Kerr Barging Blogs

There are still canals we have not visited in the Northern part of France so we were pleased to be able to visit several on our way back south. the first decision to make; whether or not to traverse the Canal St Quentin with its notorious Riqueaval tunnel through which we would be towed. We again explored the possibility but finally decided yet again that it is not worth the risk. We then heard of two boats which had sustained damage during the previous week, so were supported in our decision.

Old Church and great flowers- Chauny

Instead we joined the Canal du Nord with its magnificent Ruyalcourt tunnel, over 4 kilometres long but with a passing area in the middle so that boats can go from either end at the same time. Again we met no- one so have not tried it out in practice. From the Canal we turned east for the first of our new experiences, the Canal from the Sambre to the Oise. Earlier in the year we recounted the sad tale of the Sambre River flowing North into Belgium, previously providing an excellent route between the two but now blocked by a collapsed Pont Canal (taking the Canal over the River) in France. We travelled for some distance along the Belgian part of this route to visit the delightful Sambre Valley and several towns including Thuin. Now we planned to try out the French part of the Route, the Canal from the Sambre to the Oise, kept open and maintained but not much used except for the first few kilometres where barges visit the local silos. We set off from Chauny, a most attractive, beautifully kept town, with flowers everywhere and roundabouts which would feature on our list of "Prettiest roundabouts in France". The competition for this tag is very fierce. There are some very old Churches here. The Diocese is celebrating the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in the area.

Another great French Roundabout (Chauny)

We had to plan this trip in advance to give notice the previous afternoon of our plans. The lock- keeper clearly thought we must not realise that the blockage was in place  and that the canal was closed on Sunday, as it would be for the next month, starting in a few days time. We finally set his mind at rest that we just wanted a quick trip, up one day, back the next. After that the staff were very obliging and helpful to us in getting to our turn- around spot, Ribemont. The little- used automatic locks needed some adjustment but help was always quick to come and very obliging. The countryside was most attractive with the Oise River always very close to the canal. The town of Ribemont, set high above the river, had seen better days but there were several buildings which had been quite remarkable in the past, including an ancient abbey with an interesting history.

Along the little-used canal to the Sambre

It seems a pity that this excellent canal which used to carry huge tonnages of commercial cargo is now out of action because of a single collapse; on the other hand, repair would cost millions of Euros and the "peniche" style of barge it can accommodate is becoming rarer in Belgium and the Netherlands, though still quite common throughout France. A peniche carries about 300 tons; the newer canals accommodate barges carrying about 3,000 tons, hence the hesitation in deciding to put aside the funds for repair of the peniche- sized canal.

A very different War Memorial- Ribemont

Our final "new" canal took us from the Oise River to the Aisne River through very attractive rural country towards Champagne where we were back to familiar routes.

  View of lakes near canal near Ribemont

Best Regards,

Penelope and Dave

In general, everything has been going very well.

However, sometimes mechanical things as well as bodies need maintenance and repair.

A few weeks ago, this ageing body started to notice something sore on his back. Only a second person can see it and Mechanic Penny reported it was a small lump, quite red itself and the surrounds. Unfortunately, treatment with antibiotic and antiseptic creams achieved nothing and it grew very much bigger and more sore quite quickly.

In a separate situation, our big generator/welder which we use for welding occasionally or also when we are staying somewhere for more than a few days, stopped producing electricity. Since I built it in 2010, we have come to take it for granted even though we probably only use it about ten to twelve times a year.

So, we ordered spare parts from the USA (the only place one can obtain them, as the company is a specialist manufacturer).

We chose a small town (Sillery) South of Reims which has a convenient Post Office for the delivery and also decided to seek medical assistance in the same place, reasoning that it might be easier in a smaller town rather than the very large Reims.

We arrived in the pleasant town of Sillery around 5pm on a Wednesday. I asked the lady in the small Tourist Office if she could find a Doctor for me. She kindly did this and obtained an appointment for the next morning. Great! Next morning I went confidently to the Post Office to collect the generator parts. Nothing! However the US Postal Service web site said that the parts had cleared customs the previous week and were expected in the Post Office the previous Monday.

I was quite worried about my back. However, the good news was that the Doctor believes it is a cyst and she made an appointment for a Specialist Dermatologist in Reims the following Monday. She did a lot of persuading to get an appointment quickly as we are on the move back towards Migennes. Hopefully on Monday it will be removed, 'though there will undoubtedly be stitches and follow up needs and we will have to figure out how to do those things. The Doctor also prescribed antibiotics, antibiotic cream and antiseptic base preparations. Cost for the Doctor was 23euros and for the medicines 17euros. Wow, that is cheap!

So, excellent medical services.

