Neuville-Day (how to stop gossip)

 SUNDAY 21 MAY

On Sunday morning we drove to Pont-à-Bar which is where we’ll be leaving the river Meuse to join the canal des Ardennes.  We left the car near the hire boat base two locks up the canal and walked 11 kilometres back to the boat along the river.  We saw lots of butterflies during our walk including plenty of small heaths which is the first time we’ve seen them this year, so it seemed they’d all emerged at once.  Other firsts for this year were a wall brown and a map.  Maps are not found in the UK, but we often see them over here, they are unusual in that the adults from the first and second broods each year are quite different.  The summer brood adults are predominantly black with red and white markings, whereas this was the far from fresh spring brood individual we saw:

Map butterfly near Port-à-Bar

The plan for this week is to start our journey on the canal des Ardennes exploring the places and countryside on the way.  We’ve really enjoyed being on the Meuse with its large meanders between high, forested hills and would highly recommend it as the whole journey has been stunning.  Although the Meuse flows through mainly rural areas there are quite a few large towns, so we were never far from civilisation and commerce.  It’ll be strange going onto the canal as it is very rural with only a couple of small towns and the occasional village so food shopping will have to be planned carefully.

MONDAY 22 MAY

The canal des Ardennes runs for 88 kilometres through 47 locks  from the Meuse at Pont-à-Bar to the canal latéral à l’Aisne at Vieux-lès-Asfeld, in effect creating a link between the rivers Meuse and Aisne.  A 12-kilometre-long branch about halfway along used to lead down from the village of Semuy to the town of Vouziers but is now closed to boats.  The design of the canal started in 1793 with work commencing in 1823 and was fully opened by 1831.  The enlargements to the locks and channels to the 38 metre Freycinet barge standard was carried out just 15 years later, in 1846.

Canal des Ardennes – we’re cruising from east to west

The whole canal is only used by pleasure boats as nowadays there is no commercial traffic even though the locks are large enough to take the small standard péniches.  There is a hire boat base at the Meuse end, where we've left the car, but apparently hirers invariably holiday on the Meuse rather than tackle all the locks and cope with a lack of towns on the canal.  Hopefully, we will be travelling the length of the canal and then joining the canal latéral à l’Aisne before returning to the area around Reims which we have been through several times before but not from this direction.  I say hopefully as we’d planned to travel on the canal in two previous years but were thwarted by a lack of water on each occasion.

Having stayed a couple of nights in Lumes we decided Monday was the day to get onto the canal and set out late morning for the last few kilometres and final lock on the Meuse.

Our mooring at Lumes

After passing through the unfortunate sounding Flize we got ourselves into our last lock on the Meuse only to find the gates wouldn’t close behind us so tied up securely at the bottom of the lock and called VNF.  Our experience on the Meuse has shown that they seem to take around 30 minutes to arrive so we took the opportunity to have lunch while we waited.  On most canals and rivers, someone usually appears promptly, and we hardly ever wait for as much as 15 minutes let alone half an hour.  No one had arrived by the time we’d had lunch so I climbed to the top to have a look around and could see a barge was waiting to come down.  It turned out to be David and Becky on Wanderlust whom we’d met a couple of years ago on the river Saône.  They’d also put in a call to VNF, but it was still an hour before an éclusier turned up in his van and got us through.

Wanderlust
The reciprocal picture with a posing Buddy

It wasn’t long before we were approaching the first lock on the canal des Ardennes that would take us off the river.

Getting ready to leave the river

Coming out of the lock we passed a long line of boats, some were old péniches that were now permanent liveaboards and the rest were river cruisers on their home mooring.  River cruiser owners must find it an ideal place to keep their boat as there is only one lock to go down before they have hundreds of kilometres of river cruising in front of them.  The lock also means the moorings are high enough above the river to be safe when it floods.  We moored just before the second lock alongside the car that we’d left there the previous day, intending to stay the night.

