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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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.
Derelict factory at Braux |
A sad looking little boy. Mural at Montcy |
Above Montcy lock. |
New weir by Montcy lock |
Bridge over the river in Charleville |
Above Mezieres lock |
Moored on the pontoon at Lumes. |
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