Thursday 14th April 2016 Alma to Remilly. 18kms 2 locks.

Old lock house at Alma

6.8° C Sunny start which turned overcast and cold before we set off. Hats and coats on again. Set off at 9.35am, zapped and then went down lock 34 Alma, a 2.6m drop. The house alongside the lock was a large and solid one, empty, and birds were nesting inside, entering through a broken window. On to the river again. Took photos of the bare patch on the hill where hang gliders take off from and a windsock by the lock. Steep wooded hills to our

Take off point for hang gliders below Alma lock

left. White flowers of buckthorn trees everywhere. Made a cuppa as we started the run down the 8.2kms to Mouzon. The hills on the left became further away from the river with widening cattle pastures sloping up to the trees. The hilltop trees disappeared as the village of Villemontry came into view, nestling just below the crest of the hill, out of the predominant westerly winds. Wide fields on the right were backed with steep forested hills. At KP125

Villemontry through the trees

there was a pair of modern bridge abutments with embankments leading to them but no road deck, we wondered if this was once going to be a bypass for Mouzon that was never finished. The river did some interesting bends heading into the little town. Past a big unguarded weir with several dead trees jammed on the edge and the ruins of an old factory. The boat picked up speed as the water flowed fast through the town and over the next weir, then we were on a canal section leading to lock 35 Mouzon. The moorings in the old mill stream were

Weir and old mill at Mouzon

empty but there was one campervan parked there. As we went into the lock a VNF van arrived. I lifted the rod and the itinerant came over to ask if we’d seen a yacht. Nope. Nothing since the hireboat last Saturday. I took some photos of the two old lock houses, they’d built a newer one next to the first and not knocked the old one down. The lockie went into the lock cabin. After dropping down another 2.95m we sped off downriver again. Passed the “yacht” just

Two old lock houses at Mouzon

after the first bend, a Dutch steel cruiser with no flag, the crew waved from their wheelhouse. No flag, so no idea what nationality. 9.7kms to the next lock, starting with 4kms on the river. Took photos of a WWII concrete bunker on our left and Mike took a photo of nesting storks on the opposite bank. Took photos of the church at Villiers-devant-Mouzon and two unusual white horses with black ears and tails. Three more Canada geese went swimming past, honking noisily. Took photos of the long needle weir and a short unguarded one just before we went into the canal through a pair of flood gates. More eco bank protection had been done with hessian sacking and large dumped piles of very big rocks. At the little town of Remilly-Allicourt there were metal fishing platforms along the bank but I doubt anyone uses them as the bank had been lined with more of the large rocks. A new tarmac cycle piste lead down to the lock and

WWII bunker

beyond. We winded before lock 36 Remilly and moored on the offside bank next to

Stork nest KP121

metal piling. It was 12.35pm. The sun came out so Mike put the solar panels up.

Moored at Remilly

Unusual markings on black and white horses nr Villiers-Devant-Mouzon

Tuesday 12th April 2016 Mouzay to abv Alma lock. 21.4kms 4 locks.

 2.4° C overnight. Sunny start, blue skies with a few puffy white clouds, warm in the sunshine with a tiny breeze. Later black clouds and rain with distant thunder, then back to blue skies. Crazy weather. Nice to get going again after a rest on Sunday and shopping on

Hydroelectric power plant on weir at Stenay

Monday. Waved and said bonjour to a lady walking her dog in the meadow down below the canal. The lock light changed to green and the gates opened as we were getting ready to go (did Mike accidentally press the button?) but by the time we were about 15m from the gates the light changed to red and the gates closed! Fed up with waiting for us. Backed up to the zapper post, zapped and the gates re-opened on lock 30 Mouzay, Mike lifted the bar (I couldn’t move it) and dropped down 2.6m. The lock house, although nicely renovated with new windows and doors plus new varnished wooden shutters, remained empty. 3.3kms to the next, soon back on to a pleasant river reach which was flowing gently at 2kph as we went into Stenay. Birds a-plenty