The saga of the generator parts is continuing. The US sender could not give me any new information. I could not fill in the USPS web enquiry form (it had too many details I did not know). But when I returned to the local Post Office, the ladies there had been doing some homework on my behalf and found the parts were stuck in Customs (Douane). The supplier had not included an invoice and also had not provided sufficient detail as to what the parts were on the US customs form. So, I have packaged up some information and made some statements and sent them off to Les Douanes and we hope the matter can be quickly resolved.

In the mean time, I have finished painting the other side of the boat- hooray! This was the last thing on the list of work we wanted to achieve before we set off in May. We are also enjoying some of the sights and other things we missed last time we were in this area.

Best Regards,

Dave

We are now in the North West of France, travelling south towards our final destination, the boat yard in Migennes where Anja spends the winter. En route we are filling in gaps from previous trips in this area. We also made the long trip to Auxerre to renew our visas for 2015.

We have as usual come across various curiosities or funny events.

Monkeys hanging from a rope
The first was in Lille where we stayed at our favourite mooring, in a closed off arm behind the Vauban Citadel. Here there is a huge park which dates back several hundred years, and the free zoo. The park has a wonderful children's playground so the area is very popular during school holidays. The runners, cyclists and walkers are plentiful, as are the gazers, who sit on park benches and just look. In the mornings, the monkeys are very happy and make plenty of noise.

One evening one of the park- bench fellows approached us to ask for a bed for the night. He was sure we must be a travelling B & B (Bed and Breakfast or Chambre d'Hote). He seemed very disappointed when we had to knock back his request. He said he had always wanted to sleep on a peniche.

As we left Lille we came across a curiosity which is still puzzling us. There is a large prison just outside town, two or three stories high, surrounded by the usual high fences and guard towers at the corners- but there was graffiti on the roof! How? who, when, why? We are still scratching our heads. Did someone risk his/her life to put it there?

A monument to the pigeons of Lille- WW1Our trip to Auxerre took all day, from 6am to 9pm, travelling on eight trains. We could have taken less time but the first and last trains needed to be booked so we decided to be generous with our limits. It gave plenty of time to read books, observe the passing scene, have a relaxed lunch and not be stressed. Perhaps because we were not rushed we noticed for the first time that the two main stations we travelled through, Gare Du Nord and Paris Bercy, both have baby grand pianos in the waiting area with invitations to pianists, professional or amateur, to sit down and play for their own enjoyment and that of other passengers. Somebody had taken up the offer at Gare du Nord.

Our final special moment was at Auxerre where we found a cafe for lunch, away from the centre and well- priced. We ordered from the menu of the day, one fish, one meat dish and both came with the biggest range of vegetables we have ever seen. We had potato, sweet potato (purple skinned) kumera, beans, zucchini, hot beetroot, carrots, red and green capsicum, tomato, cauliflower, mushrooms. We had already had tomato and lettuce with our entree, so came away from that lunch with our full day's, maybe week's quota, of veges.

The best result of the day was an uneventful visit to the Prefecture which we hope will result in visas renewed for 2015.

Best Regards,

Penny and David

A beautiful moon rises over the Canal

We were about to sample the third of the five main North/ South routes through Belgium: we have twice travelled North on the Meuse River in the East; last year we came south on the  Leie River (the Lys in France); this year we planned to travel south on the Bovenschelde, which becomes the Escaut River in France. Two routes remain, the Canal from Brussels to Charleroi, and the River Dendre (Dender in Belgium). We had thought of travelling on the Dendre this year but others reported that it has some problems with depth, weeds and with locks. Maybe it will be better next year, if we come this way, and we can try it out then.

Oudenaarde Tapestry

The Bovenschelde has two main towns and cities on its banks: Tournai, which we visited by train from Antoign earlier this year, and Oudenaarde. We had been inclined to discount the latter, perhaps because its name is not well known to us, but it turned out to be a delightful city with an interesting and well- narrated history. Everywhere we saw recently erected photos of the city as it was during World War 1; the centenary remembrance is very important in Belgian towns such as this, so affected by that event. It was sad to see the badly damaged Church and streets of houses just rubble. The town was occupied by the Germans throughout the war and they destroyed the bridges and roads as they left. At least there were not many civilian casualties.

Exquisite silver and nautilus shell

Oudenaarde is noted for tapestries and silver and its museum had many beautiful examples of both. It is also the home of Liefmann's Beer. It also has a bustling market where we enjoyed stocking up on very fresh food.
The next unexpected pleasure was the Roubaix Canal (Canal l'Espierres in Belgium).

Grand Town Hall for a small town
Market day in the town square Oudenaarde

This Canal route joins the Escaut in Belgium to the Deule River just north of Lille, in France. It dates back to the 19th century when it was a major coal route but was closed in the mid- 80s. For over twenty years it was neglected but then a group of about 40 organisations banded together to have it restored and re- opened. Since 2011 it has operated as a tourist canal, run by the local authorities though supported by the official waterways organisations.

