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| Weed on bottom end gates (water weirs over gates on these locks) Lock 2 Demange |
15.8°
C Hazy sunshine, getting hotter again later. Max over 38°C again. Set off
through the underwater grass at 9.30am, turned right at the junction and went
down lock 1 Tombois (2.98m) set for us by a man in a van. Downhill now all the
way back to Condé. Chunks of weed followed us into the lock chamber, so Mike
put a stern line round a bollard so he didn’t have to use the propeller to stop
the boat running forward as the lock emptied. The locks were chained so as we
left one lock the next one got ready for us. All the pounds were short,
between
500m and a kilometre with just a couple longer than that. The first section
of canal down as far as Ligny twists and turns following the upper valley of
the little river Ornain. A pair of cyclists stopped on the bridge over the tail
end of the lock to gongoozle. Below the lock was an empty 40m long pontoon.
There were rope grooves worn into the edges of the support walls on both sides
of the bridge just before lock 2 Demange (2.21m). There was
towpath haulage by
tractor units on this canal and it looks like it was on both banks. We noted
that there was water running over the top end gates on all of the locks and
lots of the lock houses had been demolished years ago. Lock 3 Bois Molu (2.51m)
still had loads of weed in it and didn't close behind us. It was a longish
shady pound (1.4kms) to lock 4 Monfort (2.50m) and when we got there I had to
get off in the lock mouth and go and call on the intercom as the
lock hadn't opened. The guy said he would do the necessary. Mike had to back off out of the
lock mouth as the gates started opening. I lifted the rod and got back on the
boat. On to lock 5 Abbaye d’Evaux (2.41m) where there were lots of butterflies
on the blue scabious flowers on the lock sides and a red admiral landed briefly
on the roof. A tractor with grass cutting gear crossed the bridge and set off
down the towpath in search of grass that needed cutting. Lock
6 Boèval didn’t
close after we left and we thought we’d have to call VNF again but a German
cruiser went past heading uphill and a VNF van went past heading downhill. When
we arrived at lock 7 St Joire (2.56m) the lock was empty with the bottom gates
open. We expected there to be another uphill boat but the gates closed and the
lock refilled and then we went down. Mike took photos of the amazing garden
ornaments at one of the houses we passed. Lock 8 Laneuville St Joire didn’t
close after we left either. There were four buzzards circling above the trees
by the lock, we could hear their mewing cries. A sign of the difference it
makes when a lock is close to a village, lock 9 Petite Forge (2.55m) still had
a
beautifully maintained lock house as it was on the edge of the village of
Trevenay. Lock 10 Charbonières (2.58m) alas had no lock house, just a pear tree
survived from its garden. Lock 11 Trevenay (2.58m) also had a lived in lock
house. I made some lunch en route to lock 12 Charmasson (2.54m) which was
surrounded by empty fields backed by woods. Mike spotted catfish. Dozens of
baby ones, newly hatched and all swimming together in a black ball of a shoal
at the edge of the canal. Down lock 13 St Amand (2.50m) the canal water was
becoming murky so there was less weed. Immediately uphill of lock 14 La
Barboure there was an aqueduct over a small stream and a big sign saying no
mooring there. It was the same width as the lock and directly leading on to it,
so who on earth would moor there? There was a suitable quay with bollards above
lock 15 Naix, so we winded and moored. Then we went to the lock and called on
the intercom to say we’d stopped. Finished putting stuff away and setting up TV
and solar panels, etc, then I gave Mike a hand to get the bike off and he went
to collect the car from Euville. Good mooring but no Internet. We went out in
the car to look at moorings on the far side of Ligny at Tronville. Looked OK.
Called via Ligny to see how many boats were there, just one cruiser which might
be permanent but loads of campervans. Noted that the lock was automatic, so
there are more than the first 17 automated now. That was a pleasant surprise. Back
home in the gathering dark.
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| So that's where all the dollies went, they loaded up their wagons and rolled off to the Wild West? |
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| A field full of sunflowers drooping in he heat |
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| No mooring on the queduct |
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| Baby catfish |
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| Moored at Naix-aux-Forges |
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