Honey buzzard on a field post

this morning, buzzards, black kites, cormorants and ducks. There were several needle weirs with some of their needles out as we went into the town. Lock 31 Stenay had a good lock house on the slope up to the road which went across the canal below the tail end of the lock. The drop was supposed to be 1.8m, but Mike measured the depth of wet wall when the chamber was empty – 2.4m – then as the gates opened we saw why, the next reach had been lowered by 60cm. Passing through the town there were at least ten campervans parked in the camping area and three small cruisers had been left over winter on the pontoon up the mill stream arm. Just a short distance below the lock there was another needle weir with lots of needles missing, then we went through a flood lock on to the next canal length. 6kms of canal to lock 32 Inor. I took photos of a bird of prey in a tree (which were rubbish) and Mike took photos of one (a honey buzzard) sat on a post. There were fishermen by the

Caddis fly larva in a case made of tiny sticks

long wide layby in Martincourt and another car was parked on theriver side just beyond a sign that said VNF only. All along the canal there were masses of white flowers on the blackthorn bushes (there will be lots of sloes this year) and the grass was covered with yellow cowslips, more and more ladysmocks were flowering too. Really warm in the sunshine for the first time since we set off. Three buzzards were circling, searching for thermals to soar on as we arrived at Inor. Down another 3m. Took photos of a caddis fly larva that had dropped on the boat from the wet lock wall. This one had bits of stick attached to its body casing, my insect book says it does this to prevent being swallowed by fish. Clever bug. A pair of Great White Egrets were in the meadow on our left, they took off looking like herons except they shone brilliantly white in the sunshine. 4.3kms to the next, back on a river reach. An old Dutch steel cruiser was moored above 33 Pouilly, it had no name or licence and

Moored at Alma

looked permanent, it was tied to a very high eroded bank, someone had constructed a substantial wooden decking for access. The dog at the house barked all the time we were in the lock, but no one came out of the lock house. Mike put the caddis fly larva back in the edge of the canal above the lock before he lifted the rod as the lock walls were a bit too high for me to get off easily. Down another 1.60m, last lock of the day. 7kms to the next lock, 6kms of that was on the river again. A coot flew across, low over the river, then we saw the first pair of Canada geese, they are spreading getting further and further south on the Meuse now and becoming such a pest in some Belgian river towns that the authorities have put up notices forbidding people to feed them. A small herd of Friesian heifers watched us pass with great interest from the meadow on our left. Past a large tree covered island where we had to keep right to stay in the navigable channel just as another Great White Egret flew over. Mike remarked that the river was over 6m deep on one left-hand bend. A rough-legged buzzard circled overhead, he stayed with us long enough for accurate identification, white tail and pale head, wings outspread like a harrier. We kept right, on into the lock cut as the river went over a needle weir with many of its needles extracted. It was 1pm when we moored by the picnic stop above lock 34 Alma, opposite the ferme d’Alma. Hurried to get all the gear inside and the satellite dish up (no terrestrial TV here or SFR phone but Internet was good on 3G) as black clouds were gathering. Had some lunch just as it started to rain, the wind picked up and there was distant thunder. Soon the sun was out again. Mike got our little Honda gennie out to check it and, needless to say, it didn’t run smoothly so he had another job to add to the ever-growing list.

Saturday 9th April 2016 Belleville to abv Mouzay. 48.9kms 10 locks (9 manual 1 auto)

Thick morning mist over the canal

0.4° C. Frost on the canvases and ice on the roof. Still a chilly 3° C when we set off at 8.15am. It was very misty to start with, occasionally the mist got thinner and the sun shone through. Many layers of clothes again. 5kms to the first lock, 20 Bras, where a new itinerant was waiting for us. A man in his late forties with a round face, he was cheerful and chatty. He opened the right hand gate when we were close to the lock to keep as much of the rotting floating weed out as possible. We were soon down and out

Still misty in the distance

through one gate, Mike was redundant as he did one gate at each end of the lock. On to a canal section, passing a lone dog walker. 7.8kms to the next lock. The wildlife, birds and animals, were amazing. I saw a large brown animal swimming down the river, coypu or otter? Loads of birds of prey, buzzards and black kites, even an egret, plus ducks and moorhens. Took photos of an animal swimming along the edge of the piling to identify later (muskrat). By 10am the mist had gone and