Moored at Pont-à-Bar

In the middle of the afternoon, I drove to Saint-Aignan and left the car near the canal tunnel there.  It was only a seven kilometre walk back along farm tracks and, apart from a guy in a lavoir, I didn’t see a soul until back in Pont-à-Bar and that happened to be Karen taking Buddy for his last walk of the day.  The walk had taken me through some lovely countryside and also the village of Hannogne-St-Martin where I found two lavoirs.  Unlike most of the previous ones we’ve seen in Ardennes, these two were both open, and the full basins were fed by running water.  At the first was the guy I mentioned, who was filling plastic containers and I checked that he didn’t mind before taking some pictures. 

I have no idea what he was filling the containers for but offered to help him carry them as he left.  He was very appreciative of the offer but as he only lived over the road, he said he could manage.

That first lavoir was also unusual for the Ardennes département in that it had an impluvium style roof for water collection as well as the running water:

Walking back to the boat, Karen and I agreed that we didn’t fancy staying where we were moored by the lock in Pont-à-Bar and that we should move out into the country.  We went up the lock and then through the hire boat base at the top.  Opposite the hire boats was a boatyard that was reminiscent of some of those found in England with most of the boats in need of or even beyond love and attention.  We moored up after a couple of kilometres in an open stretch near Hannogne-St-Martin where I’d seen the two lavoirs.  Not only was it peaceful with far reaching views, but as there wasn’t a path on either side of the canal, we were free from passers-by so, apart from some inquisitive cows, had the place to ourselves.

Evening at Hannogne-St-Martin

On Monday we cruised 12 kilometres up three locks.

TUESDAY 23 MAY

Morning view from the other direction

I’ve not mentioned the weather for a while as it’s now as expected for this time of year which means it’s well and truly shorts and tee shirts every day.  Saying that, it was cloudy when we arose on Tuesday and didn’t clear until lunchtime but at least it was still warm.  Over the last week or so the warm weather jobs have been done such as getting the mossie nets out to enable us to sleep with the doors open, cleaning the stove ready for the winter and finding the rear deck parasols and outside furniture.

Having found a pleasant mooring, we stayed put on Tuesday taking in a couple of walks.  We visited Hannogne-St-Martin where I’d seen a couple of lavoirs when walking back to Pont-à-Bar after dropping the car further up the canal.  To our delight we found three further lavoirs in the village, bringing the total to five which is amazing for such a small place.  The other pleasing thing was that all the lavoirs were still in water and all bar one had impluvium style roofs.

Sandstone buildings around the church

The predominant building material in the village was sandstone making a welcome change from the slate encountered along the Meuse. 

Sandstone mairie

Back at the boat we started talking about how we hadn’t heard the mating calls of frogs this spring.  A little later we realised that we must have subconsciously heard them because the place suddenly seemed to be alive with them.

WEDNESDAY 24 MAY

While Karen had her morning run Buddy and I went for a walk and ended up at the far side of Hannogne-St-Martin where we found yet another lavoir, bringing the total in the village to six.  That’s the most we’ve found in any one place let alone in a village with a current population of just over 450.  Over coffee later Karen and I discussed why there were so many and had several theories.  If a village had just one large lavoir then any gossip would be known by everyone in the village almost immediately.  The six lavoirs in Hannogne-St-Martin were all relatively small so each would only serve a few houses.  Assuming each lavandière used the lavoir closest to her home then this gives weight to our favourite theory that it prevented, or at least slowed down, gossipmongering by containing it to just the few houses that used each lavoir. 

By the time we left for Malmy, three boats had gone by and with three or four boats passing us each day we’ve been on this canal it’s obviously a lot busier than we thought it would be.  That’s good news really as it means the canal is being used.  Having been on the river for a few weeks it was a nice change to be on the tranquillity of a canal and it was amazing how quickly the landscape had changed from the steep sided wooded and rocky valleys of the Meuse to arable and livestock farming.

Leaving Hannogne-St-Martin for Malmy

After three kilometres we went up the first of the two locks immediately before the Saint-Aignan tunnel where I’d left the car on Monday.  Once we were in the second, the gates wouldn’t close fully behind us which meant the lock wouldn't start filling.  We were a little surprised that we had to call VNF when we’d only be on the canal for a few days as Becky and David, who’d just cruised the length of it, told us they’d only had to call VNF twice.

