating ourselves to a few Belgian beers and to a burger and meatballs meal.

The mornings across Le Grand Large were mystical in their slow beauty.

And we had the breakfast bonus of swallows flying and landing all around us.

There was a pleasant array of wild fowl to watch on the water too – grebes, cormorants, ducks, geese, swans. Apparently in the autumn the area is full of migrating birds and a sight to behold.

Then it was time to go. We were lucky with Maubray-Péronnes lock – the 12.5m giant (although not as deep as several we went through on the Rhône) – it was prepared for us immediately and we were soon on our way up.

The opening of the rising lock door is such a lovely experience on a day like this, so I have tried to embed a video. Let’s see if you can view it!

Off went Calliope, down the Nimy-Blaton-Péronnes on a beautiful April Sunday. There were few other boats around, commercial or leisure, so we had the canal mostly to ourselves. As we left the lock we looked back at the jetty on the right where we moored up a few years ago, in the dark and amongst about 6 commercial barges and 4 other leisure cfaft! It was something of an unplanned stop and the whole exciting adventure is described in a previous blog! (https://calliope.blog/2019/07/15/a-river-and-three-canals-in-a-week/)

On nice clear, wide, quiet sections like this the crew sometimes takes the helm. I do love steering and feel very comfortable to be at the wheel, but I prefer the action of throwing ropes when it comes to locks and mooring up; the Captain is far better to be in charge at times like those.

We passed the closed off end of the old canal (on the right), and continued on to look at one of our favourite moorings – another Grand Large. This one is at the entrance to the Pommereul-Condé canal which, despite being modern, has been closed for several years due to silting up at the French end. It is due to re-open this year, so dredging is going on, this making it a less attractive mooring proposition.

Soon after this we passed the Mons basin which marks the start of the Canal du Centre and the end of the Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes.

There were two locks ahead of us before our chosen stop for the night at Thieu.

The first is the 5m Obourg-Warton. And the second, which we are heading towards in the photo, is the 10m Havre. The welcome green light allowed us to steam straight in.

(talk about locks)

Many of the big locks have a door/gate half way along. This means that it is possible to only use half a locks worth of water for smaller boats like us.

We rarely see this in action, but the Captain always takes Calliope to the front of the lock so that it is possible if the lock keeper chooses.

This time we did find the tall midway doors close behind us.

Then onwards over the last 4kms of the day to Thieu!

Looking down at the Thieu quay, and Calliope, with the New Ascenseur in the distance, and the historic Ascenbseur to the right

We like the quay at Thieu – just a kilometre from the stunning 20 year old 240 ft high Strèpy-Thieu Ascenseur (boat lift), This giant structure was completed in 2002 and allowed far larger vessels to travel the Canal du Centre.

The quay is next to the start of the Historic Canal du Centre, which is the route we had planned to take this time. But unfortunately we discovered that it is currently closed for maintenance.

The original canal, now renamed the Historic Canal, has a series of 4 boat lifts to achieve the same height as the one newer Ascenseur.

It starts, at its lower end, here is this lovely basin.

Happily ensconced at Thieu it felt sensible to enjoy the sun and the view by sipping cold beer on the back deck.

And then there are the sunsets top enjoy too!

Next day we were joined by fellow Piper Pilgrim, on their way in the opposite direction; a good opportunity to talk through the delights of life on the waterways of Europe.

Being moored up on a nice steady high quay gave the Captain a chance to become my water engineer and rig up a pump to squirt canal water on the deck for cleaning purposes – I let him try to out first!

After two nights and a full day enjoying being at Thieu we decided to carry on towards our main objective fo the summer, Strasbourg.

So we waited until a commercial barge came past heading for the Ascenseur, and tagged along behind.

After speaking to the ‘lock keeper’, or should I say Ascenseur Operative, we were asked to wait for a barge that was coming down to leave the boat lift, and then we could go up with the commercial.

This is what the inside of the boat lift looks like – a complete giant ‘bath’ of water, complete with its boats, ascends (or descends).

