Langres, The tunnel and its downhill from here

23rd July Langres

Next morning we were met by an older woman, with let say a character face which didn't include front teeth. She was escorting us for the next 6 locks. She wasn't very chatty (no English) but after the second lock, having fed her with drinks and kit kats she started giving us a hand with the ropes and chatting in difficult French to Jim who worked out shse did not like the rain.
Still she had a little car rather than a moped. She left us after 6 locks and a lad took over he didn't speak any English but he was very cheery and also helped with the ropes.

Mooring just outside the town, here we met a dutch couple who invited us on their boat. She was a very enthusiastic person and was currently doing origami as a hobby, having done quilting, painting and many other activities too many for me to remember now. Her husband was much quieter; he was a teacher of poetry. Next day we went out for provisions, got soaked again, but it brightened up in the afternoon so we caught the bus up the hill to this fortied town, which is supposed to compare with Carcarsonne.

We don't know if it does as never been there, but from Langres there are magnificent views and you can imagine why it was never taken, poor attackers wouldn't have stood a chance! We spent a lovely day in the town there is a very good walk and numerous buildings to see as well as the ramparts that completely surround the town. On arrival back at the halt we were invited onto another motorboat this time owned by Alistair and Elizabeth from Gourock in Scotland. We had a pleasant time with them; they keep their boat in St Jean de Losnes over the winter and travel the canals in the summer, but previously had spent many years sailing in Greece.


25th July The Tunnel

This morning we were met by another lad who was taking through the 2 locks before the tunnel, once again he was very helpful. After the last lock he told us that once another boat had come through the tunnel we could enter, however, when we arrived at the tunnel entrance there was a light board, usually like traffic lights they told us when to proceed however, they didn't seem to be lit. We waited and waited finally we saw a boat exiting the tunnel very slowly. We looked at the light board to see if anything had changed but there was nothing, we were a bit concerned about proceeding, the tunnel is over 4km long and meeting something, especially a barge coming the other way was not something we were keen to experience, so we telephoned the river control, who said they would send someone along. Anyway we waited and waited and then phoned again, at that point the lad we had with to the last lock came along and waved us into the tunnel. We'd heard lots of stories about the tunnel but in fact it was very easy and well lit.

On exiting the tunnel we came AT LAST! to our first down lock where we were handed another remote control (apparently you get fined 500 euro if you loose or damage it) and we set off. This part of the canal there are locks every 1.5km, so although they are easy compared to the up locks, it get a bit of a pain because you just about sort out the ropes for the last lock before you have to use them again for the next lock. Mind you Alison is getting to be a bit of an expert now you can see here deciding which lever to pull - not the red one!!

We decided to call it a day at the lovely halt at Cusey, having completed 23 locks.


This was a very unexpected mooring, a brand new pontoon with water and electricity, and the commune have built and seem to be in the process of fitting out a purpose built shower, toilet and washing up block. After dinner dusk was falling but we had a quick walk round the village which was very interesting; had an unusual church with a round building on the back which seemed very old and an new front entrance tacked on, no info available so we were left to wonder???

Froncles and Chaumont

19th July Froncles

On leaving we were met by our first mobile lock keeper Maximillian. He was waiting to start an internship in the military and the lock keeping was a summer job. Although he didn't speak any English we had a good laugh with him, he was very energetic and was really helpful catching the ropes for us.

Arrived mid afternoon, at a very pretty halt, unfortunately the village wasn't quite so pretty, but it was unusual as it seemed very much like housing estates in England, hard to imagine I know, but it was definitely not an organically grown French village. We had a bit of an odd experience here.. tuning the radio station in found ourselves listening to BBC News…hmm I said odd maybe I should have said strange. Then we listened too a programme on whether the moon landing was a fake. Then it was Eastenders ..ahh!! Having puzzled this for a while we noticed an English camper van nearby with a satellite dish, as the chap came out of the van and Jim asked him if he had been watching Eastenders and the space programme, he gave us a funny look almost as to say have you been peering in our windows!! So we told him we could pick up what he was watching on the radio..so that’s how we met Steve and Alison, who had taken a year out and had travelled Europe for a year and were now on their way back. We had a chat and a couple of beers and we got on just great.

Next evening they came on board and we sunk more wine and beer had a really good evening, we are hoping to keep in touch with them. We left at 9am the next morning Alison and Steve kindly getting up to wave us goodbye, although I must say they looked slightly the worse for wear after last night! they were heading to Paris to meet family and see the city before going back to the UK.