Muskrat  swimming right by the bank piling

sun was out in a clear blue sky – but with great banks of cloud in the distance. Arrived at the next lock half an hour later. 21 Champ. A deep one at 3.8m but deeper than that as the level below had been reduced by about 60cm. Our lockie was chatting with an old guy from the lock house as we set off. The canal depth had been reduced to about 1.7m. Nearly 4kms to the next lock. Bank protection work had been done over several years with rocks along the bank covered with hessian,

House for two lock keepers,
lock 22 Samogneux

grass was starting to grow through what must have been done at least a year ago (a grey wagtail was searching it for bugs) and more substantial plants, reeds and marsh marigolds, probably two years old. Due to the amount of rotting vegetation above lock 22 Samogneux the keeper delayed opening the gate until we were close to it. There was a solid double lockhouse (dating no doubt from the glory days when two lock keepers lived there and did shifts when the locks were open long hours and

Attached to a pontoon in a sloping sided lock,
24 Consenvoye

traffic was heavy) shuttered and empty now. On the opposite side of the lock was a lock cabin, a portacabin and a shipping container (what the latter was for we have no idea, maybe the bio bank repair stuff) and another VNF van. The 3kms pound to the next lock was also lowered by 30cm. White clouds were forming and there was a big bank of the grey misty stuff in front. There was no weed floating above lock 23 Brabant so the gate was open ready. Down 3m, admiring the double house which was lived in and a Cadillac Seville which

Open weir blow lock 25 Planchette

was parked among the other vehicles on the lockside. I spied a three inch buddleia seedling growing on the lock wall and rescued it, put it in a pot on the roof so it can grow into a tree. On to a river section below lock 23. 2.2kms to lock 24 Consenvoye, an old sloping sided lock, shallow at only 1.34m, with a pontoon on the left to tie to while the lock emptied. On through the town of Consenvoye. The river disappeared over a weir on the left as we entered another canal

Daft dog at 27 Warinvaux

section at KP177. Through Mike’s posh binos I spotted a honey buzzard sitting on a fence post far away across the fields. Through Sivry, where a mastless yacht was moored next to some holiday chalets, then the D964 followed right alongside the canal again. The first pair of grebe I’d seen this year were fishing in a wide bit by a bridge before the next lock. Into lock 25 Planchette and down another 2.5m on to another river reach of just 2kms which poured over a long unguarded weir by the start of the canal at Vilosnes-Haraumont, then through a modern flood lock and more holiday

Church on the hill at Dun-sur-Meuse

chalets. The wind picked up as the sun went into hiding as we reached that bank of clouds. I made a cuppa and Mike took more multi shots of birds of prey. 7kms overall from Planchette to 26 Ligny, a shallow lock at 1.80m and with our efficient keeper at work we were soon on our way again. He left the gate open as there was a lump of wood in the chamber and he didn’t want it to get stuck in the gates, he said he’d deal with it on his way back. 1.7kms to his last lock 27

Floating fishing shed below lock 28 Dun

Warinvaux. A dog and a goat came galloping on to the lockside to greet us, except the goat was nervous and shy, but the St Bernard was a big daft sloppy dog who made a big fuss. Our cheerful lockie wished us a good trip to Belgium and we thanked him for working the locks for us. Nearly 3pm as we set off on another river reach taking photos of the church at Dun on a hill overlooking the valley. A new 10m pontoon had been added below the lock, for cruisers to wait for lock working no doubt. Another new

Moored near Mouzay

pontoon (and a brick built BBQ) by the Gendarmerie. Turned left into the canal by the silos and zapped the post – nice to have had a lockie’s company for a while, but nice too to be back on DIY. Lock 28 Dun-sur-Meuse was 2.35m fall and we had an audience on the tail end bridge. It was slow emptying. The lock house, being in a town, was lived in. I made a cuppa. Mike said there was one boat (winter moored) on the pontoon and seven campervans parked next to it. Passed two railway bridges destroyed in