Up we went! It is always a spectacular experience, The vista that gradually opens up before one as the lift rises with your barge tucked safely inside never fails to impress. And this particular day was the best – clear and sunny.

Leaving the Ascenseur we cruised along the new wide Canal de Centre until its junction with the Brussels – Charleroi Canal.

On our way we watched out for a strange short-stay mooring, usefully next to a Carrefour supermarket. We were in need of fresh milk – to always an easy purchase in Belgium and France, but usually to be fund in the larger supermarkets.

The stop requires spotting a bollard often hidden in long grass, and an arrangement of ropes, metal bars, nuts and bolts. We found it; we moored up; we shopped!

I didn’t discover the reason, but all customers were being given a fresh rose, with lily of the valley. all in a little plastic vase.

Makes a nice addition to the wheelhouse!

Our aim for the night was to stop above the lock at Viesville. It is not an immediately desirable mooring, but we have stopped there a few times and find it a peaceful spot, despite the trains that rush by now and then.

One of the fascinations of this lock is the installation of 3 giant Archimedes screws. These, by each raising 9000 cubic metres of water per hour, replace upstream the water that is ‘lost’ when the lock empties.

For those as interested as us, here is a link to the company that proudly installed the screws. https://www.besix.com/en/news/the-three-locks

We also has an unexpected visit from the Belgian Navy – well two of them, off duty, cycling he canal and interested in Calliope. They were welcomed aboard and given the grand tour!

Next morning, while I was slowly getting up, I was informed by the Captain that the lock was full and the gate open, with a green light – an invitation to get going! So we did.

Viesville Lock, looking across at the floating bollards opposite to those we used

Down through Viesville (7m), Gosselies (7m) and Marchienne-au-Pont (7m) – a full 21m down the valley to Charleroi. Because of the layout of the floating bollards, designed for 40m and 80m commercial barges, we had to straddle the gates in the centre. We were lucky to be alone! Obviously we could not have done this if we were sharing the locks.

All three locks have these wonderful floating bollards, although a note in our map book from last year warned us that one floating bollard was missing in Gosselies lock, so we made sure we went to the other side.

They also all have lock doors that slide open sideways, revealing the next beef, or stretch of canal, slowly and tantalisingly!

Everything was amazingly smooth and I made the mistake of saying what a good day we were having ……

We reached the awkward right hand bend under a bridge and out onto the River Sambre at about 11.30, pleased to see the illuminated green arrows to the left of the bridge (just visible on photo) indicating that we were free to turn left or right onto the Sambre..

Happily we steamed on through the bridge, towards the almost gothic outline of the abandoned steel works.

Last year we turned right and went up the Sambre, into Fracxne that way. It was a lovely journey. The town of Thuin mentioned on the sign is a fascinating place, famous for its (often alcoholic) cherries!

But this year, 2022, we turned left towards the Meuse.

Then as I called the Marcinelle lock, by then just a few hundred yards from us, we realised we would be queuing behind a working barge.

As I talked to the lock keeper in my inadequate French I came to understand that there was a problem ahead at the lock.

We managed to moor up, with our ropes across a cycle path (although you cannot see that here thank goodness!) next to and surrounded by the architectural ruins of Charlerpoi’s industrial past.

I walked down to the lock. It contained a large barge, going nowhere, with the top lock gate wide open. The presence of a Diving van signalled an underwater problem, and I managed to discover that it would be about two hours before things would get moving again.

Every cloud has a silver lining. I found a five star sandwicherie only half a mile away and set out to buy a lunch time treat. We would never have thought we would sit enjoying a tuna, egg and anchovy baguette in the middle the noisy dusty canal at Charleroi, but on that day we did!

And after the prescribed two hours everything got moving again.

We went through the lock with our new commercial friend Sirius, and continued down the Sambre for the next 3 hours, following Sirius in and out of locks.

May is such a lovely month to be travelling on the water – all the wildfowl are raising their young – this neatly camouflaged Egyptian goose standing sentry over a little pile of goslings.

