Sunday 21 August 2022

Which way to go ?

 We have reached Compiegne on our cruise Northwards. It was here that in 1431 Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) a very passionate woman, was captured, tried and later 'burnt at the stake'. In 1918 L'Armistice was signed here, hopefully to end the 'War to end all wars'! Have we learned nothing? 

Compiegne, the 'Marie' and a defiant Jeane d'Arc.  
The bell which strikes every 1/4 hr dates from 1303 

We are making our way slowly towards Flanders and Holland where Antiope will spend her winter tucked up in a big warm shed. Reluctantly we are leaving France for a season or two, to revisit Belgium and the Netherlands where we started our European cruising back in 2011. This move has been prompted also by successive seasons of increasingly severe droughts in France which have repeatedly curtailed our cruising plans. Two Covid interupted years under tarpaulins in a dusty boatyard have also taken its toll on Antiope's paintwork, and while my patchwork painting may look ok from a distance, it is time to get a professional job done, especially under our lovely rope fender, at a recommended boatyard.

Fire drill at Vermenton on the day we departed on our way North

Auxerre, the 'Horlorge'

Sens, a balmy evening in the square. 
The Cathedral has stood here since 1160 

Still waters on the Yonne river.

A day out by bus to Fontainebleau, a palace larger than Versailles

France has experienced four successive heatwaves this Summer with temperatures aboard often topping 40C. Any activity in the heat of the day has been challenging, We are certainly not complaining but getting alongside early in the day and in the shade of trees has been a priority. The almost total lack of rain for many months has severely impacted the waterway system. 


                         Then there is Paris, of course.

Les Bateaux Mouches



Got to see it at night

The Haussmann Paris architecture 


Antiope in her favourite mooring, 'La Bastille'

Underway, we pass Notra Dame,  restoration well on its way and official
re-opening set for 15th April 2024.

Yes, clouds and a spot of rain later

A quiet mooring on the Oise
We have come North via Compiegne as all of our preferred routes eastwards from Migennes had become impassable due to lack of water or thick weed growth during the lockdown periods. Staying on the more reliable river navigations has taken us down the Yonne river to the junction with the Seine through Paris and up the Oise river thus far. Here we must choose which way to navigate through Belgium. Our preferred choices, the pretty Aisne canal through the Ardennes to Maastricht is already closed due to lack of water and the recently re-opened Sambre canal may close at any time for the same reason. The old but busy Canal du Nord remains our safest option through to the 'low countries' where the lack of water is seldom a problem. However, we are currently getting notices that they are closing a lot of the popular, non-commercial waterways in Belgium,




Reluctantly we go left

Plenty of water for us on the Oise

The Oise river to ourselves, 

well almost to ourselves


Antiope feels happy to be cruising again, her twin engines purring along at a very economical 4.2 litres per hour, which certainly helps when fuel is currently over 2 euros per litre.


And another thing -



Then there are the 'Conges Annuals'
The August French shopkeeper exodus

We will post an update when we get over or through the hill !!

Cheers Charles and Annie