21st July Chaumont

We were met at the first lock this morning by Marion, a very pretty French girl,
she spoke excellent English and we really enjoyed her company she was very friendly, once again taking our lines for us at each lock. Marion had just finished University and about to start a Primary School Teacher Training Course. We also hope to keep in touch with her. Marion saw us through 6 locks chugging between them on her moped, before heading back the other way with 2 boats, one a Canadian.

Solange took over from Marion, she was a very pretty, very slim redhead. She didn't look like she had the strength to operate the lock mechanism. She was a smiley, giggly girl, once again she spoke excellent English, even down to the slang, Yep!!.

We arrived at Chaumont mid afternoon; we moored alongside the quay which was a bit dilapidated. The town was just across the bridge so we got the bikes out for a little explore and did some shopping.

Next morning (22nd) we decided to ride up into the town and down to the Viaduct. The town was quite busy and it nice to see that they had put on summer activities for the kids, with boat pool, beach for volleyball and various rides.

The viaduct was quite spectacular but we didn't fancy the ride back up the hill so we took the long way round on a very busy main road which found us dicing with death with the articulated lorries. On the way back we also picked up more provisions (making the most of being out on the bikes!).

To Chamioully and Joinville

15th July

Next morning all the boats set off from Orconte about 9am, we waved goodbye to Helmet, Felix and Malcolm and headed to Chamioully. Another lovely day and very uneventful until we got to Chamioully. As we arrived we spotted pretty quay with a couple of pontoons where a small canal boat was moored. We liked the look of it, although it didn't quite correspond with the info from the guide (which tnds to be out of date and inaccurate!!) on where the quay we were expecting to tie up was, however, we tried it for depth which was ok so we tied up. We had just finished and were stood on the dock when a rather purposeful young man (to Alison that's anyone under 40) strode towards us. We both thought we were about to be turfed off the mooring but interestingly the young man greeted us, of course immediately he recognised our perfect French so spoke to us in English!!

He said the pontoon was private so we started to apologise, but he said he owned the pontoon, but we were very welcome to stop there, which was lovely of him. We didn't get his name but he said he was a part-time primary teacher and that he also bought small Dutch motorboats did them up and sold them, hence the pontoon being his and the motorboat that was on the pontoon was in bits (mostly on the grass!!). Anyway he then hurried off to talk to some customers, we had a quick ride around the village and then a pleasant night on the mooring.

17th and 18th July Joinville

Next day pleasant trip to Joinville, a pretty town, mooring looked busy but luckily we found space. Its also serves as a camper van halt which was very busy, the vans were parked extremely close not more than an arms length apart. After a visit to the supermarket, the next day, we had a ride round the town.

We noticed a sign for a Chateau going up a very steep hill, so we locked the bikes up and started to climb the path. On the route we noticed that an old stone wall and steps had been recently renovated, further along we met a group of men working on another section of the stone wall. The foreman spoke to us and told us the route to the Chateau site was circular, we also admired the work the men had done. We carried on and eventually came to a plateau, unfortunately no Chateau just a view.

On the way down be came to the workmen and the foreman, we stopped for a few words and he explained that the chateau was demolished and the stone sold off, this was before the Revolution. The workmen were 'trainee' artisan's who were extending their skills by working on the historical project and employed by the local history society. The foreman invited us to the site office where he showed us pictures of the old Chateau which was very very big and must have really dominated the town below. He also explained the work that was going on, its was really interesting and unusual and we really enjoyed the visit.

Next morning (18th) we got drowned when riding to the shops so spent the afternoon drying off and doing the washing..life has to be lived!

Orconte 14th July 2009

At the fist lock we were given the remote control and we were very excited about this because sometimes in the past in the manual locks we had felt a bit rushed. Anyway the weather started to improve and we had about 6 locks to get through. After an eventful morning working out how to operate the locks on our own about 1pm we arrived at the mooring at Orconte.

What a difference from the night before. It was a well maintained pontoon, on the edge of the village by the cornfields. It also had a couple of picnic tables and small building which had water and electricity (which was free) and the cleanest nicest shower and a separate toilet we have ever come across in France, so we thought we were in heaven.

After lunch we decided to go for a cycle ride around the village which had a bread shop, bar and butcher, although it was a small village. Here there were lots of houses which were very old and appeared to be wooden, some of which need work but other beautifully restored. On completing the circuit of the village we headed back to the boat just in time to help the arrival of two yachts. One a British flagged boat with Malcolm on board and the other German flagged with Helmut and Felix. They were travelling together (Helmut and Felix helping Malcolm who was travelling single handed) each of them heading back home. They would be parting company at Conde-sur-Marne. Later that evening the guys all come on board and we enjoyed a pleasant evening hearing their tales of travelling up the canals and Malcolm's 15 years sailing around Greece.

Catching up on the blog!!