And then there are the surprise new structures – we are sure this smooth blue bridge was not there last time we passed this way.

Finally our paths diverged from Sirius, as they stopped overnight a couple of kilometres before we arrived at our chosen destination – a mooring in front of a disused fire station!

It was a very tranquil rural mooring, with just a little traffic over the bridge a couple of hundred yards behind us. In fact anything seems tranquil after the rush and kerfuffle of Charleroi and its environs!

Next day we set off from our fire station stop (on the market at a mere €850,000) to travel round a couple of bends and one lock before stopping again for some food shopping.

The lock in question was at Auvelais. It is currently in the middle of a major upgrade, and there was some consternation when the lock began to empty next to a small diving platform.

All was slowed down, and everyone was happy again. Apologies for this misty photo – it was not good light on that morning! But I hope it gives an indication fo what was going on as we left the lock.

Then we were tied up in the ‘cut-out’ next to the railway bridge at Auvelais. Up the stairs we went, over the river, and into town for a few bags full of supplies; then retracing our steps a little slower than we went!

We stayed at Auvelais long enough to have a good lunch full of the fresh things we had bought, and then got going for the final 12 kilometres of the day to Floreffe.

Our last lock for that day was Mornimont – just 4.6m down, but without floating bollards and being behind a large commercial brings its own need for careful attention.

Stu is watching here to see how soon he can move his rope from the bollard on the quay onto the first of the bollards in the wall -as you cn see from my rope attached to one of these.

You might also notice the Captain’s headset. This Nauti Talk system makes it so much easier for us to discuss where to tie up, who will move their rope down first, any requirements to move ahead, or astern etc.

And before long we were coming into Floreffe, looking up at the 900 year old Abbey, and looking down for a place to moor.

We were in luck again. The 40m pontoon was empty and we snuggled up to the restaurant/party boat Carpe Diem, with the most amazing scenery all around us.

We wandered up to the abbey during late afternoon (more to follow) but were back aboard to watch the sun go down across the river.

Much has been said about the Abbey at Floreffe, so our take on it is rather inconsequential. It is a good walk up the hill, pleasant to do, and when we arrived we discovered that the complex is now a school. Visitors are still welcome to wander around the grounds; the surprising thing, to us, was all the youngsters happily using the space as their playground, which indeed it is.

It was invigorating to see a game of volley ball going on not far from the bar and terraces for visitors. Students were everywhere, enjoying the sun much as we were.

So here are a few photos of our visits over the two days we were there.

The Abbey has its own range of beers – no longer brewed there sadly, but I guess there are no monks left to do the brewing!

The long distance vista from the top is well worth the climb …….

…… and we could see Calliope way below on her mooring.

The mornings at Floreffe, each following a beautiful clear day, were wistfully misty. We sat happily drinking tea waiting for the mists to clear before making plans for the day.

Plans included more cleaning – was still trying to get rid of the dust of Kortrijk building sites and Charleroi scrap metal works!

And the pontoon at Floreffe is just the right height to make easy work of cleaning the side – well one side at least!

One of the things I really enjoy about being on the barge is the frequent passing of other boats.

For example, this bow of a 40m full laden barge, low in the water, and passing our door at lunch time.

The return of the hot sun later in the day prompted the skipper to try out the new back deck shade.

We have always favoured a lime green shade, but this year there were none to be found in the rectangular shape and size that we wanted, so grey it is this year.

It was lovely to enjoy the long evenings, with darkness not descending until about 21.30. The idea of a walk upstream along the bank just acts as a magnet on my soul! Although I didn’t go far – if you look carefully you can see Calliope moored around the bend.

After two fine and interesting days in Floreffe we were ready for our last few hours on the Sambre. Just 12 kilometres and two locks separated us from the Meuse.

We waited half an hour after a working barge had passed us going down stream, to give it time to go through Florifoux lock without the bother of us. But in fact when we arrived we had a red light and needed to wait for a barge coming up.

