On the Escaut, & canals Sensée, du Nord, plus 3 linked to la Oise and l’Aisne 17th to 25th August 2024 BovenSchelde/Escaut Planning for our return to Saint Usage and our winter mooring had begun sometime before, partly to fit with the end of our French 5 month visa, and partly to get through ReimsContinue reading “Hivernage Bound – part 1”
Tag Archives: French locks
Whizzing down La Meuse PK96-46
[Cruise it slowly if you have time!] 11th to 23rd June 2024 We love La Meuse. This is our third time on the river – once up and once down before. We only stopped at 6 places this time, so if you are interested in knowing more about our experience of La Meuse here areContinue reading “Whizzing down La Meuse PK96-46”
From the Marne to the Ardennes – 4 days on 2 canals
Canals L’Aisne à La Marne and Lateral à L’Aisne 4th to 7thJune 2024 Starting from Condé-sur-Marne We had arrived at Condé from Chalons-en-Champagne at about 1pm. That gave us time for a walk round the village in the afternoon. This was a quick walk round part of the village, because the ankle I broke aContinue reading “From the Marne to the Ardennes – 4 days on 2 canals”
Northwards on the Lateral à La Marne
29th May to 3rd June 2024 We are just traveling a short distance on this canal, which follows the winding Marne Westwards towards Paris for another 19kms after we turn off towards the north and Belgium at Condé-sur-Marne. Compared to the 224 kms of the Canal Entre Champagne et Borgogne which we had just leftContinue reading “Northwards on the Lateral à La Marne”
Down the 71 locks on the Marne side
of the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne 12th to 29th May 2024 [It took more than 3 times as long to go down the Marne side of this canal as going up the Saône side. Consequently this blog post is rather long and you might want to read it in chunks rather than all atContinue reading “Down the 71 locks on the Marne side”
On the Saône again – just for 2 days!
6th and 7th May 2024 (plus a few days prep beforehand) It was so good to be back on board early in May. The trip down was pleasant and uneventful once we were on the ferry. The UK side of the drive was held up for 40 minutes at Hindhead Tunnel, so we only justContinue reading “On the Saône again – just for 2 days!”
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. HoweverContinue reading “The Magnificent Meuse part 3”
Canal du Nord – bottom to top!
Almost five and a half years ago we arrived in France on Calliope at the mouth of La Somme. This was our introduction to boating in Europe, and when at the end of La Somme we turned right onto the Canal du Nord we thought we were really now among the big barges of theContinue reading “Canal du Nord – bottom to top!”
Heading north up La Meuse part 1
The waterways comprising La Meuse include the river itself, the Canal de la Meuse, called, prior to 2003, the Canal de l’Est Northern branch. At the same time the southern branch was renamed the Canal des Vosges. Together they formed a 245 mile long canal within the Franco Prussian border. This part, Part 1, isContinue reading “Heading north up La Meuse part 1”
Over the top to Champagne
Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne 25th August to 11th September 2018 This is a seriously exciting and enjoyable canal. It is 224 km along with 43 locks on the way up and 71 locks on the way down plus a 5 km tunnel through the summit – the Balesmes tunnel. It passes through glorious agriculturalContinue reading “Over the top to Champagne”
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