The gates not completely closed

Pretty lock cottage extended at least twice over the years

Once the éclusier arrived we were soon at the top and Karen and Buddy got off to take the car to Malmy where they would leave it so they could walk back to meet me.  Driving through Cannage the stonework behind a large ash tree caught her eye:

She stopped and went to have a look and sure enough, eagle eyed Karen had found our first open air lavoir in Ardennes, albeit in need of some love:

I only passed one settlement on my journey; a village called Omicourt which was a cluster of farm buildings and houses around a small church, typical of the villages we'll encounter along this canal.

Omicourt

Karen and Buddy were waiting at the lock at Malmy when I arrived and having gone up the lock we tied up for the night using an old commercial bollard and pins.

Wednesday night mooring at Malmy

On Wednesday we cruised nine kilometres, up three locks and through one tunnel.

THURSDAY 25 MAY

We left Malmy for La Cassine after breakfast on Thursday morning under glorious blue skies.  We’re finding that we’re really enjoying this canal; it’s so clean and weed-free and, with its deep sides we can just moor anywhere so there’s no worrying about whether or not there’s space at official moorings.

Leaving Malmy on Thursday morning

After four kilometres we stopped at a tiny place called Ambly consisting of just four dwellings where it looked ideal to spend the middle portion of the day:

It turned out to be a good spot to stop as we saw our first mazarine and common blues of the year.  Over the last few days I'd been thinking that we wouldn’t see any dingy skippers this year as it was getting a bit late in their flight season but fortunately found one flying in the same patch of birds foot trefoil as the common blues.

Top: Female mazarine blue. Bottom: Male common blue

Before setting off again we walked back to Malmy to retrieve the car.  Even though some of the walk was on a road it was very quiet, other than when tractors towing silage trailers came past.  The numbers and sizes of the vehicles we saw led us to believe a team of contractors had been brought in by the local farmers for the silage harvest.  Malmy was so small, a dozen or so houses, that it didn’t even have a mairie, but it did have a church standing someway outside, which we found was built in the 1200s.

Church standing quite separately to the village

In the middle of the afternoon we moved the car down to the lock at La Cassine and looked for a convenient place to moor which turned out to be just below the lock.  We walked back to get the boat and moved down to the mooring which by then was partly in some welcome shade.

Moored at La Cassine

The South Ardennes cycle route is due to run along the length of the canal des Ardennes making it ideal for Karen’s runs.  It’s not completely open the whole length yet as the section from the Meuse to Le Chesne (the bit we've cruised so far) is still under construction so Karen has been finding alternative routes.  The construction seems to have reached La Cassine where we were moored as can be seen in the picture above.  We took advantage of having the car to check if it was open the 11.5 kilometres to La Chesne; that would mean Karen could move the car there on Friday morning and run back.

It was worth the drive there as not only did we confirm the cycle way was open for Karen, but we also passed through two villages both of which had lavoirs.  It certainly seems that we are now finding plenty having had quite a dearth of them for the first few weeks this year.   While in the first village, which was called Sauville, we had a walk around.

Sauville church and war memorial

Sauville mairie

We didn’t get out and have a wander around Tannay, the other village, other than to park to see the lavoir which were passing on this rather unfortunately named road:

On Thursday we cruised five kilometres through no locks.

FRIDAY 26 MAY

Karen went for her run early on Friday morning before it got too warm combining it with moving the car to Le Chesne.  She drove there first and then ran back along the cycle path that wasn’t due to open until 8th June but was practically finished and easy to get around the barriers.  I took Buddy for his morning walk while she was gone and didn’t see a soul other than a tractor driver tedding his hay.  We did come across a slow worm sunning itself though:

It's strange but Buddy, who loves chasing anything that moves from squirrels to sheep, has never shown any interest in snakes or lizards.  Once we were all back at the boat, we left to cruise the 11.5 kilometres to Le Chesne where we planned to stay overnight.  We passed two moored boats on the journey, our first in nearly 30 kilometres since passing the boatyard at the start of the canal:

We had two locks to ascend and then were on the summit where Le Chesne sits, and we arrived there at midday.  Le Chesne is the second largest town on the canal but with no market or supermarkets, just one 7-11 store, a bar and a couple of restaurants it’s not particularly large.