Then at the second lock we were asked to move to the front to make room for long a massive barge came in behind us – right up close! But always safe. It was marked with Jaws style teeth on the bow and a photo would have been great, but my phone was in the wheelhouse!

We followed her down into Namur, watching with incredulity as she made her way under low old bridges. She had a wheelhouse that lowers about 8′ to go under low infrastructure, but when in that mode the Captain can hardly see anything ahead!

Something we had not expected and did not know about was the new cable car from Namur town up to the Citadel. Over the last 3 years we have moored a couple of times right next to the new cable car station, and had no idea it was planned!

So a final couple of images to indicate the juxtaposition of old and new in Namur – there is far more than this, and I have included lots of photos on previous blogs, so I will spare you now.

And finally we were out on the Meuse, heading upstream, Southwards on a rather grey day. Apologies for the photo! But we were off, towards Strasbourg, Nancy, Toul, Metz and other joys.

And the next instalment of that journey will be in the next blog. 😊

[PS my onboard garden, for those who are following the planting of seeds, is beginning to appear; flax, carrots, marigolds, sunflowers and snap-dragons. An eclectic mix, that will be explained later]

Short Trip on the Scheldt

(Actually the Haut Escaut; we are in Wallonia!)

From Bossuit, at the end of the canal from Kortrijk, it is not far to Peronnes where we were to join the Nimy-Blaton- Peronnes canal – just 27 kilometres. Nonetheless, in our new sedate gentle mindset we took a break of two nights along the way at Antoing, because we like it!

We woke to much brighter skies than the evening before – in fact it paired with rain the night, which helps to wash the cabin roof, so quite welcome!

At 10am we contacted the lock keepers and asked if we could go down in the 11am lock, and were told he would prepare the lock immediately. We were ready to go and within a few minutes we were heading into the lock.

We have been through this 9.5m lock a few times and are quite comfortable with it – but this day was not so easy. A gusty tail wind, strange eddies in the water, and the bollards not where we expected meant that we had a rather inelegant landing. It happens to the best of helmsmen and bargees from time to time.

We were soon sorted, tied up neatly, and ready to descend with the ‘singing’ floating bollards to the bottom. (The ‘singing’ is the echoing squeaks and squeals of the bollards as they roll down their metal runners).

I know I look a bit if a twit here (alright – a lot of a twit), but at tine like the entrance to this lock our nauti talk has been SO useful.

I have to admit to being against these walkie talkie things to start with, but it so nice to converse gently and with full understanding with my Captain when plans have to change from A to B to C … to D!

And then the great doors opened and we were out onto the Scheldt, which, as I have said above, becomes known as the Haut Escaut in the French speaking Wallonian area of Belgium.

I have taken many photos before of the stretch of the Haut Escaut from Bossuit to Antoing, so I will restrict myself to just these few. In the distance, I could see churches and windmills on the horizon.

We love the continuous commercial use of the waterways, apparently keeping 40 lorries per boat load (on average) off the roads!

Along the way is quite a shallow lock, but sufficiently interesting to a group of friendly students to provide us with an audience. I also performed an act if public duty, hauling form the water in the lock what looks like a mashed up traffic cone.

The final image, on the right, is, I think, part of the modern hydraulic system to open the sluices and allow water into the lock.

Going through Tournai we always look to see how the rebuild of the mediaeval bridge is going – all to allow the much wider modern commercial barges to fit through. It is coming on, though after two plus years still not complete.

And this time we found another bridge almost completed – except that at the moment there seems to be a lack of road at either end!

We reached the small ‘port’ of Antoing, in the metaphorical shadow of the castle, in good time and tied up happily for two nights.

We must be getting lazy, because apart from changing two gas bottles at Neptunia chandlery (50 yards away) and doing some shopping at Aldi (100 yards away) we had a quiet time.

Oh, we did get out for a pizza one night -and the glass off wine on board beforehand brought the distant castle into play once more!

