Bantouzelle (corona-friendly lock operations)

Lining up for the big one

Other than passing Bill & Jane and Guy & Ardon in the opposite direction a week or so ago we’ve not met up with other boaters all the while we’ve been cruising this year.  So it was strange to be cruising with a couple of other boats especially as they were Brits as well.  We’d all booked in to go through the Riqueval tunnel on Thursday so on Wednesday morning we all set off from Lesdins to form a queue at the tunnel entrance where we would have the rest of the day to understand the ins and outs of the transit.

First, we had to go through the relatively short 1,200-yard-long Tronquoy tunnel which was controlled by traffic lights with two windows in each direction every day.

Approaching Tronquoy tunnel

The tunnel was the first brick lined one we’ve been through over here, all the rest have been stone lined.  This seems to be the opposite to those in the UK which tend to be brick lined although in my mind I can already hear people listing stone, concrete and metal lined tunnels.

Brick lined with a towpath and lights

When we were getting near the second tunnel, we went under a bridge that was rather ornate compared to the rest of those we have seen on the Canal de St Quentin which have all been plain and functional.  When we walked down to it later, we found out that it was the only bridge on the canal that wasn’t deliberately blown up by the Germans when they formed their defensive Hindenburg Line.  They left this one intact as they were using it to gain access to land they still held in the west.  The others were all replaced after the occupation hence their simple style.

Riqueval bridge

We were soon passing the one kilometre long waiting quay for the Riqueval tunnel.  It’s not surprising it was that long as up to 30 Freycinet barges (each 39m long) could be towed through at a time when this canal was the main north-south waterway above Paris.  It’s not the same nowadays and the three of us moored up behind the towing tug in descending weight order as we’d been advised.

When we first reached the quay we noticed what we thought at first were telegraph wires strung above the water.

Telegraph wires?

We soon cottoned on and realised they were like trolley bus wires.  The towing tug that pulls boats through is electric and it takes its power from the overhead cable. 

The tunnel, which is just over 3½ miles long was opened by Napoleon I in 1810 and in those days it took seven or eight men 12 to 14 hours to pull boats through by walking on the towpath (there being no room for horses).  In 1856 a towing tug was built that was operated by up to eight horses walking on a carousel on the deck.  The carousel drove a winch that pulled the towing tug along a cable laid on the canal bed.  This scheme only lasted eight years as the horses suffered badly from walking in circles in poor light.

The horse carousel was replaced by a steam tug in 1864 but this proved disastrous in that boaters were seriously poisoned by the fumes in the unventilated tunnel.  In 1910 the first electric tug was introduced and this is the method that is still used more than 100 years later.  The original electric tug is on display in a museum above the tunnel.

The original electric tug

The current ones (there are two so there is a backup) are built to the same design and are approaching 100 years in age.

The one that would tow us and the chain that runs along the tunnel floor…

…and its trolley bus arm

A chain is used in place of the original cable that was used by the horse carousel.

The winch on today’s towing tug

The tunnel is the longest canal tunnel in Europe and was used as a barracks by the Germans in WWI when 38 barges were commandeered for the soldiers to sleep in.  The tunnel was captured and taken back by American troops on 18^th September 1918 at the same time as Aussie troops re-captured the Riqueval bridge.

Karen & I took Buddy for a circular walk taking in the Riqueval bridge and a few other points of WWI interest.  When we returned, Gary and I went to look around the tunnel museum but couldn’t go inside the electric tug exhibit, which would probably have been the most interesting thing, because of restrictions due to coronavirus.  

Looking down on the boats from the museum above the tunnel portal

Later on, we all got together to get our lines sorted out for the tunnel transit.  There was very little information around, and we already knew that the heaviest boat in the tow line needs to be at the front and the lightest at the back.  That meant we were at the back behind Malcolm & Sue who were behind Gary & Pat who would be attached to the towing tug.  We did find out that we needed two 30 metre lines between each boat that crossed over.   Karen & I decided that we felt happier with just one line attached to Malcolm & Sue’s boat as being a narrowboat we’re not very wide.  We also read that we needed to be ready to go by 7.00am as the towing tug would start at 7.30am at the latest.

It was quite a cool day and it was even cooler deep in the cutting because we were hidden from the sun.  Still, it didn’t stop the six of us having drinks on the back of Malcolm & Sue’s boat before retiring for the evening.  My first job when we went back indoors was to order a new interlock switch and have it delivered to a family member in the UK who can then post it to a post office in France using the Poste Restante service.  Before that can be done Karen needs to finish planning which towns we will be travelling through when we’re on the River Somme in a week or two so we'll know which post office it should be sent to..

On Wednesday we cruised six miles through one tunnel but no locks.

