Thursday 30th July 2015 Abv Alma lk to above Mouzay lock. 20.9kms 4 locks

Needle weir at Alma lock 34 R Meuse

4.7° C Sunny and warm, but lots of clouds and a cold Westerly wind. Rain later. Mike turned the boat using ropes and the flow of the river, then we set off again upriver at 8.45am. The Dutchman said they would be home in Brabant in four to five days, Mike said make it longer, he replied that he had to go to work. 4.2kms to the next lock. Sandpipers flew off in front as we went along the river section, a huge field of maize to our left and Freisian cows in the meadow below it. Buzzards were soaring and we saw the

Grebe and one of three youngsters - the others hid underwater.

first grebe for ages, it had three almost fully grown young ones. Lock 33 Pouilly-sur-Meuse was full, it emptied and we went up 1.6m. The lock house was still lived in. Mike took photos of the old set of rollers under the tail end bridge which many years ago were used to pass tow ropes under the bridge. A notice on the lockside informed pleasure boaters that there was “free boating” (they meant you didn't have to book) on the Meuse from 1^st May to the 31^st September and outside those

Rollers for passing tow ropes under the bridge

dates there was a number to ring for the booking office in Verdun. Also locks 27 to 11 were manually operated by keepers (we’d thought they would all have been made automatic by now). At the end of the lock island, in the weirstream they had added a new 10m long floating pontoon and a picnic table. Back on the river again. A sign to say keep right of the island in the river was completely obscured by trees and going upriver it looked as if the channel was to the left as it was much wider, it was

Above Pouilly lock 33

probably deep enough but we didn't chance it. At the other end of the island the arrow was just about visible for downstream traffic. As we went into the lock cut for the next lock there were three people fishing from an old moored fishing boat on the tree covered bank opposite the weir. They all waved and shouted bonjour as we passed. Lock 32 Inor was a deep one at 3m. We met up with the start of the exodus from Stenay when two Belgian cruisers came out of the lock. Two men were standing on the

Distances painted on Stenay lock wall

bridge over the tail end of the lock, gongoozling, watching us as we locked through. Noted there were no bollards set into the wall and only one slimy ladder to get to the bollards on the locksides. As usual we rose ropeless. The lock house was lived in and had a well-kept garden too. A small Dutch sailing botter (number three from Stenay) was waiting above to come down as we left the lock. 6.7kms to the next lock and 6kms of that was canal.  Our French friends (number four) with the hireboat from Pont-à-Bar went past and Mike asked if they were having a good holiday, they were all smiles and said yes. They were followed by number five, a Belgian cruiser. Shortly afterwards

Massing crows - remaking The Birds???

two German cruisers went past followed by a large white Dutch cruiser making bank to bank rolling wash. That makes eight. I made a cuppa. The road followed the canal into Stenay, it went between the fields up on the hill on our left. Ten minutes later the ninth boat went past, a French cruiser (that makes a change) with a very smoky engine (that doesn't). As we got nearer to Stenay there was a wind farm on the hill. Before the town there was the little village of Cervisy on our left and the canal banks were edged with purple spikes of loosestrife and bull rushes (the latter is a fairly rare sight). Through a flood lock with all its gates open and on to the river again for

Moored above Mouzay lock 30

a very short reach into Stenay. Lock 31 Stenay was 1.8m deep. Again the lock house was lived in and had a beautiful garden. Mike took photos of the distances to various canal places painted on the wall by the lock house. 3.3kms to the next lock. As we went through Stenay there were weirs and run off channels everywhere. There was an open weir with no guards opposite a derelict factory on our left which had a high loading/unloading quay (also derelict), under a bridge then the channel widened out and along the right bank there was a hydro-electric plant built across a weir and two more unguarded weirs – the last one with a lowered section where water was pouring through to the river below. On the left there was the remains of a water feed into the derelict factory, then we were out of the town and on a river fed canal section. About a kilometre from Mouzay lock 30, the river entered via a wide channel to the right and the keep left arrow again was completely obscured by trees. The canal was lined with alder trees and was very weedy. Up another 2.6m. Mouzay’s lock house looked renovated but empty. Two men were fishing by the lock, their car was parked in front of the lock house’s garden and a woman was sitting at a table under the trees. We winded and moored above the lock. While we were tying up the fishermen and their lady packed up and left. It was 1.30pm. A lovely view from the embankment across the river valley and the fields to the low rolling Argonnais hills. Mike decided not to go and get the car as the parking space was limited, he was sure the house was lived in when we last came through here in August 2006 with Bill and Fanny. Not long after we’d tied up a German cruiser went past heading uphill and about an hour later a Belgian cruiser did likewise.

