Kerr Barging Blogs

Amiens is the main city in the Somme area and the capital of Picardie. Going back to paleolithic times, its recent history is of severe war damage especially in World War II. It was for the most part just behind the lines in World War I. Because of this there has been a great deal of rebuilding including France's first skyscraper, built in 1945, 100 metres high.

Amiens' own "Bondi Beach"- an Australian touch.

One building which escaped in both wars was the Notre Dame Cathedral. It is magnificent, more than twice as big as Notre Dame in Paris and full of light and beauty. At night during summer the front of the Cathedral is lit using special lasers to reproduce the original colours of the statues.

Amiens Cathedral. If you look carefully, you see more than 400 statues
The reproduction of the paint was superb

We enjoyed a visit to the house where Jules Verne lived for many years, writing his famous works. His books, maps, models and sketches helped us to know more about him. Amiens has a UNESCO listed very old but quite plain belfry, and they were just packing up their version of Bondi Beach which had been in one of the main squares for the summer. Actually, it stood above the old Roman Forum: we could look down through a window onto the excavations below the square.  

Amiens is also notable for its "Hortillonnages", 300 hectares of market garden plots, with 55 kms of canals running through them. These were created from peat workings in years gone by.

We left the boat for a day in Amiens to  travel to Paris to vote at the Australian Embassy and on to Auxerre to apply for a renewal of our visas. Everything went fairly smoothly, though we almost fell at the last hurdle when our last train of the day, our tenth, broke down one stop short of Amiens. Fortunately another train was coming through from Paris ten minutes later so we were able to transfer to that to get us home at last, sixteen hours after we set out.

There are several places along this river which have featured in history well before the wars of the 20th century. Parts of the Somme Valley have been occupied for 450,000 years and one particular spot has been set aside as a demonstration village on a place occupied for 100,000 years and as a military camp in 50BC. To balance the tales of war there is also a reproduction of housing from the Neanderthal, Bronze and Iron ages.

St Valery, where the Somme enters the sea, is an interesting seaside tourist town with a beach and a mediaeval city. William the Conqueror set out from St Valery to claim the English crown. Actually he set out twice but had to turn back he first time because he could not make it out of the bay because of adverse winds and tides.  

St Valery sur Somme

Another town which can claim significance beyond its present status is the small village of Picquigny. In 1475, Louis IX of France and Edward IV of England signed the treaty to end the Hundred Years War.

A little further along the Canal is the town of Long, made wealthy by the peat trade and therefore emboldened to establish a hydroelectric power plant which delivered 110 Volts of direct current to the people of the town from 1902 to 1965. Although now superseded, it is still in working order. This was one of the first towns in France to have electricity. Each household was allowed to turn on one bulb at a time. If you left one room, you had to turn out that light before turning on another one.

The pretty town of Long- seen from our mooring

Two other most enjoyable tourist jaunts were on trains: a steam train took us around the Bay of the Somme, blowing its whistle and puffing smoke. We particularly enjoyed the sight of the passengers helping the crew to turn it around by hand on its turntable at the end of the line.

Steam train, St Valery. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Turning the train, St Valery

The second train trip was on a 60cm gauge line which was used during World War 1 by both the French and German armies to bring supplies to the front lines. It was designed using tracks in sections rather like a model train set, to be slotted together quickly. After the war the tracks and trains were used to help in rebuilding the many devastated towns in the area and then were put to good use to carry sugar beets to the refinery, and sugar to market. This train used a switch- back zig- zag system to get up and down the slope so being as conductor and changing the  points at each zig or zag was quite a demanding job.

 Our narrow gauge train ride (some days, it is a steam train)

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

The visit to the Somme River was high on our list in planning our 2013 routes and we are very glad to have been able to visit here. We rate the Somme River and Canal very highly for the beauty and interest of the country it traverses, for the quality of the lock equipment and moorings and for the many interesting and accessible towns along the route.  

The idea for this canal dates back to 1729 and most of it was completed by 1827. It used to carry commercial traffic and during World War 1 was used for the transport of men and equipment. Wilfred Owen wrote a the poem "Hospital Barge" to reflect on his evacuation in this way in 1917. Now the traffic seems to be only pleasure craft.