The weather was improving and by the second night the glinting setting sun shone across the river to Calliope in fine artistic style.

After two nights, and with a replenished ship, we were ready to travel the three kilometres to the Péronnes lock and join the next canal. This short section of the river is pleasant, though not remarkable.

The actual travel time was about half an hour, but a 40 minutes wait to go through the lock meant we almost felt we had had a half day of travel! We tied up to the ‘dolphins’ before the lock and waited in the sunshine for a working barge to come down; quite right that they have precedence.

We had come to Le Grand Large – a big basin between two large locks that lift boats from the Haut Escaut to the Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes canal – and within the basin is the Royal Péronne Yacht Club, and it’s new curving visitors pontoon!

It is rather lovely, although a strange shape to moor a 20m straight boat to! Anyway we did it, and sat back to await the arrival of our dinner guests, and bargee friends, Martin, Sally, and dog Tin Tin.

Just look at that view!

I was down below cooking up a feast (well, a meal created from some Aldi ingredients plus a good tart from the boulangerie) and Captain Stu kept an eye out for our friends to arrive.

Together we had a lovely evening, talking about moorings old and new, locks easy and difficult, friends on boats, food, wine and generally a good time with good mates.

Next day they moved on up the canal gradually towards the Meuse. We will be following tin their wake, but a few days behind.

They left us to enjoy a morning flight of swallows, one of who was cheeky enough to perch on our flagstaff long enough for me to get a photo through the window.

And then we enjoyed another two days of this wonderful mooring, and its adjacent walks, some alongside the old canal that was used before these giant locks at either end of our lake came into use.

But I get ahead off myself, because officially we are now on the ‘new’ Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes canal, and not on the Haut Escaut at all!

So with a reminder of how peaceful it is here, I’m off until the next episode.

Day One of the 2022 Season

The Bossuit-Kortrijk Canal

25th April 2022

We are very excited about the prospect of the 2022 season – we are going to have a full six months cruising again. This follows the last two years of Brexit and Covid restrictions that resulted in a three month and a two month season.

We went through the necessary paperwork in January with photos and meetings to get a six month French visa and were delighted to discover you can get it without having a permanent port address – the French are pleased to welcome us with our own movable floating home, so are were able to use a few Schengen days to move the boat from Belgium and then enjoy a summer en France.

And we’re off!

Chronologically our journey went taxi, ferry, train, taxi, train, train and finally a walk across Kortrijk, all starting with the crossing of Portsmouth Harbour on a bright late April morning.

A mere 8 hours of travelling later we were throwing our bags aboard Calliope and all set to change gear into summer cruising mode.

But first we needed to relax! So before long we were in our favourite Kortrijk bar in the park, with Omer beer and Kriek Max as our celebratory drinks of choice!

We had allowed ourselves a couple fo days to prepare Calliope, bearing in mind we had been to visit her in December and earlier in April to sort things like engine servicing, central heating boiler servicing, spare parts for pumps etc.

Stewart’s work was mainly below decks, so here is the crew scrubbing the deck and preparing this year’s garden!

There is still more cleaning to be done, but we can set off knowing that our lovely barge is presentable.

It was not all work! A massive fair was installed across the centre of the city – plenty of colour and noise (not the Captain’s favourite!).

We had a walk round and evaded the temptations of being turned upside down 100 feet above the ground, and of deep fried doughnut balls!

There was also the much gentler stimulation of the Kortrijk port wildlife – herons, geese, grebes, moorhens, coots, and of course ducks.

Apparently on average only two ducklings survive from each clutch – lets hope these 8 all make it.

And then it was time to go; we had booked the first lock on the Kortrijk-Bossuit Canal at 10am, so at 9.30 we were straining at the ropes to be off ……..

…… but a glance at the VisuRIS live traffic map showed two big commercial barges on their unstoppable way to cross the port exit. This is where we have to go out astern into the main river before a sharp turn to port and the to starboard to enter the canal. (see bottom left quadrant of the map).