Wednesday 29th July 2015 abv Remilly to abv Alma. 18kms 2 locks

Storks at Remilly

11.6° C Sunny spells with lots of grey and white clouds, windy but no rain. We were getting ready to move around 8.30am when the DB that had moored overnight behind us down by the lock went past, a large Belgian boat, heading upriver like us. We set off at 8.50am. It was 9.73kms to the next lock and over half of that was the long lock cut through Remilly, which cut off some tortuous bends of the Meuse where its tributary the little river Chiers joined it. Mike took photos of storks by Remilly bridge and noted that the posh new tarmac cycle piste ended by the bridge. The canal was wide but very weedy. Through the portes de garde (stop gates) and back on

Flood gates at the end of the lock cut at Remilly 

to the river, passing a long needle weir. A small Dutch cruiser went past heading downriver. Shortly afterwards as we passed Villers-devant-Mouzon there was a group of cranes circling, gaining height to fly onwards. A very noisy cruiser went past, we heard it before we saw it. How do they live with an engine that loud? On our right there was a cut off ox-bow lake; there were storks on the far side and a fisherman in one of those new-fangled floating seats. To zap the post

End of the canal section weir on the river Meuse

below Mouzon lock 35 we had to get very close to it on the wrong side of the river. There was already a boat in the chamber coming down, so we hovered sideways in the wind as there are no places to tie up and wait below these river locks. A small UK-flagged yacht with masts came out of the lock, its crew waved and shouted hello as they passed us. Up another 2.95m, ropeless again as we were on our own and didn’t need them. Took photos of the lock houses, an old one and an even older one,

Villers church tower

both uninhabited for a long time. Into the town of Mouzon, passing several modern blocks of four rise concrete flats, then as we went further into the middle there were houses both banks built on ground higher than the towpath on the canal section which was steel piled and had deepest pink wild peas flowering along the edges. The little hireboat from Pont-à-Bar was the only boat moored in the arm in the centre of town. Under the bridges and there were lots of roses planted on

Cranes circling to gain height

both banks in the centre of town. Two little lads were fishing, they shyly returned our bon jours. Further on there were derelict factories and an old man was unloading fishing gear from a rowing boat by a weir choked with reeds where we joined the next river section. Steep low hills appeared in front of us with meadows and arable fields, topped with forest where the blades of wind turbines were just visible. Terns were fishing, diving headlong at

Very old lock house at Mouzon

speed into the river. A herd of rusty brown cows were grazing the meadow to our left. A new bridge came into view, it had no top, and it had approach embankments but no road – we wondered, did they build it in the wrong place or did the money for a bypass dry up? A combine harvester was kicking up clouds of dust as it cropped the edge of the field nearest the forest boundary. Another Dutch cruiser went past heading downstream as we were about

Old lock house at Mouzon - both disused

3kms from Alma lock 34. Behind us we could see the little Eau Claire hireboat was catching us up. Mike called them past but they waved back no. The lock was ready for us so we went in and I lifted the bar and spotted the little boat was also heading for the lock. Sorry. Not a good idea for them to follow us into the lock. Soon full, 2.6m rise. We winded and moored at the quay by the picnic tables above Alma lock. It was 12.40pm. Shouted to the crew of the little boat as they went past that we were sorry we

Moorings in Mouzon

shut them out, they were OK, smiling and waving, we wished them bonnes vacances.