Arriving in Le Chesne

There was a water point at the town mooring so the first things we did were to take on water and have lunch.

Town mooring

Neither of us fancied staying in Le Chesne, much preferring to be out in the country so we decided to move on after lunch.  Ahead of us was a chain of 27 locks which take between six and eight hours to get through.  There clearly wasn’t time for us to do the whole flight before the locks close at 18.00 but it was possible to moor after 19 locks at a place called Neuville-Day.  Generally, stopping in a lock flight is not allowed or indeed sensible as the pounds are short and liable to drain somewhat overnight but the pound in Neuville-Day is longer than the others and VNF are happy for boats to moor there.

As we had five hours before lock closing time we thought we could make Neuville-Day in time so went for it.  Karen moved the car to where we would moor and walked back up to meet me as I was coming down the flight.  In case you're wondering why we're keeping the car with us this year it's because Joanna, one of our daughters, is visiting us at the beginning of June and we'll need it to be able to do some sightseeing with her.  

Once the flight has been triggered the next lock in the sequence sets itself while the previous lock is being negotiated.  It did mean that we would break the chain by stopping at Neuville-Day so would have to let VNF know and also when we would want the chain restarted.  I nearly missed the receiver to start the chain as it was high up the bank and hidden by tree growth:

Nearly every lock on the flight has a lock cottage but apart from a couple they’re uninhabited which is a great shame as they are built in sandstone and are really pretty:

Most also still have their original lock information plates:

All went well until I came out of the fourth lock and two red lights, indicating out of service, were on at the fifth lock, so I called VNF.  I also rang Karen to let her know so she should also report it if she saw an éclusier on her walk up the flight.  After a while a man appeared at the top of the lock ladder, and I realised there was a boat at the bottom of the lock.  He walked up to see me and it turned out that he’d also called VNF.  Fortunately, he was French so was able to have a proper conversation with the command centre, but it still took an hour for someone to arrive.

The éclusier arrived in an orange VNF van which was the first time we’ve seen a VNF one that colour so we should have guessed things weren’t going to go well.  We have seen orange vans before but that was on the canal de la Somme which is run by the Somme département not VNF.  The guy was obviously a trainee as after getting the other boat up and out of the lock, he shut the gates on us as we were about to go in.  When we finally got his attention, he opened them again and let us in.  What any normal éclusier would have done next is reset the chain for the Frenchman going up and us going down.  He clearly didn’t understand about chains as he just didn’t know what to do.  He saw us down the next three locks manually with us getting more and more frustrated with him.  In the end he went to his van, retrieved a notebook and pen and made a phone call to the command centre They explained what to do to reset the chain while he wrote down the instructions in his notepad.   At the fourth attempt he got it right and with loud cheers from us the chain was reset so we could carry on without him.

Trainee’s van

It was Karen’s joke that she couldn’t understand why a trainee was sent out on his own let alone one beyond retirement age.  The communication with him was practically impossible as he always insisted on talking to us when we were at the bottom of a lock, and he was standing at the top.  It can be quite difficult to hear someone above the echoes of the engine in a lock chamber but with the sound of water rushing over the gates behind us and the language barrier it became impossible.

We thought we’d explained to him that we would be mooring up at Neuville-Day after lock 19 but clearly hadn’t as he turned up when we were in number 17 and indicated it was gone 18.00 so we couldn’t go any further.  We tried pleading with him but to no avail and he turned lock 18’s  lights off.  There was nothing for it but to tie up in the pound which is heavily frowned up for reasons I explained earlier.  As it turned out it was another of those moorings where there were no passers-by and no houses in sight, so we had a lovely and peaceful evening.

Friday night above lock 18

On Friday we cruised 18 kilometres up two and down 17 locks.