Having let the big boats pass Calliope’s Captain carefully took us out backwards, under the low bridge, and out onto the main River Leie waterway.

A small manoeuvre turned us round and we headed for the small canal entrance at Sluis (Lock) 11. Unfortunately the gates to the lock were closed, so we engaged Plan B and moored up on the waiting jetty.

It was decided that I would to go up and see what was happening, whereupon and met a lovely lady lock keeper – on her first day!

She soon had the gates open and Calliope gently entered her first lock of the year – one of the narrowest in Belgium.

We tied up and gave some general advice to the lock keeper about what to do next ……. but after ten minutes we were wondering why it was taking so long for the lock to fill.

Unfortunately she had not understood my question about whether she had closed the ‘paddles’ on the bottom gates (not sure of the Dutch term). Water was therefore leaving the bottom of the lock almost as fast as water came in at the top!

This was soon put right and we gently eased on up through the next two of the three manual locks. These three, leading out of Kortrijk, took us our first kilometre. It was just the right pace to start the new season.

After Lock 9 the waterway widens to commercial size so we bade farewell to our ‘lockie’, who now had the experience of three locks behind her.

At this point the beautiful blue sky rapidly went through grey to black and we found ourselves in quite a rain storm. The next lock is a big commercial size one – where one of us has to be on the foredeck with ropes in the rain!

After ascending the lock we thought that we needed to change our (almost) empty gas bottles for full ones – and sooner rather than later. We wanted to be sure of a nice cup of tea and hot supper when we stopped for the night. So I began an online search for a supermarket, a garage, a garden centre, or anywhere that was near enough to the canal for us to stop and buy some.

I found two garden centres nearby. After a quick lunch on board with Stu I set off to check them out. The first did not have any large gas bottles – but did have the potting compost and a small watering can that I needed, so all was not lost.

The second was a bit further away; given that we wanted to carry on with the journey did we actually need new gas yet or not? The clever Captain realised we could weigh our two gas bottles with our luggage scales and compare the weights. In doing so we discovered that we had enough gas for at least another 24 hours.

Phew!

(Normally we replace gas bottles one at a time as each runs out. We do this while we are in port and with a car, but somehow this winter each time we planned to buy some our plan was thwarted.)

The final part of our Day One cruise was lit by golden green sunlight and brooding black skies over the canal; all very dramatic.

The rain held off as we moored up in the basin above Bossuit lock. The horizontal flag indicates the strengthening gusty winds and we were glad of the final flickers of gas for a hearty meal of ham, egg, chips and beans.

The final activity of the day, apart from a soothing camomile tea, was a walk round to view the first lock of Day 2 – the 9.5m drop at Bossuit. The rain began to fall as we looked at the mighty lock gates, so back to the warmth and comfort of Calliope’s cabin, and that feeling of contentment that always comes when we are back on the water again.

A winter visit

6th – 10th December 2021

We had kept enough off our Schengen 90 days to visit Calliope at least once during the winter, and despite Covid rules both sides of the chan new requiring several tests each we decided to go. So with the ‘leaving UK’ PCR test accomplished and negative results received we were off into a beautiful winter sunrise.

Driving through to Kent the skies greyed. The journey was quicker than normal, and the roads leading to Dover Port were early quiet!

It was relatively deserted waiting in the short queue to board the ferry too. Even the seagulls were fewer in number! But just as insistently hungry.

The car deck was emptier than we have ever seen, though there were plenty off lorries to keep DFDS in business and to make sure the kitchens were fired up to cook our lunch.

Presumably the winter season and Covid had kept most travellers tucked up at home, putting up the Christmas decorations and wrapping presents. – tasks that we would undertake on our return.

Two DFDS Christmas dinners and a trip to the duty free shop later we were heading into Dunkirk ready for our 80 minute drive down to Kortrijk.

It’s a good straightforward drive from Dunkirk to Kortrijk – one of the many reasons that we like wintering there. We enjoy seeing Ypres as we go round it, going over the Ypres canal that we cruised down a couple of years ago. And we enjoy coming into Kortrijk, driving through roads that are now familiar as we approach the mooring.