Moored abvove Alma lock

Above Alma lock

Old factories in Mouzon

Tuesday 28th July 2015 Pont-à-Bar to abv Remilly-Allicourt lk. 18kms 5 locks

This is an Eagle Owl - one landed next to the boat last night
Wikimedia photo by Fabrice Stoger

11.5° C Cloudy with brief sunny spells, warm and windy. Rain expected later. Untied at 9.40am after two Dutch cruisers had gone past on the canal heading downhill. We went up to the wide bit below Pont-à-Bar lock to wind. A little Eau Claire hireboat (Le Cheval Bayard) from Ardennnes Nautique (located above the lock) had just come down the lock, they pulled into the left bank as we went past. Mike shouted to the French couple on it that we were going to turn round and would follow them down to Meuse lock. They waited for us even though we had to have a short pause on

Yesterday evening at Pont-a-Bar

the way for Mike to remove a small dead fish (perch) from the water intake. It had completely blocked the pipe and the exhaust had started to steam. They were completely new to boating but seemed to be taking to it quite well. We went into Meuse lock behind them and she lifted the blue rod, we dropped down 2m and then we followed them out on to the river Meuse, turning right to head upriver towards Sedan. 3kms later, when we got to lock 39 Donchery, we followed the hireboat into the chamber to go up and Madame went up the ladder by the blue pole when she was on the lock side her husband threw her their bow rope. As soon as we were in the chamber we said OK and she lifted the pole. Rose 1.6m with our centre rope around a large bollard inset in the wall. Sandpipers flew off in front as we travelled along the 3.7kms reach to the next lock. Two cruisers went past, one Belgian one Dutch, as we approached lock 38 Villette. Took photos of an unusual looking derelict factory at Torcy. Villette was only a 1m rise and again the lady off the boat in front went up the ladder to receive their rope. We rose ropeless, there being no easily available bollards. A small Belgian cruiser was

Following hire boat to Donchery lock39 R Meuse

waiting almost in the lock gates as we left the lock. We were pushing a big tree branch which had lodged across our bows, it slipped off as we came out of the chamber. Into the kilometre long lock cut, which cuts off the peninsular d’Ige, the scene of the terrible incarceration of the French prisonners in 1870 at the end of the battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War when over 20,000 men were kept for over a week with no food, water or shelter in bad weather. No mention was made of this in our Carte Maritime guide, which is usually a mine of information on local history. A

Above Donchery lock

couple more kilometres of river and into the outskirts of the town of Sedan. Graffiti covered all the bridges and derelict factory walls, even the lock cabin at Sedan lock 37, which had a deeper chamber at 1.89m rise. The lady off the boat in front braved the ladder and they moved forward to another bollard further up the chamber so we could get into the chamber and I put my centre rope around the rungs on the ladder by the poles. I lifted the blue pole and the lock filled. As we left the chamber there was a Dutch yacht right in the lock mouth. They

Old derelict factory at Torcy

went into the chamber with the lights still on red/green, (ie before they got a green light).  Needless to say the lock went “en panne” - it broke down – as they went into the chamber before the electronics was ready for them, therefore it sat waiting for them to come in when they were already in the lock, eventually it timed out on them and they would have to wait for a man in a van to arrive to sort it out for them. Out of the short lock cut back on to the river, then the hireboat turned left into the weirstream, where there was a municipal campsite with moorings, no doubt to stay for lunch, etc. A bit further upriver, beyond the next road bridge, there were two DBs moored, one British and one Australian, next to an old factory quay opposite the town stadium. 5.7kms to our next lock. VNF, or the local authorities, had been adding new pontoons – one before the road bridge and one after it – they were short (only about 10m long) and had nothing to tie to like cleats or bollards and several had a sign which said maximum 15

Another odd old building - Sedan

tonnes. I made some lunch and we ate it going along to lock 36 Remilly-Aillicourt. We passed one Dutch cruiser half way along the reach and one was coming down in the lock as we approached it. Up the deep lock (3.58m) on our own, admiring a beautifully restored white stuccoed lock house, and on to a long lock cut (4.5kms out of a total distance of 9.73kms to Mouzon). The wind was picking up and lots of grey clouds were gathering so we decided to stop next to the piled edge on the offside, opposite the bank

New pontoon upstream of Sedan

with the new cycle piste on the towpath. It was 1.45pm. We set up the TV and solar panels, Mike trimmed the herbage to keep the creepy crawlies off the boat and I made a cuppa. Amazingly we had 4G. Traffic was quite busy during the rest of the afternoon and the lock behind us kept going en panne, it didn’t close properly when we left the chamber – nothing we’d done - it was faulty and VNF men in vans had to keep coming out to sort it. Keeps them busy

Renovated lock house at Remilly-Allicourt

.