The beautiful Somme River
Since 1992 the Canal system has been maintained and operated by the Department of the Somme, not by the VNF which looks after most French waterways. The locks, moorings and the canal as a whole are very well maintained, and the system is well organised and integrated with the total tourist effort. One phones the central control half an  hour before the desired start. If all goes well there is someone at the nominated time to open and close the lock and subsequent locks for the day and also to give information about whether or not potential mooring spots are free. The system works well as long as there is not too much traffic, one has a mobile phone and can speak enough French to be understood. The lock keepers are very friendly and keen to make one's stay enjoyable.
The countryside is notable for its many lakes and streams. Peat was extracted along this river for many years, adding to its wealth and at the same time creating lakes which have been put to good use for recreation, particularly fishing and as market gardens.

An unusual floating, fishing/hunting/living house on a peat lake

The stopping spots are well placed in the pretty towns along the Somme and are free. Some have provision for electricity and water for two euros for several hours. We were amused when we read both the French and the English version of the information signs and discovered that there was a limit of "three days" stay on the French, "48 hours" on the English. In fact neither length of stay is policed as far as we could see, and most people seem to move along at a good rate. There is a hire boat base in one town so the traffic around there is quite busy but most of the Canal was quiet.

Australian War Memorial, Villers Bretonneux
Of course the "Somme River" is a name associated for Australians with fierce battles during the First World War and both David and I have relatives buried in this area. The Somme Department has done very well in documenting this history, with an excellent down-loadable description as well as informative brochures. We stopped at Corbie to cycle to the National Australian Memorial and the Franco Australian Museum at Villers- Bretonneux where in the April 24th/ 25th/ 26th 1918 battle the Australian troops stopped the German push towards Amiens. An elderly gentleman in Corbie on finding out where we were from told us that Australians are given the credit for stopping the Germans in this region and turning the tide of the war.  

The War Memorial and Cemetery are outside Villers- Bretonneux on a dominant hill with magnificent views over the whole valley, while the Museum is in the town, on the first floor of the "Victoria" school, built with money raised by Victorian school students between 1923 and 1927. A large message in green letters on a yellow background is displayed in the school yard: Do Not Forget Australia. We have certainly noticed that our flag is recognised more frequently on the Somme than elsewhere and several people passing have stopped to check that we are Australian and shake our hands.

Grave of Eric Richmond Jurd, Abbeville
We visited the War Cemetery at Abbeville, an extension of the Community Cemetery there, to honour a member of Penny's family, Eric Richmond Jurd. He fought on the Somme but died of Spanish flu, aged 20, two days after the Armistice, 13th November 1918. There were many graves around his of other soldiers who had died of the flu and several Army nursing staff who had succumbed. Abbeville, near the Coast, was a headquarters and supply centre during World War 1. As there were three hospitals in the area, many who had been wounded or taken ill elsewhere died and were buried there. It suffered gravely in World War II particularly from German bombardments on May 20th 1940 during the push into France. Most of the deaths in that bombing were civilians.

Another interesting site is the spot where the Red Baron was shot down. He took off from Cappy near the Australian base and was shot down when he crossed their lines, it is said, in the local history, by an Australian machine gunner in the front line trenches.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

We were pleased to have found a comfortable berth for Anja in Arras, as we had planned a trip to St Malo to spend a few days with our eldest daughter to celebrate her 40th birthday there. She lives in Guernsey so it was a convenient trip across the Channel for her and her partner. We were able to get there comfortably by train, so we enjoyed two full days in this historic old Town and also visited the seaside town of Dinard. just across the bay.

Back at the boat we returned down the Scarpe Superior. The locks continued to be problematic but the lock- keepers were quick to respond to our calls for help. Turning right to travel south on the Canal du Nord we moved onto a much larger and far better- maintained canal which carries barges up to 1,000 tonnes. This canal is probably the newest we have travelled on; it was started in 1907 but completely destroyed during the First World War and then finally completed in 1965. It has guillotine type gates so we became used to a cascade of water as we went underneath to enter the lock. It was raining anyhow so the forward hand had wet weather gear on, which was very handy.

