Three bridges at lock 4 Sorcy |
15.4°C
Misty, sun soon burning through then getting hot again. Three Dutch cruisers
had filled the space on the quay overnight, two of them mooring side-by-side,
all heading downhill. We set off before they did at 8.50am. 3.5kms to the last
four locks we would do on the canal de l’Est branch Nord as this bit of the
Meuse navigation is officially called. Three bridges before lock 4 Sorcy (3m)
looked quite impressive. When the lock was
full we noted that the water level
in the pound was over a metre down. Wonder how that happened on automatic
locks? A VNF man in a van went past and zapped the next lock for us so it was
ready when we got there. He also lifted the bar, but didn’t speak. Up lock 3
Sorcy (3m) and the pound above was full and very weedy. The van went past on
the towpath. Lock 2 Sorcy (3m) is right next to a big factory processing chalk
for industrial use, its walls were coated with the stuff making it look like
snow. There was a very white railway engine that we glimpsed between buildings
but had no time to photograph. Lock 1 Troussey (3.15m) We rose ropeless as
usual and our white-bearded VNF man wished us a bonne voyage as we turned right
on to the canal de la Marne au Rhin, heading for the Marne valley at Vitry.
First we have to climb out of the Meuse valley, up twelve automatic locks,
following the little stream called the Méholle. We’d only been on this canal
once before, going the opposite way in 1993 as we went south to the Midi the
first time. Paused
to take photos on the aqueduct over the Meuse, where there
was a little weir and lots of big fish visible in the clear water. Just after
we set off again a large Luxemotor hotel boat went past followed by another
ex-Connoisseur hireboat cruiser, both going in the opposite direction to us.
The canal followed the noisy N4 dual carriageway, at least we were on the side
of the hill higher than the traffic. There was a VNF tug moored by their
workshops in Void. The quay and tap were there as we
remembered it, only thing
different was the silo now had a big green mesh fence around it. The first
lock, 12 Void (2.91m) had a VNF boat in it. We went through sensors on each
bank which starts the lock operation, we got red/green lights, but then nothing
else happened. Pulled into the bank and slung a rope around a sign and Mike
went up to the lock on foot to find out what was going on. There were three of
them, two men and a woman, sitting on seats in the shade by the old lock house
outbuildings eating
lunch. It was 12.20pm. Mike asked if there was a problem
with the lock. The driver appeared from somewhere, started the boat engine up
and lifted the rod. Mike came back to the boat and we untied and went into the
lock as the VNF boat went past us, it a scaffolding structure on top of it,
ready to do work under a bridge. Up the first lock, all of them are about 3m
deep with very short pounds between them. Lock 11 Vacon (2.94m) had a lovely
lock house, with
geraniums in window boxes. Lock 10 Haut Bois (2.91m) another
with an inhabited lock house. There was a VNF man in a van there who asked if
we’d come from Toul, no Euville, he asked for the telecommand, which we handed
over as we shan’t need it again. He asked if we were going through the tunnel,
yes. OK for 4pm to 4.30pm. Merci. Lock 9 Biquiottes (2.98m) it had no house
just an old lock cabin. I made lunch. Water flushed over the top end gates.
Must be something coming down the
flight. Yes, a small yacht and a German
cruiser. Lock 8 Varonnes (2.92m) had another nice lock house, lived in too.
There was a lot of weed in the very clear water and big fish which were
swimming up towards the lock keeping pace with the boat. Lock 7 Sauvoy (2.93m)
below the lock was a mooring place with bollards and picnic tables. A couple
with a campervan were having lunch, they waved. More weeds and fish in the lock
chamber. Again the lock house was lived in. Above the lock the canal was
full
of water crowfoot, great beds of it with a gap down the middle where boat
traffic had pruned it. Lock 6 La Corvée (2.94m) had yet another lived in lock
house. The little stream winding through the fields alongside the canal was
getting smaller as we were getting higher up the valley. There was a longer
pound to lock 5 St Esprit (2.91m) which was right next to the road and had no
lock house. Woods on either side of the canal were getting closer. Lock 4 Grand
Charme (2.98m) No house. Our man in
a van returned and lifted the bar then went
in the
cabin. Mike spotted that he was towing what he thought was a compressor
on wheels behind his van. It was actually a generator and he was using it to
power the lock electrics (more problems with the recent thunderstorms or a more
long term failure?) He did the same with the remaining three locks, none of
which had any signs of lock houses, 3 Chalède (2.93m), 2 Villeroy (2.94m) and 1
Mauvages (2.90m). At the top lock there was a strange sign board giving
information about the tunnel in English on one side and French on the other. We
had to read the French to understand the “English”. We were surprised at the
current rules. In 1993 there was a tug which towed boats through that was
electric powered and hauled itself through the tunnel at snail’s pace using a
chain which lies on the bottom of the canal and is fed through the interior of
the tug. The tug did the trip back and forth twice a day, mornings and
afternoons. Back in 1993 we were sent through in front of the tug, it didn’t
tow us, and a man on a bike went through switching lights on for us and off
after we’d passed. NOW, the tug is retired, but they still have a man who rides
through on his bike (Elf and Safety??) The tunnel is lit throughout with sodium
lights, plus the mandatary nearest exit signs every 10m plus low level LED
lights which were only on at the entrance and exit. We noted they also had
emergency folding gangplanks (what for and how they would be used we have no
idea). The new rule that astonished us was that passenger boats (ie hotel
boats) were only allowed through with their crew on board – what happens to the
guests? Also there is a maximum of six people per boat. What happens to the
excess if a big hireboat wants to go through, they can carry up to twelve?
There is no horse path over the top of the almost five kilometre long tunnel so
they can’t walk it or bike it. They must have to book taxis. I wish we’d asked.
It was 2.5kms
from the lock through a long cutting to the Mauvages tunnel
entrance. In the canal there was a load of long grass-like weed with a path up
the middle, like boating in a swimming pool. The man was there with his bike
talking on the intercom as we went into the beautifully chilly depths. He
overtook us on his bike and paused for us to catch up then set off again, all
the way to the far end. Despite the drought we had a few drips of water from
the roof which fell on our heads every now and again. We came out of the
tunnel
at 5.15pm. The man was on the intercom again. He locked a barrier in place and
got in his van and sped off along the one car wide towpath in another deep
cutting. Back in the sunshine was like being in an oven after the cold interior
of Mauvages. At the junction we turned left to go to the end of the feeder arm
which terminates after about 3kms in Houdelaincourt. The weed was so choked up
we only made it through the flood gates before deciding that discretion was the
better part and reversed back to the junction where we tied up for the night by
the old tunnel tug. It was 6.10pm.
Note the green band - pound above lk4 had over one metre of water missing |
No it's not snow it's layers and layers of chalk dust |
Weir on the Meuse from the canal aqueduct crossing it |
Big fish skulking in the pools below the weir on the Meuse |
More fish in the baby Meuse |
The chalk factory and quarry beyond it |
Old towpath traction engine on the quay at Void |
Old system of detection of boats for working locks. Radar abv lk 1 Mauvages |
The English version - and - |
The French version in case you found the English to be Double Dutch |
An old engine shed |
Inside the tunnel |
A folding gangplank on the towpath in the tunnel |
Mauvages tunnel |
Moored by the old chain tug |
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