Moored in the lock cut above Remilly-Allicourt

Friday 24th July 2015 Lumes to Pont-à-Bar. 9.1kms 2 locks

Moored on the pontoon at Lumes

11.9° C A pleasant cool morning, getting hotter (mid-thirties) again by mid-afternoon, rain later. Mike refilled the water tank and then we left at 9.05am heading back upriver on the Meuse. There were two Dutch cruisers on the pontoon, three others had left earlier although we didn’t hear them go. A fishing boat with two men on board went past heading upriver just before we set off, when we caught up they were setting up to fish where a loop of the river had been cut

Heron below the lock at Dom-le-Mesnil. R Meuse

off by the railway yards at Nouvion. A new build British DB with the unusual name of Siyabonga (African for thank you) went past heading downstream by the first road bridge in Nouvion, followed five minutes later by a very large steel cruiser called Queen, with a large EU plus all member nations flag on the back. No problems this time with Dom-le-Mesnil lock as Mike had spotted the sensor was on the left and steered into the chamber past it then went right so I could reach the bar. As we

Former lock house at Meuse lk c. des Ardennes.
Sign says Bureau de Declaration - papers to the office! (we remember that!)

left the short lock cut we passed a large Dutch cruiser. Carried on upriver the short distance to the junction with the canal des Ardennes and waited while another big Dutch cruiser came down Meuse lock 7 (which we noted from the new lockside sign had been re-christened Dom-le-Menil - their mis-spelling). There were four more boats above the lock waiting to come down. A large British cruiser (having trouble with the in-flow from the back pump) was very close to the lock and behind him were two more

Queue above lock 7 Meuse on canal des Ardennes

large cruisers, both German, who were hanging back. The British boat waited for one of them to go in with him, but neither budged and declined when we said that they were waiting for someone to fill the space behind them in the chamber. Gave up and went past them and the small Belgian cruiser behind them and moored in the same place we’d been tied up last Tuesday. The hotel boat Merwede was still in the same spot behind us, crew sitting out on the deck (their passengers turned up

Back to that grassy bank again.
Pont-a-Bar

during the late afternoon). It was 11.15am and getting hotter again. Tied up, dropped blinds on the sunny side and set up the solar panels. Mike went to Pont-à-Bar Services in the car to pick up the two parcels that had been delivered there for us, we had some lunch then we went by car to do shopping at Carrefour in Charleville-Mézièrs.

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Pont-à-Bar to Lumes. 9.81kms 2 locks

Mooring by sloping grassy bank at Pont-a-Bar

16.5° C Cloudy cool morning, but back to raging heat by mid-afternoon. A Danish yacht went down the canal towards the river at nine, followed a little later by péniche Spirit, then Cathares, on their way again back to work! We’d decided to have a few days at Lumes while we wait for a parcel to arrive, so we untied at 10.20 am and went up to the wide bit below Pont-à-Bar lock 6 to wind and then headed back down to lock 7 Meuse. Ran the washing machine directly via the new inverter without connecting up

Up to the lock to wind in the wide section below it 

the Markon (its 6.5Kw redundant now except for using the welder maybe). Mike lifted the pole to activate Meuse lock as I was changing washing loads. A crowd of cyclists paused on the bridge over the tail end of the lock to watch. A short distance downriver and we went down Dom-le-Mesnil lock, quiet, no gongoozlers. About 8kms to Lumes, going with the flow was slightly faster than going upriver, but we were going for maximum battery charging so we poodled along at about 6kph. We passed the first uphill boats on the first bend, two cruisers, one Dutch one German. Under the bridge at

Then down lock 7 Meuse on to the river again

Nouvion and the next pair went past on the bend below, a German yacht and a Belgian cruiser, both crews were filming us as we passed. Shortly after that two more cruisers went upriver making a huge wash that got the front deck mats wet. I put a second load of washing in the machine and used the electric kettle to make a cuppa (wow, getting to be like a house!!). It was 12.20pm when we arrived at Lumes, there was one pénichette hireboat (St Croix Piot) from Pont-à-Bar on the downstream end of the pontoon, and its English skipper came out to lend a hand. He said they were only

