The River Aisne

We turned off the Oise River, which heads in a Northerly direction towards the Western part of Belgium, onto the Aisne River which travels in an easterly direction and which we will follow towards the Meuse River and eventually to enter Belgium in its easterly part.
At first the river Aisne forms the navigable waterway; later it becomes too winding and narrow in places so a canal runs alongside the river, first as the Canal Lateral to the Aisne, then as the Canal des Ardennes. For the entire length the waterway is predominantly rural with trees lining the banks and small villages off to the side, sometimes on the gentle slopes away from the river. We have met very little traffic on this stretch so it has been relaxed, trouble free travel for us all. The locks are automatic and have behaved themselves admirably. There is one chain of 27 locks, all interconnected so that as a boat leaves one, the next is being prepared. This too went very smoothly, whereas when we came in the opposite direction in 2011 we had several lock breakdowns. We continue to be kept on our toes in the locks. The first 24 locks in the chain were set out exactly the same, so that we developed a good rhythm of entering, tying up to the only bollard which Penny could reach without climbing on the roof, then drifting across the lock to the pull-chain lever to start its action. Lo and behold at number 25, the whole set- up changed and instead of the lever being front right it was back left. A new system had to be devised  and quickly as we were already in the lock before we could see that it had changed. I can just imagine the lock- designers chuckling: "gotcha".  

As we started along the Aisne we had intended to visit the site of the signing of the Armistice to end World War 1, but even though it was enticingly close to the River, we could not find anywhere to tie up safely. If we return to Compiegne later we can cycle to this spot on excellent bike paths, so that is something for the future. We did try in two places but each time, we touched the bottom before we were at the side of the river.

However, we have easily found good stopping spots each night and have enjoyed some pretty little towns. In the first, Vic sur Aisne, we found a 13th Century chateau, beautifully looked after gardens with roses flowering prolifically, and a mother duck with eight ducklings no more than a day or two old, crossing a road and trying to get down a steep flight of steps. We shooed a cat away from them (an event which our granddaughter re- enacted several times with playdough), then helped a woman and a girl shepherd them to safety. Of course this was quite a highlight for our own toddler.

The main town along this stretch is Soissons, important in the history of France as it is where Clovis, the leader of the Franks, defeated the Romans in the 5th Century. His successors made it their capital. It has continued to be the centre of battles through the ages. Eighty percent of the town was destroyed during World War 1 during the intense fighting along the Aisne, which provides a buffer to the north of Paris. Plans were put in place to produce a modern town from the rubble. Progress was slowed because of World War II when there was further destruction but was completed in the 1960s. Significant buildings such as the Cathedral, almost totally destroyed, have been rebuilt.

The excellent market, in front of Soisson's Cathedral

The town seems to be very active. A beach was being created along the riverfront, set up and many events were planned for the "Fete de la Musique", celebrated on June 21st. & nbsp;

The ancient Abbey at SoissonsAll too soon our daughter and grand- daughter needed to return home. The tiny town of Guignicourt offered us a train station from which we could begin our trip to the airport via Rheims, with the luxury of a TGV direct to the airport, half an hour to travel the 140 kilometres. There is the extra benefit of avoiding the Paris train network, hard going with suitcases and a toddler.
We continued along towards the Meuse, covering ground visited in 2011. We enjoyed revisiting Asfeld with its remarkable 17th century church shaped like a viol, and also the small town of Attigny which offers an excellent quay very useful for those boats about to undertake or recovering from the chain of 27 locks, which takes at least five hours.

Attigny has "Charlemagne's Gate" under which many old kings have passed. Next to it is "Le Charlemagne" Restaurant which is a model of the results of good promotion. Their board is at the quay, stating that it is open every night but Wednesday. The theme was "Charlemagne" and the room is full of flags, suits of armour and the heads of wild boar. The waitress (the wife: he cooked, she served) was wearing an interesting dress no doubt styled on the period. We had eaten there in 2011 and again decided to have dinner out as did the crews of three of the four other boats and yachts tied up there that Monday night. All but one of the tables was full, with English (us), French, Dutch and Danish conversations going on around us. What really stunned us was that as we paid our bill, the husband  came out to ask David is he had been there before as he remembered his face.  And here were we thinking we were anonymous in France, though Anja continues to be photographed frequently.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

Rubens painted this for the Cathedral

Soissons Cathedral