Netherlands via Brussels !

 With concerns that the Canal du Nord and the routes through Flanders may be restricted, we choose to take the Sambre canal into Belgium. A bit of a gamble wondering if there would be enough depth of water for us at the top of the hill. It turned out to be a great experience. 

The Sambre all to ourselves

Only another 50 locks to go!

This 187 km long waterway with 65 locks had only just been reopened in 2021 after being closed to navigation since 2006 due to a collapsed aquaduct. 

We cross the repaired aquaduct.

Not many boats have passed this way.

A quiet overnight mooring on the Sambre canal.

The drought has caused many boaters to abandon travelling too far so we had the waterway almost to ourselves. The lockkeepers were delighted to see us and were taking great trouble to manage the water levels along the route. 

A celebratory BBQ at Etreux, the summit lock on the Sambre.

The fine weather stays with us as we descend lock by lock

 Our plan once past the summit was to join the Meuse and enter the Netherlands at Maastricht. That plan was shattered when we learned that one of the locks at Auvelais on our route to the Meuse had failed and was to be closed for two weeks.    

 Ittre lock, the 14M drop is one of the deepest in Belgium. A commercial barge is descending. 

We had a plan B, which was to turn left at Charleroi and head north through Brussels, Antwerp and into the Netherlands that way. We then learn that the most direct route through the port of Antwerp was to be closed to all non commercial vessels. Our only remaining option would be the tidal Schelte river route down to Zeeland where we could finally lock into the Netherlands.

Too late to turn back, we continue and have the experience of riding the Ronquieres incline plane boat lift, and take a visit to the Waterloo battlefield.  

Antiope takes a ride on the rails down the hill for 1.5 kms, a descent of 70 m.

At Waterloo, a short distance from the waterway, stands a massive Lion cast from the battlefield cannons on top of a hill created by the labours of the widows of the battle.

It is sad to reflect that right now over 200 years later on the fringe of Europe, war is being raged and with no end in sight.   

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

  

     

Time out in Ireland

 We have just returned aboard Antiope after four weeks catching up with freinds and family in Northern Ireland and England. It started with an invitation to cruise the Irish waterways with boating folk we have come to know while cruising France. Our home for a week or so was their current craft Paper Moon cruising Lough Erne, one of the large inland expanses of water in the United Kingdom. Very different from cruising in France as despite the vast expanses of water, there is sometimes be less than 2m of water in some of the

navigation channels. If we get the chance again perhaps we will get to cruise further South down the Shannon. Thank you to our hosts Colin and Joy, we had a great time despite the challenging weather. 

Paper Moon, the ideal craft to cruise the Irish waterways 

Annie on channel watch. Note the warm clothes.

Soft morning light on Lough Erne

Enniskillen Castle, the gateway to Lough Erne

A refreshment stop, soup perhaps? Note the warm clothes.

                                                      

                                                    A bit of Irish !

Cots, traditional river transport, nowadays they race them !! 

Not all of our time was spent afloat, our hosts drove us along the Northern Irish Coastline to walk the 'Giant's Causeway'. No pictures can fully depict the scale of this rocky outcrop

The Giant's Causeway, truly awe inspiring

Our host and guide Colin. Note the warm clothes

For a day out, Annie and I took the train into Belfast, to visit the 'must see' Titanic experience and other sights. Belfast is a bustling city, working hard to put the past and the pandemic behind it. We had no safety concerns and met only freindly faces. We struggled a bit with the strong Northern Irish accents.

 

The Titanic was built on this slipway, still impressive.

Just another Belfast landmark.

Another day another visit.

Part of the 'America's Cup' folklore are the multiple 'Shamrock' challenges made by Thomas Lipton.

We were privileged to be shown into the Lipton room of the Royal Ulster YC and be dinner guests in the clubrooms.

The Lipton room, members only

Behind Annie in the picture are the lipton cup trophy winners, including our own Peter Blake.

All too soon it was time to catch the Ferry across the Irish sea.

Farewell Belfast

Hello Liverpool.

The England bit now.

We had set ourselves a tight schedule in order to see freinds and family across the country, where possible pre-booking hotels, flights, ferries and trains. We regularly covid tested ourselves and amazingly all the connections worked and we avoided catching the bug.

In the past we have hired cars to get around, but on this trip we have used only public transport and by playing the 'Senior Card' have saved both time and certainly cost. Frequently we were the only ones wearing masks on our travels and despite the alarmist news reports of impending strikes and disruptions we were impressed by the speed and efficiency of the services we used. 

The Nightingale pub in 'Mobs Hole', a haunt of Dick Turpin. 

We headed for London first and stayed in the genteel Victorian suburb of Wanstead where I had spent my early life. My local pub back then was the Nightingale which now claims historical links with the highwayman Dick Turpin and his gang in the area, then known as 'Mobs Hole' It is interesting how notoriety has now become a selling point. 

On our cultural day out in London we found 'Antiope' 

In contrast to Ireland the heatwave in London was gathering steam. The National Gallery seemed like a great place spend a morning in the cool. Here we found the greek goddess 'Antiope' being oggled by Jupiter as imagined by the Dutch painter Hendrick Goltzius.

The Lamb and Flag in Rose St, Covent Garden

Another way to cool off was to revisit the pub where I also misspent some of my youth.

The Deben river at Felixstowe Ferry, here lies the hulk of a once proud vessel.

We took a train to the Suffolk coast and another of my old haunts, the Deben river. The sea breeze very welcome after the trapped heat in London

At Shepperton, a little exercise on the Thames

Up to London once more and staying with sailing freinds Thameside at Shepperton before heading home.

'Swan uppers' heading past counting the Queens swans

In July it is a long established tradition for grown men to dress up and row up the Thames counting swans on behalf of the Queen. On the day they passed us, temperatures in London topped 40c and they were permitted to take off their jackets.

The same 'Swan uppers' in the lock

For our return to France we chose the Eurostar train through the channel tunnel, hassle free, cheaper and probably quicker door to door than flying.

If  you are going to build a railway station, do it in style. The Gare du Nord, Paris

Evening, back aboard Antiope. All's well and just as we had left her.

On Monday we start our passage to the Netherlands and our winter berth.

Cheers Charles and Annie