Spectacular sunset at Mouzay

WW1, two trip boats at Meuse Nautique by the first set of abutments. Took a photo of a floating fishing shed (lots like it on the Somme) and after 3kms the river tumbled over a weir at Sassey-sur-Meuse and we were back on still waters of the canal. 4kms to lock 29 Sep. The barragiste’s house, by the long needle weir, was lived in and two VNF vans went down the track leading to it as we passed, they waved just as a passing motorist on the D964 (back by the canal again) gave us a loud hoot. Took a photo of the distant Basilica at Mont-Devant-Sassey and Mike took photos of storks on a nest in old flooded gravel pits. The lock house at Sep was also lived in despite being opposite (or maybe because of) the busy D964 right next to the lock. Down 2.6m on a 3.4km canal pound. Another boat! A pénichette hireboat from Pont-à-Bar, well I never! So they do get hireboats up here, thought they all went downriver to the glamorous bit of the Meuse into Belgium. Under the pipe bridge and a footbridge (a towpath changeover bridge as was) where two early-teen girls were fooling around, one of them stood on top of the high parapet taking a selfie on her phone. She scrambled down as we approached and both waved and politely said hello. Tied up before Mouzay lock with a beautiful panoramic view over the fields and meadows of the Meuse flood plain to the distant Argonnaise hills. It was 4.50pm as Mike banged pins in behind the piling. Decided to leave the car at Consenvoye and collect it next day, as we shall be having a well-earned day off. Had some bad news, our old friend Hans (the school teacher) in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany had been in hospital the last four months suffering from dementia. Poor old thing. He’s not old enough to have dementia. Our thanks to fellow boater and good friend Klaus who found out what had happened to Hans for us, we knew something was wrong as he hadn't replied to birthday greetings on Facebook.

Friday 8th April 2016 Maizey to Belleville-sur-Meuse. 34.3kms 9 locks (all manually operated)

Tunnel under the fortifications at Verdun

-0.1° C. Glad we put the heating on overnight. Sunny start, but with grey banks of cloud and mist that didn’t last long. A few spots of rain fell not long before we stopped. Set off at 8.40am, with cold weather gear on again, to get to the first of the manually operated locks for nine. Lock 11 Rouvrois was ready, both gates open and our man-in-a-van (the Chef, we later found out) was waiting for us, sitting in his van. I stepped off with the centre rope on the left of the chamber as the keeper was on the right and

Lovely old houses in Verdun

Mike got off and closed the gate our side. The Chef closed his gate then ran down all the paddles with a held-in-the-hand tube device (wished I’d have had one of those forty years ago to lower UK paddles with, used to do it with my bare hand and it caused callouses – I was told a few times by BWB to wind them back down as it could give the wrong idea to hireboaters who might just take catches off and drop them which could cause damage) Mike got back on board and I held the rope while we descended 2m. Mike had told

Weir below the lock at Verdun

him we only needed one gate, so we left through one and said see you at the next one. Just 3kms to the next, all canal today except for one short river section in Verdun. Watched several trains pass over the long TGV bridge over the Meuse flood plain. Alongside the canal all the way into Verdun was the busy D964 road. Mike had problems with the moped so he started work on it, first problem was the fact that he had forgotten to turn the petrol off the day before before when he put the bike back on the roof

Mooring pontoon in Verdun

and now the engine was full of the stuff. As we went under the TGV bridge a muskrat surfaced right next to the stern of the boat and then went down again. The towpath, we noted was covered with grass but there were no tracks down it, so no one drove or walked on it except the mower. Still two gates open at 12 Lacroix, OK give up. New sloping concrete wing walls had been built at the top end of the lock and the house had been nicely renovated. Same procedure for working the lock for all of them.