The tunnel entrance looks very small upon approach

The most remarkable feature of the canal has been the magnificent Ruyalcourt Tunnel, the best tunnel we have been in to date. It is 4354 metres long, one lane (5.70 metres) wide with the one- way traffic flow directed by lights at both ends. There is plenty of head clearance for Anja and lighting is good, fixed to the arch at one side. The most interesting feature is that it has a two- way stretch of about 1km half way into the tunnel so that convoys from each direction can pass each other, so reducing the waiting time at either end. In our case, no- one else was around so instead it provided a bit of a breather for David from the very exacting and accurate steerage required to keep within the narrow channel in the one- way sections.

All alone underground

We have been pleasantly surprised by the Canal du Nord which seemed to have a poor reputation amongst recreational crews as being full of commercial traffic and having dull scenery. Perhaps we were travelling at a convenient time but we found the traffic quite moderate and always respectful and the surrounding countryside was lush and green. From the Canal, we have now turned onto the Somme River, and will rejoin it later to travel South towards the Canal Lateral to the Oise and later Paris.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

After our quiet days  on the Lys River we returned to the main commercial waterway to visit three Northern French cities, Lille, Douai and Arras. We travelled first on the the Canal de la Deule, part of the route called the "Liaisons au grand gabarit" which combines several canals which have been connected and enlarged to take heavy commercial barges. It links the major cities of Northern France with the sea port of Dunkirk. Although it is large it is very comfortable and efficient to travel.

Wow! What a fantastic playground, Lille Citadel

We headed first for Lille, the biggest city in the region, and tied up in a very pleasant spot next to a major park surrounding the Citadel, designed in 1667 by that master of military engineering, Vauban, and still in military use. The park contains a small, free zoo and a most interesting adventure park for children. During these beautiful summer days Lille's residents and visitors were enjoying it from early in the morning to late at night for walking, running, cycling, roller- skating and pushing babies in strollers. There were electric hire boats in the Canal and also a small tourist ferry. The city has many spots (50 or more!) from which bikes can be hired (with the first half hour free) and these are very popular. It's a great scheme, especially when combined with an excellent network of safe bike paths.

Lille's squares- grand buildings

Like so many Flemish cities, Lille has a remarkable belfry and grand squares surrounded by beautifully restored buildings. We enjoyed its excellent Art Gallery. We visited the house where Charles de Gaulle was born and raised and learned a little more about this interesting figure in modern French history.

De Gaulle's nursery, Lille

Our friends Ruth and Peter joined us in Lille and we enjoyed their company for the next six days. Taking advantage of Lille's excellent connections, they arrived directly from Charles de Gaulle Airport (about an hour) and left for London on the Eurostar, a journey of about an hour and a half. It takes about the same time to get from Lille to London by train as it does for us to get from Avalon to Sydney city by bus.   

 Douai Main Square at the end of WW1

Next stop was Douai, smaller than Lille but with many of the same Flemish features including the belfry and attractive Hotel de Ville, a Vauban citadel and an art gallery. The city was severely damaged in World War 1 and also in World War II and a poignant photographic display depicted the many times when the main market square had been destroyed and rebuilt. The founder of the Red Cross was from here.

Giants, Douai. The big one weighs over 350Kg!

In our tour of the belfry and Town Hall we learned a little about Douai's family of Giants who are celebrated during their festivals.

 Carillon Bells, Douai Belfry.

The third in our tour of "Northern French cities" was Arras, reached by leaving the Grand Gabarit to travel on the Scarpe Superior. We have already noted our failure to take Anja all the way to the end, but the excellent bus service from our mooring and the flat, easy bike paths along the canal enabled us to enjoy this most interesting city. It combined many of the items that interest us. The town squares and belfry are magnificent and we think rival any we have seen throughout our travels. In the 16th century the ruler, Phillip II, forbade "building within the town of Arras unless the walls are of stone and brick and with no overhang over the streets". This early example of town planning has created a most cohesive city. Although 80% of the town was destroyed during the First World War, these main buildings were reconstructed as before. The rest of the city is in the Art Deco style of the 1920s. The squares are very much part of the life of the city. The huge Saturday market spreads out from the main square to the other squares and the surrounding streets. The " Arras Beach" is set up in the largest square for the summer. It was amoost completely filled with sand, swimmoing pools and adventure playgrounds!

 Place des Heros, Arras

Arras has a Vauban citadel which enjoys a UNESCO listing; the original Roman town is being excavated and is on view; and in the limestone beneath the outskirts of the city we visited the "Wellington Quarry" where in 1917 New Zealand tunnellers joined up several existing cellars used in earlier times for storage. Over 20,000 soldiers hid in the tunnels until the exits were blown behind the German lines in a surprise attack.

 Hotel de Ville, Arras

We very much enjoyed our visit to this part of France, at the one time very French but importantly also Flemish. Perhaps the timing of our visit, in the middle of the holiday season, added to our perception of this area as vibrant and active. There seems to be a great deal for people to do, and they are taking full advantage of it. Many of the towns and cities have been substantially destroyed during World War 1 and some were also damaged during World War II, which has meant that there has been a great deal of reconstruction and fewer really old original houses and cobbled streets. Even the trees were almost wiped out in some areas so the forests would be younger than those further south. It has been a most interesting part of France to visit.

Exit 10 blown just behind enemy lines for the 24,000 British troops to surge out of. Builkt by New Zealanders.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

Leaving the busy "Grand Gabarit"(i.e. "Canal of large dimensions") near Douai, we turned into the Scarpe Superior to enjoy more time on quiet canals and to visit the town of Arras, at the head of the river. This part of the River is not much travelled. Only ten boats in a year have proceeded to the last navigable port, and this might account for the confusing information we were given about it.

Fun on the Scarpe Superior- there are some world champions train here
Our first problem was to get the telecommander to operate the locks, Our guide, bought recently but proving to be out of date, indicated that the telecommander was issued at the first lock on the river. Not so: it was supposed to be given to us at the last lock on the main canal. Knowing nothing of this we did not respond to the whistling of the eclusier as we left the lock and turned into the river, to find the first lock unmanned. After a phone call and a visit from the lock- keeper's wife, David had to ride back to the previous lock to pick it up.

There is trouble ahead- but they do not know it yet!
This was not the last of the confusions. Our guide of moorings indicated that the end of the river into Arras is no longer navigable because of silting. As we were keen to get there so that our current guests could get to the train, we emailed the VNF to double check the current status. They replied that the river is open right into Arras, we would have no problems with depth. Not so: the next day when we arrived at the third last lock, St Laurent Blangy, we found the lock lights blank so pulled up on a pontoon immediately before. David pressed the button anyhow, and lo and behold, the green light went on and the gates opened. We pulled out from the quay and found that there was a large and clear "Do not enter" sign over the lock itself, despite the green light. Then we heard a voice from, we found, the capitaine of the St Laurent Blangy Halte, that the lock was closed and the next sections shallow, hence the sign. We pulled in again to tie up at the Halte Plaisance so Anja did not make it to Arras. There is an excellent bus service right to the station, so it was if anything easier for our guests to depart and we could catch the bus or cycle into the town to explore it.

The nearby park
This river is very attractive and the towns along it beautiful. Many of them are three and four "Fleurie" towns so we see flowers everywhere. We are moored adjacent to a major kayaking and canoeing venue which offers both white and still water facilities, as well as an indoor training set- up for those cold winter months. The town boasts World Championship and and Olympic medal holders. People come even from Belgium to train here and during this wonderful extended summer we have been entertained by the less skilful enjoying rafting down the rapids in four and eight man rafts. The major sticking point is 10 metres away from us where the rafters get stuck high and dry, or else fall out as they hit the barriers. There is always someone on hand to help them out.

Across the canal is a huge park area where a "Beach" has been set up for the summer. Here there is a huge range of activities for children of all ages including sand pits with overhead fountains,  pools, a little train, juggling classes, horse rides, four and eight person bikes and jumping castles. Entry is free and many if not all the activities are also free. There is a similar set-up in Arras in the Grand Place, though it does not have the advantage of a beautiful natural setting by the river.  

The beach- 50metres away

So we are glad we persisted with the Scarpe Superior. It deserves to have more than 10 visitors in a year. It also deserves to have clearer information available. We wonder why there has not been a concerted effort to clear the way into Arras, where there are pleny of moorings available and an interesting town to be visited, though perhaps not the extra attractions of white water rafting.   

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

A very pleasant train for the younbg ones