Historic Lifting Bridge on the Roubaix

We entered from the Belgian end so had about 8 kilometres of the canal to travel to get to the French border, marked by a very old Customs hut and a busy cafe whose proprietor delivered free croissants and a baguette to us next morning.
There were many people walking and cycling along the waterway and visiting the cafe. A good proportion stopped to ask us about ourselves and the boat, or later on stopped at the locks to watch us go through. Fortunately we were back in French- speaking Wallonia and then in France so we could manage these conversations fine. The most unexpected request came on Saturday afternoon when we were asked if Anja could be the backdrop for some wedding photos. So we snipped off the dead geranium heads and took the washing off the line then disappeared below so that we would not get in the way while the bride, flower girl and groom (complete with with a trumpet) were photographed.

The Roubaix Canal

When we started off again on the French section of the Canal we were accompanied by two men who seemed to be a combination of lock keepers and travel guides. There were many lifting bridges which they operated as we approached, and they also helped with the lines (ie ropes)  in the locks, a really luxury but helpful as we were sharing the locks with another boat and the bollards were not well- placed for us. We were given a huge amount of information about the area and the canal, including brochures of birds we might see and maps of cycle routes. They decided when we would stop for the night which, definitely the right place to stop before we entered a staircase of locks, unfortunately was not in a spot handy for any of the towns along the way. We realised that anyone wanting to make full use of the Roubaix would be best to travel from France towards Belgium rather than the way we came. Then one would have the full information at the beginning and the sensible overnight stopping spot would give better access to some of the attractions. It felt good to support this effort by using the canal. For us it was a very useful short cut to our next destination. We were not fully prepared for the enthusiasm of the local people and hope that the venture continues to be successful. Several canals have been closed in recent years but few are re- opened. 

So we are back in France, looking forward to more travelling and learning over the next few weeks.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

We had an uneventful trip from Tholon to Antwerp where we were heading for Willemdok, the only accessible marina in Antwerp for boats on the move. To get there we needed to make our way through about 20 kilometres of docks entering on each side of us- there are 200 kilometres of docks here. Willemdok is a former industrial dock area, now converted for leisure boats. We had been told it was huge but even so had tried to book ahead, to be informed that was not possible.  

The Town Hall of Antwerp

Entry was not straightforward. First we had to be let through two opening bridges, the second of which operates on a fixed and quite limited schedule. It took us over an hour to get through these bridges even though they are only 500 metres apart. Waiting for the second, to give access to the marina, we were approached by the harbour master in his inflatable boat,  looking very frazzled. He would lead us onto our mooring- along with the other ten or so boats waiting for the same bridge opening. In all, 60 boats entered the Marina that day and were rafted two or three deep in the massive area available. By the time the day finished there were 600 boats there. It was very secure, with only one, locked, gate but we were a long way from the entrance.

Embossed leather walls with gold leaf!

We enjoyed visiting Antwerp, a good size for getting about and not too crowded. We visited Rubens House and also the Plantin- Moretus Museum of Printing (in the original Plantin Home) which has copies of two rare original Gutenberg Bibles. Both houses have walls lined with embossed leather. The Cathedral and Town Hall are very impressive, The MAS Tower gives a remarkable view of the city, and best of all the tourist bureau was welcoming and very helpful. We were in the main Square for a procession of the Guilds through the streets, with members dressed in traditional clothing.   This is an annual event and lasts most of the day. At the end of the long march, there was an archery competition in the main square, using ancient, traditional crossbows.

Guilkd marchers, in traditional costumes, marching through Antwerp

One of the two libraries in Plantin's house

Leaving Antwerp was even more difficult than arriving. To continue our journey south we needed to leave the ease of the non- tidal area, a luxury we had enjoyed for the last few days of travel, and once more enter the tidal rivers, in this case the Boven Zeeschelde and Zeeschelde, to travel 83 kilometres further south towards our next destination, the lock at Merelbeke which marks the end of the tidal influence and the start of the Bovenschelde.

One of the early Gutenberg Bibles

We had carefully planned our trip so that when we left Antwerp we could catch the tide with plenty of daylight to travel the eighty three kilometres, a huge daily distance for us. The tide runs at 6 kilometres an hour at its peak. With it we could travel at 13 kph easily; against it we would stand still.

Inside Rubens' House
Rubens' House from the garden

Our plan was to leave at 6.30 am but then we found that the first bridge opening was at 6.30, with a second bridge and a busy lock to follow. In the end we were delayed two hours so missed two hours of the tide. We travelled with it as it worked its way towards Ghent, and eventually it turned against us about an hour before we reached our destination at Merelbeke. We then appreciated even more how much it had helped us along on this long day's travel.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave