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.