And back to the pontoon at Lumes for a couple of days on the river

staying for lunch and would be heading up to Verdun before they take the boat back. When they left we bow-hauled our boat to the end of the pontoon. Mike jokingly said as they passed us that he prefers the boats to land in front so they hit our bows not the stern. Those words came back to bite him a few hours later when a small Dutch cruiser clouted the fore end as it came in to moor in front of us. My new paint! They never said oops or sorry, so Mike went out to ask if they were damaged. No, they looked puzzled. He then said - oh your boat is steel, not wood, wooden boats get damaged hitting our boat. Sickly smiles. They said they were taking the boat back to the Netherlands for a friend and had seen our boat moored at Pont-à-Bar. Lunch. Getting much hotter again. The mooring soon filled up again, as the afternoon temperature soared to 39° C.

Thursday 16th July 2015 Malmy to Pont-à-Bar. 13.7kms 6 locks

Village of Hannogne-St-Martin, baking in the heat.

13.3° Sunny and hot, clouds building up later. Set off at 9.50am and winded (just enough width) by the zapping post for Malmy lock 3. Zapped, the lock filled and we went down 2.01m. The back pump was working and a young VNF man was making sure the intake was free of floating weeds. 5.9kms to the next. Below the lock on the left was a huge field full of maize, tall but still green. Yellow spikes of mullein were growing along the towpath edge (no tarmac cycle piste here, yet) and the bushes beyond were full of honeysuckle. Into a cool tree lined section, which didn’t last long before

New road under construction at Omincourt

we were surrounded with fields of ripe wheat on the left and maize and water meadows of the Bar on our right. In front were the low forested hills at St Aignan. Demented sedge warblers were singing as fast as they could in the reeds. As we passed fields of Charolais cattle the clegs (biting horseflies) arrived and we had a merry time swatting them. A buzzard was looking for lunch, sitting on a fence post, scrutinising the meadows for signs of movement. A flash of blue as a kingfisher raced past as we

Cruiser heading upriver on Meuse from Meuse lock
on Canal des Ardennes

were approaching the village of Omnicourt. A new tarmac road was being built by the canal, leading no doubt into Omnicourt. A UK-flagged cruiser was moored by the bridge where the village had planted some picnic tables. For a short while we were deafened by low flying fighter aircraft, out on training manoeuvres in the Meuse valley. A French cruiser went past heading uphill on the last bend before the tunnel at St Aignan. The zapper wouldn't work until we were almost right next to the traffic lights. A short wait while the lock at the far end of the tunnel filled and we got a green light. A lone fisherman came to watch how the lock worked as we descended another 2.26m. Round a sharp wide left hand bend and we were soon dropping down in St Aignan bottom lock, another 2.91m drop. 5.1kms to Pont-à-

Moored, eventually, at Pont-a-Bar

Bar lock. It was very hot and getting even hotter, up in the forties again. As we approached the moorings at Pont-à-Bar Services a DB went past, it looked unconverted, was tiller steered and still had masts and leeboards. A cruiser was coming up in the lock. We passed where there was a gap in the moored boats. Down the lock, 2.81m and there was a Dutch steel cruiser hovering below. The lock lights behind us were on red and the lady of the boat asked if we’d zap the post for them as we went past it, as their zapper hadn't worked. OK. The two péniches on holiday were still moored on the quay below the lock. We tried to wind beyond the last moored boat (a péniche called Advenir) but the boat was just a fraction to long. Tried again by the lock by the sloping rock walls but again that didn't work. Had to turn it back into the middle with poles as the rudder was jammed flat by the rocks – hard work in the heat. Zapped and went down Meuse lock (2.04m) twiddled round, zapped and went back up. It was 1.50pm when we landed and tied to the piled edge of the sloping grassy bank (now looking like a hayfield with dead grass like straw). Drank lots of water as we were both sweltering. Gave Mike a hand to get the bike off and he went to collect the car from Malmy. I checked to see if we had a workable Internet connection. Yes, 4G. When Mike got back he was too hot and too tired to put the bike back on the roof, he said leave it until later and that he hadn't wanted to get out of the car (aircon!). Later, when it was a bit cooler, we put the bike back on the roof – with an audience of fishermen.

