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
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 1st May to the 31st September and
outside those
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
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
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
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
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.
Grebe and one of three youngsters - the others hid underwater. |
Rollers for passing tow ropes under the bridge |
Above Pouilly lock 33 |
Distances painted on Stenay lock wall |
Massing crows - remaking The Birds??? |
Moored above Mouzay lock 30 |
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