And relax! It is always so lovely to be back aboard and it never takes long to warm Calliope up, unpack and settle down to our first December evening in Kortrijk. The combination of central heating and the Refleks stove lifts the temperature to a gentle cosiness – cheers Calliope!

Luckily the Belgian Covid rules had changed just before we left, meaning we did not need an ‘entering Belgium’ test and could get on with enjoying the few days of our stay. We had some things to achieve while we were there – some on the maintenance front, plus some catching up with friends and some shopping.

Of course the first thing to do is to make sure that Calliope is trim and safe. Our neighbour had been kindly clearing leaves off the boat through the autumn, so she was looking cleaner than we usually find her at this time of year. Nonetheless there is always cleaning to do.

Also we had booked an engine service with a local marine engineering company. They arrived as expected and worked through the maintenance schedule; all done in a morning.

We both had things to do – I collected our new hull ID sign and Stewart screwed it in place, we swept up the last of the autumnal debris, we bought additional anti freeze for the cooling system (just to be sure!), checked the bilges, put away the new ropes and fenders we had brought with us, and generally tidied up.

An important task was to re-instal the PV panels onto the wheelhouse roof, covering up our smart new wheelhouse cover! That allowed us to fully clean the cabin roof and be ready for solar power come Spring.

The evenings were special times, catching up with our barging friends Sally and Martin, going for walks with their dog Tin Tin and enjoying food and wine together.

Evenings were also times to walk round Kortrijk taking in the Christmas lights – one of my main reasons for wanting to come back to the boat in December! There is such a lovely atmosphere in Belgian cities at this time of year.

In the daytime I went supermarket shopping for some of our favourite Belgian foods and drinks to take home, both for us and as presents – some cheese, paté, Ganda ham, Abbey and Kriek beer – and the inevitable Belgian chocolate!

I had to go to the chocolatier twice – back at Calliope after the first visit I found that the carefully selected gluten free chocolates for our daughter had not been put in my bag!

But the benefit of an extra walk out in the rain was finding these beautiful yellow leaves on the pavement.

As next day was expected to be our last in Kortrijk. Covid regulations demanded that we have a negative PCR test within 48 hours of leaving the EU so we went to a very friendly pharmacist who did the necessary swabbing. Within a few hours we had our negative results; hooray.

Then we discovered that ‘Christmas in Kortrijk’, their outdoor winter food, drink and entertainment event, started on our planned last evening there!

Together with Martin and Sally we ent exploring. We were allowed in with our Covid vaccination certificates, and negative test results. And then found that the first beer was free, with good gluwein to follow.

And that a very good jazz band from Gent was playing!

We had struck it just right.

We moved on to the ‘food court’ area, with its wooden cabins, Christmas trees and ‘snow’. Tin Tin, encouraged by the smell of our Bratworst, and perhaps with cold paws, decided that Stewart’s lap was the best place to be.

It was the start of our festive season, in style; Sally and I danced back to the port!

Luckily we had had dry weather for our evening out, but next day, when we were planning to go home, was somewhat on the wild, wet and windy side. A decision was made to delay our return by a day and have a calmer channel crossing.

The wet weather allowed some thinking and planning for 2022 cruising. The idea is to go back to France, at least for the summer. It is a big country and there are areas we have not touched.

So we looked through our French waterway guides and worked out the extra ones we would need to take us down to the Strasbourg area; an addition to our UK shopping list.

The re-scheduled travel day arrived sufficiently blue and calm. We packed up our bags and said goodbye to our lovely second home once more. See you in March Calliope!

Then headed off to Dunkirk, where we arrived with just two hours to spare on our negative Covid tests! They were a little surprised that w were so close to the cut off, but all was OK and we boarded our ferry.

About 5 hours later we were home, driving past all the Christmas lights that had sprung up while we were away.

Now time to do ours. Happy Christmas everyone.