SATURDAY 27 MAY

Although we’d had a peaceful evening, the lock we were moored by had very leaky gates and the sound of the water crashing into the empty chamber did keep us awake from early in the morning.  We don’t usually mind the sound of running water and, like listening to birds or frogs, find it soothing but it was just too loud once we were awake.  It didn’t help as we sleep at the front of the boat which was right next to the lock gates. On top of that we leave the doors wide open in the bedroom so there was nothing to block out the sound.

We thought we’d get down the two locks that we were prevented from doing on Friday and then moor for the day at Neuville-Day.  First, we had to call VNF to get the chain started and expected an hour’s wait until an éclusier turned up.  To our surprise they were able to set the chain remotely and we were soon off and down the two locks wondering why on earth that wasn’t done the previous day to save the poor trainee from floundering around.  We moored up just before the third lock and were just about to let VNF know we’d broken the chain when an éclusier arrived at the lock in his van, so I was able to explain that we were staying for the day.

Our mooring above the lock at Neuville-Day

Lac de Bairon is a large reservoir that sits at the summit and provides the water for the canal des Ardennes and our target for the day was to walk around it.  We had a lovely walk and when passing the waterside campsite thought it would make a beautiful place to stay. 

Three quarters of lac de Bairon

There was even a beach, but it seemed to be too early for any of the purported 40,000 swimmers a year to be swimming as people were only just arriving in their cars and setting up their barbecues.

We took the opportunity to wild paddle though:

We found a lavoir in the village on our way back and by the sides of the basin implements used by lavandières were on display such as their wooden kneelers, buckets and clothes barrows.

It was such a lovely day that we spent the rest of it outside moving between the sun and shade.

No, Karen isn’t ignoring me

At one point Karen was carrying some plates and cutlery back into the boat and I restrained myself from calling out for her to be careful when I heard her swear.  A knife slipped into the water and to make it worse a second quickly followed it.  I got out our trusty magnet and soon retrieved one of the knives but not so the other.  I was getting hot and bothered so left it for later in the day and when I had another go I lost my grip on the cable attached to the magnet and down it went too.  So then I had to find something metallic and dense to tie to the end of a line that I could use to retrieve the magnet.  Again, it took a couple of sessions but I got it back in the end.       

On Saturday we cruised less than a kilometre down two locks.










Lumes (last stop on the Meuse)

Morning under les Dames de Meuse

SUNDAY 14 MAY

Returning to Revin after walking along the large river loop around the town we came out at the deep lock where it wasn’t easy putting Karen ashore when we’d arrived in the town on Friday.  She had to be dropped off at one of the three commercial dolphins that can be seen in the picture below.  The picture also shows the flow the boat had to deal with at the same time and then head into the lock approach afterwards.

Dolphins at the lock approach at Revin

The wooded banks of the river around Revin were full of wild garlic a couple of weeks ago and Karen was hoping it hadn’t gone off yet as she needed a few handfuls for the evening recipe.  She was in luck and, although most of it was just on the turn, there were still plenty of fresher leaves to choose from.  Our walk was enhanced because for once there were plenty of butterflies on the wing, a rare occurrence so far this year. 

Back at the port we topped up the water tank, settled up for our stay, said farewell to our neighbours and set off for the village of Laifour.  On the way down we’d spotted a likely looking mooring a couple of kilometres outside the village in a lovely remote location that wasn’t in any of the waterways guides we use.  It was particularly inviting because not only did it look like a beautiful place but it was on the inside of a bend away from the main current.

With the sort of weather normally expected at this time of year we had a pleasant cruise, albeit slow as the flow against us was still strong.

Passing Anchamps

The last part of the cruise was under some rocky hills known as the Dames de Meuse.  Legend has it that these 400+ metre high hills are the wives of first crusaders who were turned to stone for being unfaithful whilst their husbands were off crusading.  When we’d come down this way the sky was very overcast but this time we were treated to lovely blue skies.