Monday 13th July 2015 Lumes to Malmy canal des Ardennes. 21kms 6 locks

Below Dom-le-Mesnil lock R Meuse

14° C Grey clouds, a few spots of rain, warm. One cruiser had remained on the quay behind us overnight and it was still there when we left at 9.15am, continuing on our way upriver. It was drizzling when we were getting ready to move, but stopped before we set off. Two men were fishing from a little open motor boat by the cut off loop of the river at Nouvion, they waved as we passed. Several columns of smoke were rising from the trees in front, both were garden bonfires in Flize. A hireboat cruiser went past heading downriver, followed not long after by a Dutch steel boat we’d seen back at Bogny. Zapped the lock at Dom-le-Mesnil, gates opened and we had a green light, I lifted the blue rod, then nothing. Mike backed out of the chamber, double reds – en panne (broken

Meuse lock at the start of the Canal des Ardennes 

down). I phoned the number we had for Charleville, no reply. I rang Givet and they told me that lock 40 was en panne (must have a control screen on PC which tells them the state of each lock) and the guy said he would send someone. Meanwhile, the cruiser we’d left behind at Lumes caught us up. Told the couple on board that we’d phoned to get the lock fixed. No sooner we said that than we had a green light. Sent the cruiser in first and we followed in behind. The skipper of the cruiser lifted the rod, but there was someone in the lock cabin anyway. The lock filled, a mere 1.07m and we were on

Peniches moored at Pont-a-Bar

our way again. A short lock cut, the lock house was lived in but the weir keeper’s house was derelict, and we were back on the river again. A VNF man in full safety kit was strimming the sloping grassy bank by a set of steps that lead down to a moored rowing boat, opposite which was another set of steps up to the barrage, a fine needle weir still in working order. A herd of brown cows were grazing in a big meadow on the left bank, we’re back in cattle country. The cruiser continued upriver, we zapped the post for Meuse lock 7, on the start of the canal des Ardennes. Up 2.04m, noting that the lock house was still inhabited, and we carried on up the canal. A Dutch Barge went past heading down

St Aignan top lock and tunnel

the canal for the river. Instead of slowing down to wait for the gates on Meuse lock to re-open, the skipper stuffed the bows up the bank right by the lock. Strange things people do? We carried on up the canal, passing a long line of moored boats and the quay below lock 6 was occupied by two empty péniches, Spirit and Cathares, moored side by side and probably their crews were on holiday (it is Fete Nationale – Bastille Day – tomorrow and also our Black Country Day). Up Pont-à-Bar lock 6 and we passed another long line of moored boats on the left and the hire base on the right. The canal banks were lined with meadowsweet and meadow cranesbill as the view opened out across the fields to the long hill where there is a tunnel at St Aignan. The little river Bar

Moored on the old quay above Malmy lock

meanders well out of sight to our left and around the hills - the canal follows its valley to the summit. The grass had been cut back and there was now a mooring area of about 300m length below St Aignan lock 5. There were three cruisers moored there (one from Seneffe) and the crews waved as we went past and into the lock and up another 2.91m. A short pound, round a right hand bend and we went up St Aignan lock 4, 2.26m rise and into the 300m long tunnel. Lunch. 5.9kms to the next lock. Horseflies were out in numbers again, spent an interesting time swatting them. White Charolais cows were lying down in a meadow before Malmy lock 3. We went up another 2.01m then tied up at the end of an old quay. VNF had left a workboat at the other end and a large new bulldozer was parked right next to it. It was 2pm. Set up the solar panels and the satellite dish, etc, then gave Mike a hand to get the bike off the roof. He went to collect the car from Bogny at 3pm and I found no signs of an Internet connection, just GPRS here which doesn’t even do e-mails. Oh dear, that’s that until we move again….