Walkers and cyclists are forbidden to enter the park during
strong winds and storms due to the high risk of falling branches

Down 1.6m and out through one gate. 5.4kms to the next. There were several overwintering boats on the long pontoon at Lacroix, two ex-hireboats, a small yacht and a small cruiser plus a Dutch steel cruiser, which had someone on board, a woman leaned out the doors to wave as we went past (second one since Condé). There would have been enough room for us on the pontoon, but we weren’t stopping today. Mike carried on drying the moped engine out. At lock 13 Troyon my fender decided to do a somersault in the ladder

Empty commercial port in Verdun

recess then flipped over on to the lockside, flicking its rope off and parking itself there very neatly. Never had a fender do that before, ever. Down 2.5m and out through one gate again. Nice lock house at 13. 2.8kms to 14 Ambly. Its house had a sign over the door saying bureau (in other words office, a péniche’s papers were checked here in days gone by). Our Chef’s van was parked there plus another one and a VNF car and two more cars. Busy place. Saw no one but the Chef, working the lock. 6.4kms to the next. Took a photo of an information notice which looked new. Meadows and flat fields had opened up to

Needle weir at Belleville - an ancient system many 
now being replaced by modern automatic hydraulic ones

our left and the forested hills were now in front on our right. Passed two very smelly cattle farms and a sewage works before a steel fabrication works on the outskirts of the small town of Dieue. Down another 2.5m in Dieue lock 15 and I started getting stuff ready to cook for lunch as we went along the 1.75kms pound to 16 Dieue-Aval. Down another 2.5m on to a longer pound of 4.3kms to 17 Haudainville. I cooked bacon and egg sandwiches for a nice hot lunch as it was so cold. Just had time to eat it before we arrived at the lock. There was a big stretch of wind-blown floating rotting vegetation above the lock which gave off a really foul smell as we went through it into the lock chamber. (Mike reminded me that we’d spent

Needle weir and canal entrance at Belleville

ages last summer waiting below this lock to go up it while the VNF loaded tons of cut weed into a flatbed here). Down 3.5m. The river had been running right alongside the canal on the left since Dieue and now there were fields between the canal and river. 3kms to 18 Belleray. The lock house didn’t look lived in. This was the Chef’s last lock so we said au-voir as we left, heading on into the city. 2kms of canal and 1km of river into Verdun, the river entering and leaving over weirs on our left. Past a moored VNF tug called Hugo and through the tunnel under the fortifications and into lock

Moored on pontoon at Belleville (next morning, misty)

19 Verdun, which was ready for us. A younger man with glasses worked the lock. Very chatty, he was interested in the boat and asked the usual questions about it. I spotted the Chef arrive in his van at the workshops behind the office buildings on the lockside. Down another 3m and out on to another river reach with a long weir pouring fast flowing water to our left. High walls through the city guarded it from flooding. There was one boat on the long pontoon, a motor yacht. On the opposite bank two large trip boats were moored. As we passed a park Mike started laughing at the danger notices. They forbade entry to the park during high winds and thunderstorms as there may be falling branches – the trees were mainly ancient plane trees which do have a habit of shedding bark rather violently too. Noted the commercial port in an arm was empty. A bit further downriver and there was the first unmodified needle weir next to the canal section. Just inside the canal section there was a pontoon we’d never stopped at before which was in the adjacent town of Belleville-sur-Meuse. Two teenagers were sat at the upstream end. We ignored them like they ignored us and tied up with the passerelle next to the bike so we could get it off easily. It was 3pm. Gave Mike a hand to get the bike off the roof and he carried on fixing it then he went out on it for a ride to test it. Blocked up exhaust again so he changed it for the spare.