Lock cut beside les Dames de Meuse

Rejoining the river we found the spot we were looking to moor at.  Unfortunately, several fishermen were in situ and one of them didn’t get one of his lines out of the way.  He’d obviously misjudged it as he’d removed his other lines, but our bows just caught the remaining one.  We were practically stopped by this point, so Karen went down the front and released the line for him.  He was very apologetic and said it was his fault thus avoiding a potentially embarrassing situation.

One guy was set up against one of the bollards we wanted to use but he made gestures that he and his wife, who was reading while sunning herself, would move for us.  We were very grateful because I wasn’t relishing the thought of having to ask them to move.

Sunday evening at Laifour before the anglers left

It really was a stunning location and easily one of the best places we’ve stayed at and after the anglers left we had the evening to ourselves.

On Sunday we cruised 8.5km up two locks.

MONDAY 15 MAY

Buddy and I went butterflying while Karen went for her Monday morning run.  I found an area of scrubland that looked ideal for green hairstreaks but couldn’t find any.  Although there were quite a few butterflies out and about it seemed speckled yellow moths were the most common insect. 

Back at the boat I had to do what can only be described as a blue job as it involved hoses and valves related to the toilet and that’s probably enough said about that other than, as with any job, it took longer than planned.

In the afternoon we walked the two kilometres to the village of Laifour which was further upstream.  It wasn’t a very large place but must be quite busy in the summer months being on boating, walking and cycling routes as well as nestling under the Dames de Meuse.  Walking down the main street we saw the unmistakable sight of a lavoir but this one had been converted into the village hall:

Helpfully a sign had been put up at the other side for those not in the know:

The mairie, as is still nearly always the case, was showing solidarity with the Ukraine by flying their national flag.  The railings around the war memorial were decorated with a garland of doves coloured in by the village children.  

The only person we saw was a woman who called out from her garden when Karen was trying the church door.  She told Karen, with a shrug of her shoulders, that the church was closed, always closed!


TUESDAY 16 MAY

We just couldn’t drag ourselves away from our beautiful spot so spent another day going for the odd walk and just taking in the views.  At one point, Rob and Suzy popped by for a while; they’d cycled down from their mooring further upstream at Monthermé.

On one of our walks, we spotted a small sign to ‘Source ferrugineuse’ and followed a track up the wooded hillside for a short way.  We found a spring where the minerals in the water emerging from it had stained the rocks a rusty iron colour:


WEDNESDAY 17 MAY

Sun rising on the Dames de Meuse on Wednesday morning

Still not able to drag ourselves away from the stunning scenery around Laifour, we moved on to the village itself where there was an old quay.  It looked a great place to stop, handy for the village centre and with just one other boat already moored there.  The fact that the facilities hadn’t yet been set up for the season, probably explained the lack of boats.

Moored at the village quay

It was a strange set up because electricity and water bornes are present in photographs of the site in the guidebooks, but they are clearly removed for the winter as they weren’t there when we arrived.  This was the first time we’ve come across this and couldn’t help thinking that there must be more work involved in removing, storing and installing the bornes every year rather than just using a secure master switch and stopcock as seems to be done in other such moorings.

Soon after tying up, a couple of guys arrived and mowed the long grass on the quay which probably meant the mairie was getting ready to connect the services so they could start welcoming (and charging) tourists.  Once again, we went for a couple of walks during the day and on one of them found these signs pinned to trees every so often:

My first thoughts were that the signs were indicating a good walk to see or hear owls at the appropriate times of the day.  Investigating further, it transpired that many of the village walks in this area are named the same and we were surprised not to have come across them before.  

At the southern end of the village we found a second lavoir which, like many in the Ardennes, was locked so we couldn’t see inside.

When we returned home a couple of boats had joined us and our neighbour who was there when we arrived.  A little later on two more pulled up so the mooring was full. No doubt this is a sign that it's getting busier and what we should expect until we leave the Meuse.  Selfishly we'd rather be on our own but know that commercially it's much better for it to be busy.  Not only do the local enterprises benefit from the tourism but so do the canal and river authority.

On Wednesday we cruised 1.5km through no locks.