During our trip we have had a very hectic social life at every stop we have met some lovely people which all to often ends up with us spending the evening out, which unfortunately has meant we have got a little behind with this blog.

Epernay 8th July 2009

On the way to Epernay Cygnet with Kerry, Sue, Nerrale and Keith on board caught up with us. A little before we docked it started to rain, luckily there were 2 good berths alongside a quay wall. We were able to hook up to both electricity and water which was really good as we planned to stay a couple of nights to give us time visit a few champagne houses.

Once we were all secure we decided to go for a walk round the town. Kerry and Sue had visited the place before and recommended that we book on a tour to a small champagne producer. They actually grow the grapes and make their own champagne at their production facility. We decided it sounded interesting so Sue booked for us and Keith and Narelle to go to the next afternoon. We had a great time and found it really interesting. Kerry and Sue invited us to dinner on Cygnet and Kerry cooked us a lovely fish chowder. The next day we went to a big champagne house which was totally different because they don't have their own vines but buy in grape juice from the smaller producers.

Chalon en Champagne 11th July

Both Cygnet and Katlen arrived just after lunch. Cygnet got in easily but the depth was not enough for us. We ended up mooring nearer the lock but we touched bottom. The town provided live music in the square so after have a wander round seeing the 2 cathedral's and the small Arc d'trompe we sat and listened for a while. When we arrived back to Katlen another yacht had arrived which was heading back to UK. Unfortunately they said they had not been able to get a shower and their last few stops so Helen came aboard and used our as there also no facilities at Chalon.

Next morning we decided to move into a berth vacated by a large motor boat that had more depth. Unfortunately we were stuck fast and despite people trying to help get us out it was proving difficult. Then a barge came out of the lock and seeing our difficulty offered to tow us out. Having taken our lines they suddenly put the power on and Katlen was yanked sideways spun round and the back end (sugar scoop) got scrapped along the concrete quay. It caused a couple of hundred quid in repairing the damage. It was really annoying as we had been so careful and up to this point we had not sustained any damage at all. Anyway the barge dropped our lines and motored off.

Vitry St Francois 13th July

Next morning we set off for Vitry with Cygnet; as we arrived at Vitry it started pouring with rain. Cygnet managed to get a berth but there were no suitable berths for us as the depth was shallow. We ended up on a commercial barge berth next to a factory. It also didn't have any water, which we really needed having had guests on board who had increased our water usage. We also thought we had to stay 2 nights because the canal would be closed for Bastille Day (tomorrow 14th July). Anyway whilst tidying up the ropes in the rain, we spoke to a French bargee who told us that the canals were not closed on Bastille Day and arranged for us to meet with a lock keeper at 9am to pick up a remote control unit. Having arranged this we said to Kerry and Sue we would be leaving Vitry the next morning so arranged to have one last meal with them and go and see the fireworks at the sports ground. Cygnet was staying a few more days then heading east, whilst we would be heading south, we were sad to say goodbye as we had really enjoyed our time with them.

Le Ferte sur Marne 6th July 2009

Monday night saw us at this small town which has a huge WWI memorial; it was a bit scary coming onto the town pontoon as it was shallow, behind an island with the channel marked out by a confusing array of buoy. Again we were provided with free moorings, water and electricity, Solent sailors eat your heart out.

Once tied up we set off on our bike to explore and again Kerry and Sue were tying up as we got back to the boat. As was becoming the norm we gathered on Cygnet for drinks before getting dinner. Tuesday morning saw us having a quick look around the village market before setting off again upstream perhaps stopping overnight at Chateau Thierry.

When we turned up a Chateau Thierry although there was space against the town quay when we tried to get alongside the keel touched bottom, had it have been mud we would have stayed buy it was hard and lumpy so we decided that we would have to move on to our next possible stopping place at Mezy-Moulin.

Just after the lock at Mezy-Moulin we found our overnight pontoon which we were very pleased with. It was isolated and very peaceful. Although no water or electricity it is near a beautiful hamlet with the most fantastic, large gothic church which dominates the river valley.

We had a very comfortable night after being inspected by the locals and found acceptable!

More boat life - Hats

It's been very hot on quite a few days and we have therefore had to resort to wearing hats. Luckily we have a fair selection on board, those of you who know Alison will realise that her motto is 'why have one when six will do' - it works for hats too.

Here are a few photos of our tete attire.

You can see that even our hot instruments are not left out.

But before you can wear them you have to find them

I know I had six somewhere!!

Langy 1st July then Meaux

We escaped Paris and diverted onto a new river – the Marne, more locks now but they are smaller – but still daunting. We also had our first tunnel - plus a lock at either end - of course.

