The River Sambre rises in France and forms a very direct route from France into Belgium. It has been canalized since 1839 but alas since 2006 it has been closed because of the collapse of a spot at Vadencourt where the canal is taken by "Pont canal" over the River Oise. Fixing this is very expensive and the funds have not been found despite the requests of the many communities along the affected section, a distance of about 150 kilometres.
Haute Sambre
We were keen to travel on this part of the Sambre for part of its length, so instead of heading straight for Namur along the "Low Sambre" we turned turned right onto a much quieter stretch of river, the "High Sambre".
We were back to the smaller more intimate Freycinet sized locks, manually operated by lock- keepers who travel with the boat. At one stage a trip boat in front turned around so two locks needed to be tended to at once. Looking after us was a young woman and her three year old son, definitely our youngest eclusier. He was delighted when we gave him a red and a yellow balloon to thank him for his trouble, as they are the colours of the "Red Devils", Belgium's World Cup soccer team about to take the field in Brazil. We had not realised that the young lad had his face painted in those very colours!
We started the trip by travelling through a steel works but after that the landscape was transformed. Instead of fairly flat country and heavy industry, we were now in the Sambre Valley with high hills each side, thick forests and impressive ancient buildings dotting the landscape. The canal was quiet with no commercial traffic, a loss for its towns and the people who own barges which used to travel along this route, but a relaxing change for visitors like us.
We stopped in the town of Thuin, a mediaeval town built on two levels, a low and a high town. Many of the 12th Century town walls, passages and gates are intact. The belfry is world heritage listed and provides a great view over the valley- so we made up for missing out in Tournai. On the southern slopes of the high town are "hanging gardens", terraces which have provided the vegetables, flowers and fruit and now include a vineyard which has its own appellation. The lower part of Thuin was a major river port and barge building centre until the 1960s and much of the history is captured in a museum, located on a barge built locally in the 1950s.
Thuin (pronounced "Twan") Belfry
Best Regards,
Penny and Dave
Thuin, the Sambre and the next village (from the Belfry)
Hanging Gardens , Thuin
Swan