THURSDAY 18 MAY

That's Buddy asleep on the freshly mown quayside at Laifour

We had an early breakfast on Thursday morning as we wanted to walk to the top of the Dames de Meuse which are just over 400 metres high.  We found out that there were two paths to the summit and chose the steeper one which was quite a bit shorter but obviously a stiffer climb.  Most of the walk was in the forest so there were no views. but the tree cover gave us plenty of shade for the climb up.  We were still in an area where the predominant rock was slate which meant we passed some dramatic formations on the way up.  At the summit a viewpoint had been created by clearing the trees and gave us some brilliant views:

Laifour to the right of the river

Karen queried whether we really were at the summit as she’d thought that there were going to be statues representing the Dames de Meuse standing at the top.  She was almost disappointed that there weren’t any as she’d built up a picture in her mind of how it was going to be.

By time we got back to Laifour all the boats had gone and after coffee and cake we set off too, bound for Monthermé.

Approaching the lock before Monthermé

We were meeting our friends Bill and Jane, who were heading to Holland, and found them moored on the town quay.  Buddy recognised their boat as we were pulling up and started wagging his tail so hard that his back end was almost coming off the rear deck.  Buddy always remembers boats where the owners have given him treats and Jane is never shy at not only providing dog chews and biscuits but saving scraps of cooked meat when she knows she’ll be seeing him.  After mooring up we spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with Bill and Jane, not forgetting to pick up our post that they had brought up from our residential address in Châlons-en-Champagne where they'd overwintered.

Moored in Monthermé

On Thursday we cruised nine km up two locks.

FRIDAY 19 MAY 

Friday morning was spent with our friends who were moored further up the quay from us thus nearer the campervan section.  Monthermé was clearly very popular with the campervanners as there were so many; probably the most we’ve seen in one spot this year.  We said our farewells around noon and Bill and Jane got ready to continue their journey into Belgium and then Holland while we set off south for Joigny-sur-Meuse.

Some of the long line of campervans as we left Monthermé

We had an uneventful two-and-a-half-hour cruise to Joigny-sur-Meuse, a spot Karen had chosen because we hadn’t stayed there on the way down but we’d both thought how peaceful it looked as we’d passed by the village pontoon.

Moored at Joigny-sur-Meuse

All afternoon was spent sitting outside with just a brief break for a walk around the village.  Buddy was happy sleeping on the pontoon in the sun but every so often paddled in the water to cool down followed by a sleep in the shade.

There were a few tourists wandering around the village and it seemed that most of them had arrived by bike.   Rather than include photographs of any of the buildings here’s one of some signs on the mairie.  We did wonder if the picture next to the name of the square where the mairie was situated was of the soldier the square was named after.

Almost back at the boat we found yet another locked up lavoir.  To be fair this one was being used as a village storage room so at least it wasn’t being left to fall into disrepair like so many of the lavoirs we’ve seen in Ardennes.

Looking north from the bridge in Joigny-sur-Meuse

On Friday we cruised 11 km up one lock.

SATURDAY 20 MAY

We left Joigny-sur-Meuse straight after breakfast as we wanted to reach Lumes which would be our last planned stop on the Meuse before turning off onto the canal des Ardennes.  It was a lovely warm day and we saw three boats on the move; two heading for the port in Charleville-Mézières and we suspect the third one would be too as it’s a large tourist town.  Arriving in Lumes we moored on the 100-metre pontoon where we were the only boat.

We’d been cruising for nearly five hours, so a very long day for us and the first thing we did when we arrived was walk into the village of Lumes to check the car was still where I’d left it opposite the mairie.  All was okay so Karen drove into Sedan to do the food shopping while Buddy and I had a walk and did some boat jobs.

Later in the afternoon we could hear happy screams of children and realised a group of teenagers, who’d been playing football near the mooring, were at the far end of the pontoon where they were diving into the water.  Although the Meuse looks fairly clear, the authorities are not happy people swim in it unlike many other French rivers.  To be honest we wouldn’t swim in it as it is nowhere near as clear as the likes of the river Marne but then we do see children swimming in the canals over here which must be worse than swimming in the Meuse.

On Saturday we cruised 18 km up four locks.