Monday 23rd March 2015 Condé-sur-Marne - Wez. 18kms 8 locks

Electric towpath traction mule, retired

0.2° C Sunny but still a cold north wind, clouding over later in the afternoon. Up bright and early at 7.00 am and got started on the jobs to do. Untied at 10.00 am and shoved off to twist the hanging pole and activate the lock flight. The postman was taking his dog for a walk down the non-towpath side and he waved and wished us bonne route. The locks were all empty (except the top one) so we had a very good run up the flight of eight. The new houses on the outskirts of the village were starting to look

View across the fields to La Montagne and Ambonnay village

very smart. The lady at the lockhouse at Isse was feeding her chickens and both her dogs came out to woof at us as we came up the lock. The lock house at lock 21 Fosse Rodé still looked uninhabited, the VNF were chopping trees down and shredding them. The flight above lock 21 becomes more remote and so wildlife becomes more apparent; brimstone butterflies, herons, wagtails and robins came out to play around the locks and a long legged buzzard flew off across the bar

South end of Mont-de-Billy tunnel and tunnel keeper's cabin

chalky white ploughed fields in response to Mike lifting the camera. How do they know? It took two hours to the top. Moorings at Vaudemanges were full with the same boats that have been there for years and a fisherman on the corner looked very surprised to see us. Into the tunnel cutting, which at this time of year was starting to flower, primroses, helibores, coltsfoots and celandines, plus lots more brimstones and bees – the latter get conned into landing on our pigeon box and

Tractor doing multiple tasks

Buckby can, attracted by the painted flowers. Half an hour on from the top of the lock, the tunnel keeper saw us coming and gave us a green light. As we entered the fluorescent lights and the roof fans came on, triggered by the sensors at the entrance. Mont de Billy is a dry tunnel through chalk and has a towpath with metre gauge rails for the electric mules that towed the traffic along this canal in times gone by (an old towing mule is preserved by the bottom lock) I made lunch and we ate it as we emerged from the tunnel. As we reached the first bend we saw an empty

Moored at Wez

péniche enter the tunnel behind us. More cheery fishermen at Sept Saulx and Mike took photos of a tractor pushing one agricultural implement in front of it and towing three more behind it, he reckoned it was doing it all in one, ploughing, harrowing  and planting. At 2.10 pm we tied up at Wez just in time for the empty péniche (Taifun from Saarbrücken) to come past to test our ropes.