Thursday 7th April 2016 Euville to Maizey. 30.3kms 6 locks

Grain silos at St Mihiel

6.3° C Sunny spells, mostly cloudy, a few spots of rain. Cold wind. Tights and woolly hats and gloves on  again. Mike went out in the car to get some bread for the freezer. Locks lights came on at 9.05am. Mike walked back to the zapper post to activate the lock and we set off at 9.10am. Down 3m in 5 Euville lock, which still retained a smart lived-in lock house and a wooden shed for a lock cabin. 5.5kms to the next lock. After one kilometre of canal the river joined the canal from the left. It was flowing at around 3kph, so

Old preserved lavoir (clothes washing place) at St Mihiel

we were flying along at 9kph. The river poured over a new hydraulic weir on the right and we were back on a canal length into the town of Commercy. Several cruisers were moored by the first houses and the quay by the builder’s merchant’s yard had been improved for boat moorings. The long pontoon was empty but there were five campervans parked next to it. As we left the town behind, we passed a working factory producing steel wire, large coils of it were stored outside. Into lock 6 Commercy, again the lock had a well maintained lock house that was inhabited. Dropped down another

Smart houses at St Mihiel

3m. 5.9kms to the next. The river joined the canal for just 1km, we went straight through a sloping sided flood lock back on to the canal leading to lock 7 Vadonville. A Dutch barge called Leo (NL flagged) was just leaving lock 7 (second boat moving since we left Condé). A beautiful rural spot to live in a lock house. We were soon in and down another 2.5m. I phoned the controller at Verdun and booked to start the manually operated locks next day at 9am. 6.9kms (all canal) to lock 8. Noted that Sapigny had added a 10m pontoon to its extensive mooring quay. An old railway track followed the

Dames de Meuse rocks

canal on the left, well overgrown with weeds and almost hidden by trees. Beyond the railway the busy D964 road ran along the top of a low hill also hidden by trees. On our right were wide flooded water meadows. A sweeping left hand bend took us under the railway, then right and back under the railway again then another left hand bend. Two locks followed, very close together. 8 Han (3.2m drop) and 9 Les Koeurs 3.25m drop. Made a cuppa as we went down a short canal length before the next river reach near the village of Bislée. In a wide part of the river there was a small island with a resident nesting swan. A pair of black kites flew overhead following the river looking for

Moored at Maizey

dead fish. One of the channel markers, a red can, had come adrift and was on the wrong side of the river, we ignored it. We passed to the right of the first large island at KP244, then the river poured over another new hydraulic weir on the left as we entered the town of St Mihiel (pronounced san mee-yel). There was a sign by the weir indicating a portage point for canoeists but the weir was now fenced off so we wondered whether they gave keys to the canoeists – I think not. Under a bridge, through some stop gates and we were in the middle of the town. Down lock 10 St Mihiel, (smart lock house) a drop of 2.9m and back on to the river for 4kms. Mike took a few photos of the empty pontoon moorings and the scenic twenty metre high rocks called Dames de Meuse as we left town. Back on a canal length, we went through more flood gates and tied up at 2.20pm next to an old stone quay by an old dredging tip now covered in weeds, opposite a cattle farm. A quiet spot, not far from the village of Maizey, we hadn’t moored there before. The quay was rough and overgrown with weeds but it was quiet. Unloaded the moped off the roof and Mike went to move the car on to Consenvoye. Central heating on later as the temperature outside dropped sharply.

Wednesday 6th April 2016 Demanges-aux-Eaux to Euville. 27.4kms 17 locks

Notice giving details of repairs to tunnel - 300,000€ to replace the guide rails

3.3° C Sunny spells but mostly cloudy, chilly wind, but dry. We set off again at 8.55am. Lock 1 Tomois was ready for us. Just after I lifted the rod to operate the lock a VNF man in a van arrived and, when the lock was full he took note of our details; name, SSR number, etc, plus where we were going. The valley behind us was thick with river mist. Two empty péniches, My Way and Paraguay, were moored right next to the lock. On to the summit level, noting that the VNF man turned off the lock behind us. At 9.35am

Eastern entrance to Mauvages tunnel

we arrived at Mauvages tunnel, 4875m long and lit throughout. Our man in a van swopped the van for a bike and rode through the tunnel on the towpath in front of us. Every ten metres there was a sign with distances to either end of the tunnel, lit by white LEDs. Between these were the older distance plates, lit with green lights, so effectively there were distance markers every five metres. Lights were every 30m, fluorescents at first then orange sodium strip lights. Every