We arrived at Langy which is a pretty town, the mooring was on a good pontoon although no electricity or water becuase the system had broken down Its still hot. A couple of local people

stopped by to chat and later we had a walk around the town, buying a baguette and ice cream before moving on the next day.

Meaux 2nd July to 5th July

We arrived at Meaux just after lunch having passed a couple of large motorboats just leaving, which was extremely lucky for us as that meant there was space for us on the town pontoons (with free electricity and water).

The area the pontoons are situated in is beutiful with a fantastic show of floweres.Once we were settled we went for a walk/bike ride into the town across the old market bridge and to the tourist office, it's still very hot, but the Aussies keep the beers coming!!

>As usual most of the other boats sharing the facilities were Dutch, Belgium or German, luckily most of the owners speak English and everyone is always ready for a chat, finding out where each are going too and coming from and generally sharing boating experiences. Interestingly many motorboat owners have been sailing boat owners who have now decided sailing is too much but still want to be on the water; its really interesting talking to them. The bikes are proving very useful and oddly a tourist attraction. The local French are facinated with the petit velos and we have had several offers to buy them - Alison sees a new job.

Throughtout July and August Meaux holds a historique spectacle on Saturday nights and some Fridays,so we booked to go on the Saturday then we had a wander round the old town and the ramparts. Its was a really hot day again so we decided to go into the cathedral which was not only magnificent but lovely and cool.

On Saturday Meaux has a big market for food products, clothes and house wares; there is a great variety of stalls so after getting our provisions and stowing them on board we wandered back into the town to look round the shops. As we arrived back at the boat the Cygnet with Kerry and Sue were arriving, luckily they too managed to get a mooring and after tying up Sue and Nerelle hurried up to the tourist office to also get some tickets for the show that evening.

About 10pm ish the Cygnet's crew and us walked up to the grounds of the cathedral where the show was to be preformed. It was obviously very popular because it was sold out. Anyway we took our seats not knowing what to expect but by the end of the show we were had been very thoroughly entertained and although all in French and having a little knowledge of the town's history it was easily understandable. Also as the show as set against old building including the cathedral it was very atmospheric. It was well worth the 16 euros each.

On Sunday the town had a Braderie and Brocante. It was the largest we'd ever seen and lasted 8 hours. We bought a fishing net for re-capturing those small items that seem to fall overboard now and again - usually Alison's hat!!

We decided to move on from Meaux and head towards Epernay, we weren't sure where we would stay the night on this part of the trip, although we thought we would try Chateau Thierry. Cygnet were also going too but they had to provision first so left later than us. We had a reasonable trip upstream although the locks are often a couple of metres high so tying up is becoming an art form.

Still in Paris

Sorry folks for having updated our blog for a few weeks, we have been enjoying ourselves so much we just haven't got around to doing it. We'll try and do better in the future!!

The weekend proved very entertaining because Paris had its gay pride parade a spectacle we enjoyed watching.

Jim had to pop back to UK for Monday and Tuesday (29th & 30th) which was unfortunate because he missed our French friends from La Souterraine, Sasha and Guy who had come up to Paris for a couple of days. But I (Alison) had a lovely time with them and of course got to practice my French..so sorry Sasha and Guy for murdering your language!! Also had I had a great time with our Australian neighbours Sue and Kerry who kindly provided dinner from their fab Australian BBQ (if it goes missing, it wasn't me honest!) and a evening walking down to St Germain and back. So on Jim's return on Wednesday we left Paris heading along the Marne and our first tunnel albeit a short one, but controlled by a lock either end.

20th – 26th June 2009 Paris life

Had a good lie in today then wandered up to a local market just for a look. Unfortunately it started to pour do we nipped in for a roll and drink. Once it lessened we walked back via the river and had an afternoon of chores.

Then followed a series of days sightseeing. We are limiting ourselves to one a day because of the queues and long walks involved, also it’s just nice to walk or cycle through the backstreets (captain’s note: avoiding the shops if possible – not!!). There are lots of small markets and specialist food shops so the menu on board is interesting and far cheaper than eating out. We did try the Latin quarter – in fact we had a Greek meal – but did not enjoy the excessive touting from the various restaurants.

So far we have been to the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees (beaucoup de tres cher magazins!!), Jardin Tuleries, Eiffel Tower (3 hours queuing!!), Versailles, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur & Montmartre etc, etc. Our feet and legs are beginning to suffer but the saddle soreness is wearing off. The metro is good and cheap and easy to get round on too.

There are plenty of people to talk to on other boats and it is a real friendly and international community in the marina. We are getting used to being a tourist attraction, as the marina is actually a section of the canal many tour boats come by on a regular basis for a gawk.