Friday 10th July 2015 Bogny-sur-Meuse to Lumes. 25kms 5 locks

New 4m high sculpture Chevalier Dardennor)
 on cliffs Le Rocher de l'Hermitage at Bogny

6.6° C Sunny and warm all day, nice breeze. Several cruisers went past heading upriver while we were getting ready to leave and Mike went to the boulangerie for a loaf. We set off at 9.35am following a small DB up to Levrézy lock. Once in the chamber Mike went up the ladder to help the couple on the boat in front with their ropes, then I lifted the bar and the lock filled, lifting the level 2.4m. The lock house was occupied and there was a VNF van and several cars parked in front of it. The little DB slowly pulled away on the 6kms long

Derelict factory at Braux

reach. There was another huge gaggle of more than thirty Canada geese at Braux, it’s very noticeable that there are very few ducks or swans on the river now, the Canadas have taken over. A large factory making concrete moulded boxes, etc, was working at Braux, while on the opposite bank another factory had long ago gone to ruin with trees growing from roofless buildings. A Locaboat pénichette (hired from Pont-à-Bar) overtook us. The crew

A sad looking little boy. Mural at Montcy

were Australians and had tried to moor at Bogny earlier but there was no space, they were due back at base today. I told them to carry on into Joigny lock with the little DB. The skipper said it was very noble of us and I replied that we were in no rush (never been called that before!) There was a small landing, a short concrete quay, meant for small boats to disembark crew to work the lock. There were lots of rocks, so we went alongside it carefully and Mike hammered a mooring pin in for our fore end line and, while we waited for the lock, he changed handles on a boat shaft as the old one was very splintery. Once the two

Above Montcy lock.

boats had cleared the lock Mike zapped the post and it reset itself for us to go up. While we went up 1,72m he also assembled a new mop then cleaned the solar panels with it as they were very dusty. 9kms (which would take us about an hour and a half) to the next lock. Lots of groups of lycra-clan cyclists went whizzing past on the towpath cycle piste, the Tour de France always brings them out! At Nouzonville we saw our first buzzard of the year, circling above the hills climbing thermals to gain

New weir by Montcy lock

altitude to glide to another hunting ground. As we went into the narrow channel to the right of the island in the river at Aiglemont we heard a green woodpecker in the forest. A small cruiser was fast catching us up and, to our amazement, it went the wrong side of the island. They were lucky to get away with that as it’s supposed to be rocky and shallow, VNF’s fault as the trees had grown and obscured the keep right sign. Took a photo of the lovely old mural of a child on the end of the sports hall at Montcy. Another dozen or so Canadas with a solitary greylag goose were paddling upriver. Called the

Bridge over the river in Charleville

cruiser past so they could go into Montcy lock first. Left off the river into a short lock approach, the cruiser added ropes to bollards and I lifted the bar to activate the lock then we moved back down the chamber while the lock filled. Up another 1.76m (it looks deeper, but the water at this time of year only comes halfway up the chamber, a different beast in winter when there is flood water on the river, this river looks placid but it has its moments as we can vouch for,

Above Mezieres lock

having been stuck in floods on the Meuse several times!) The little cruiser turned right heading down a loop of the river into Charleville and the moorings at the campsite. The couple on board waved as we carried on into Mézières, another 2.22kms to the deep lock. We had to get really close to the post before the zapper worked and the light flashed to say the lock was preparing. Sometimes there is a lock keeper at Mézières lock because at 3.4m deep, but with lock walls twice that height and a severe lack of things to attach ropes to, it can be dangerous for small boats and inexperienced crews. No one on duty today, so up with the lightweight plastic blue bar and

Moored on the pontoon at Lumes.

up the water rose – and not very gently either. I wouldn’t like to climb the lock ladder under any circumstances, but today it was covered in diesel that someone had spilt making it treacherously slippy. 2.9kms to our last lock, so I made some lunch. A small cruiser-style DB went past heading downriver, therefore Romery lock was empty, so as Mike zapped the post the lock gates opened. Up 2.09m finishing off our lunch. Two more cruisers arrived below the lock as we left the top. Getting very busy. There was a long lock cut, almost 2kms, before we were back on the river. A large concrete works was sited by the end of the lock cut, it had piles of sand and gravel next to a long disused quay for boat deliveries. A VNF man in a van went over the bridge at the end of the lock cut and on up to the weir where there were several more vehicles parked at the barragiste’s (weir-keeper’s) house. Above the trees in front of us we could see the chimneys of the Citroën factory where (we believe) they still make castings. Under the Charleville-Mézières bypass (rocade) with traffic thundering over it and, after a short distance, we arrived at the pontoon moorings at Lumes. There was one DB and two large Dutch cruisers moored there, so enough room for us and a bit left over. It was 2.30pm. Getting hotter, over 30° C outside, so I pulled all the blinds down on the sunny side.