Anther of the new signs at Mauvages

240m there were emergency phones (old and new systems) plus a motion sensor and a folding aluminium gangplank. Oh and there were cameras throughout. It was damp at the far end of the tunnel with water pouring through a pipe in the roof, we moved over to the right wall to avoid getting wet. Out into daylight fifty minutes later. It was 10° C inside the tunnel and nearly half a degree colder outside in the cutting. We said au’voir to our man on a bike as he was moving a barrier across the tunnel mouth before riding

Western entrance of Mauvages tunnel

back through the tunnel to his van at the far end. Nearly half an hour later we were at the top of the flight of twelve locks leading down to the junction with the canal de l’Est. We passed a radar detector and wondered if it still worked or whether the top lock was being set for us by our controller at Bar-le-Duc, the latter we presumed. All the locks in the flight were 2.8/2.9m descents. Lock 1 Mauvages still had a lock house, although it had been boarded up it had been broken into. The canal followed the

Old lock house by lock 1 Mauvages
top lock of flight of 12 "chained" (linked) locks

valley of a tiny stream called the Meholle, which today was full to the top of its banks, flowing very fast and spreading into the meadows in places as it passes through the Fôret de Vaucouleurs. The D10 road was also alongside the canal all the way down the flight. 535m to 2 Villeroy, where a few new industrial units lined the road. 775m to 3 Chalède, 600m to 4 Grand Charme, 830m to 5 St Esprit, 800m to 6 La Corvée which had an inhabited house. Five workmen left their JCB by the house and climbed into a van, no doubt off to get some lunch as it was midday. 610m to 7 Sauvoy, with another lived in house and a mooring below the lock with bollards, a bin and picnic tables. 670m to 8 Varonnes, another house, this one had a very yappy sausage dog on guard duty. I made some lunch as we did the 665m to 9 Biquiottes – lots of buzzards soaring over the trees. 890m to 10 Haut Bois, which had a house and farmhouses either side of the canal. 830m to 11 Vacon, with a lived-in house – a man in a VNF flatbed van carrying gravel arrived by the lock and asked which way we were going then went into his cab and came back with a

Engine shed once used to house the tractors
which pulled peniches up and down the flight

zapper for us to operate all the mechanised locks on the canal de l’Est all the way to Givet. Cowslips along the banks on the 780m to the little town of Void. There was an empty lock house by lock 12, its doors and windows bricked up. Next to it was a VNF van and three cars. The lock cabin was another large one with a tall radio antenna on its roof. 8.5kms to the junction. The lock gates closed behind us on the bottom lock and the lights turned to red, we went through a new set of sensors and immediately the lights changed to green and the

The river Meuse from Troussey aqueduct

bottom end gates re-opened. An uphill boat coming? Nope, something awry with the new sensors. Sheep were grazing in the soggy meadow as we passed through Void on our left. On our right were large silos, then the VNF offices opposite a church on the left. Push tug Nasium was moored by the VNF workshops. Under a footbridge, then under the D10 road bridge and out on an embankment overlooking the meadows and the busy N4 dual carriageway. Passing lorries honked. The road climbed up the hill and was alongside the canal for a while then we turned left underneath the N4 and

Another new sign.
At the junction with the canal de l'Est

away from it across the flood plain of the river Meuse. Over the river on a large aqueduct at Troussey, pausing while Mike took photos of the weir below to compare with the ones he took last August. At 3.10pm we zapped the post to activate the first of the Sorcy flight of four locks, off to our left at the start of the canal de l’Est branch Nord. A couple of bemused fishermen watched us do a sharp left turn into the lock 1 Troussey. All the locks in this flight were 3m+ they all had new control rods that were very easy to lift and none had lock houses, just unmanned keeper’s cabins. 531m to 2 Jaindompré, right next to a cement works that was blinding white, everything covered in cement dust. A few grape hyacinths were bravely growing in front of the cabin. 841m to 3 Frâsnes. Mike took a photo of the white railway engine in the cement works. 587m to 4 Sorcy. Under the three bridges two high road bridges and a low railway bridge, on to the 4kms pound leading to Euville. We arrived at the quay at 4.45pm and moored between the cruiser and Dutch barge which were there last August. Mike went in the car to get some fuel from the local supermarket in cans

Cement works shunting engine - matches the rest of the factory

for the boat.

Road and rail bridges below  Sorcy locks

 

Moored at Euville - brolly still drying out after yesterday's rain.

Tuesday 5th April 2016 Naix-au-Forges to Demanges-aux-Eaux. 14.1kms 13 locks

River Ornain from Trevenay lock

9.9° C Rain, rain and more rain, which stopped not long after we did – then we had a beautiful sunset. Set off at 9.05am after I’d updated the weather channel’s info using the Internet at its slowest on Edge. About 300m to lock 14 Pont Canal de Barboure, no lock house. Soon up another 2.7m (the average for this canal). Cows in the fields down below the canal, so we’re back in cattle country. Leaving the lock crossing the aqueduct over the little river Barboure, close to topping its banks, pouring over a weir looking like a small waterfall. 1980m to 13 St Amand, The towpath had a covering of

Bank strengthening using hessian material

poorly laid tarmac, dandelions were growing through it. Along the next section there were marsh marigolds along the edge of the towpath. 1175m to 12 Charmasson. The lock wouldn’t work so I called Bar-le-Duc and they sent us a new itinerant man-in-a-van. I was in the cabin making a cuppa when he arrived five minutes after I called, but Mike said he just went up to the rod and lifted it and grinned like a Cheshire cat when the damn thing worked. Mike said I just did that! Even bigger grin. Must be the way you hold your mouth! 1220m to Trévenay where there was a fine lived-in lock house and a

Bank works between locks 5 and 4

large lock cabin with a very tall radio antenna on the roof. I couldn’t lift the rod, luckily Mike could. I found our old “coal” leather-palmed gardening gloves and used one of those afterwards to grip the extremely muddy bars which was better than using a rag, which was prone to slipping. 685m to 10 Charbonières, no house and the glove worked a treat. Big open green fields, a sloping field of wheat to the left and boggy water meadows to the right. The rain still poured down and the river went over more little waterfalls. 910m to 9 Petite Forge and we had a set of repeater lights on the bend,

Moored at Demanges-aux-Eaux

a green light to show us that the lock was ready for us. Again no surviving lock house. And a big surprise as we left the top of 9 – a boat coming towards us! Matilda, an Ozzie flagged Dutch Barge. 815m to 8 Laneuville-St-Joire. A man-in-a-van arrived and rattled the rod to set the lock, then asked us for the telecommand. Nice to have a lock with clean walls, obviously this one stays empty most of the time. 1180m to St Joire, through the edges of the neat little village of St Joire. No house at the lock and down below we could see a feeder channel for the canal coming off the river. 1150m to 6 Boeval,

Peniches moored on the summit abv lk 1 Tombois

woods on the left water meadows to the right. 645m to 5 Abaye d’Evaux a slightly shallower lock, lift 2.4m. Beyond the lock, on the 1410m pound to 4 Montford, contractors were doing bank work, actually they weren't, nobody was working either due to it being lunchtime or the heavy rain. They were laying hessian sacking material over rocks that had been laid in the gaps between the older bank protection – metal piling, rock gabions or concrete. The hessian had holes through it marked with red paint where there were a few plants. A car and a van were parked on the

Lovely sunset after all the rain. Demanges-aux-Eaux

first bend and a digger on the next. 930m to 3 Bois Molu, with nice views over the river. 675m to our last lock of the day 2 Demanges. The D192 road ran alongside the lock a half a dozen buzzards were soaring uphill on thermals over the woods. At 2pm we moored on the empty pontoon at Demanges-aux-Eaux, earlier than normal for this trip – but the tunnel and a flight of twelve chained locks dictated that we stay overnight here. A VNF man came to check we were staying overnight and going through the tunnel next day. Noted that two empty péniches were moored above the lock, My Way was nearest and we couldn't see the name of the other. No car moving as it was already at our next stop. Had a late lunch, then Mike watched the F1 Bahrain GP.