As requested, we were all up and about and outside by seven in the morning but there was no sight nor sound of VNF.  We moved the three boats apart so that there was a good gap between them and got our towing lines attached.  It was approaching 7.30am and we were joking that they were in a control room somewhere watching us on CCTV to see when we would crack, when two VNF guys arrived. 

We were expecting a third degree, a health & safety appraisal followed by full instructions as would be given in tunnels like Standedge and Harecastle in the UK. The only contact we had was with one of the guys who collected our télécommandes.  A different sort of remote control is used for the locks on the other side and we would be given an appropriate télécommande when we arrived at the first lock.

No sooner had the guy picked up the télécommandes when we heard two blasts of a hooter.  Gary realised he was underway and announced it on the radio, so we we all rushed on to our boats to be ready to move as well. 

Off we go

OK, so it was 25 metres not 30 and we only had one line not two but nobody checked

It was all rather tame and there was no damage done to any of the boats during the 1¾ hour journey - give us Standedge tunnel any day (longest, deepest and highest in the UK).  We’d heard horror stories of boats weaving from side to side and being damaged and had seen the bad scrapes Guy & Ardon received on the sides of their boat Vindi.  As testament to this, the lower walls were worn smooth by boats being dragged along the sides.  The tunnel was eight metres wide with a narrow towpath and the lining was a mixture of brick, stone and bare rock.

Walls have been worn smooth over the centuries

Emerging from the northern portal

We were all in need of breakfast so moored up at the the far end of the waiting quay used for boats queuing to go in the opposite direction.  As the others were travelling further than us during the rest of the day, they set off first after the breakfast stop but we weren’t far behind them.  As expected an éclusiere was on patrol at the first lock handing out télécommandes that we would use to operate the remaining locks to the end of the canal.  As well as summoning the lock to set itself for us, these télécommandes also controlled the lock filling/emptying process rather than us having to push up on a metal rod.  This meant that we didn’t have to touch anything outside the boat and could dispense with the sanitiser dispenser while cruising.

The canal on the northern side of the summit follows the valley of the River Escaut down to Cambrai which marks the end of the Canal de St Quentin.  Some of the village and lock names reflect the name of the river such as the second lock we went down, Honnecourt-sur-Escaut.

Écluse at Honnecourt-sur-Escaut

We moored up for lunch and the day, as we were feeling quite tired, between two locks at a place called Bantouzelle.  We knew there was a short pontoon there as it was where we met Nikki & Gorete after one of our trips back to the UK.  In return for bringing them some supermarket shopping they had provided us with a sumptuous breakfast which worked well as it provided a welcome break in our journey back to the boat that day.

Karen & Buddy had walked all the way since restarting after breakfast and arrived at Bantouzelle before I did so were able to check the pontoon was free. 

Moored at Bantouzelle

After lunch we went around the two villages either side of the canal, Banteux and Bantouzelle.  We saw one dog walker and some people attending a funeral at the church in Banteux.

Church in Bantouzelle

We obviously didn’t walk all the streets in Bantouzelle because we didn’t come across the mairie but we didn’t miss it in Banteux.

Banteux marie

Banteux church

Even though it had been a cloudy day it was still quite warm so we sat outside until it was time to start preparing dinner.

Our mooring from the Banteux side

On Thursday we cruised nine miles through one tunnel and down four locks.

Mareuil-sur-Aÿ (back on board)

Evening flight over the vineyards

After spending the summer in England we’re back on the boat again having had a great time catching up with the family.  With so many children and grandchildren, it felt like we were living in a whirlwind, but a whirlwind we wouldn’t miss for the world.  On top of that we’d bought a house back in March in a place we’d always wanted to live so any spare time we had was spent settling in with the locals, which of course was made easier by having a great little pub in the village.

 

SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER

Each time we’ve returned to France after a break we’ve caught the shuttle at four or five in the morning so we can arrive back at the boat around lunchtime leaving the afternoon free to sort things out and settle in.  This time, as we only had a three-hour drive from Calais to where we’d left the boat at Condé-sur-Marne we took advantage by booking a late morning train.  We’d been expecting the transit through the dog and human border control to take longer as we were travelling during the day but were pleasantly surprised that it was just as smooth and quick as in the small hours.

It only took us eight hours door-to-door and we had everything organised within an hour of arriving so were able to spend the rest of the day relaxing with rosé and our canal guides planning the next few months. 

MONDAY 4 SEPTEMBER

We’d noticed quite a stream of commercial boats passing during Sunday afternoon and into the evening and as there were more boats than we normally see in this area we wondered why there were so many.  A péniche called Tonga had moored next to us overnight and in the morning, I met a girl walking her dogs and she happened to own three commercials one of which was Tonga which she was travelling on.  She was able to explain the reason for the increased volume and as she was Swiss, she had perfect English so there was no risk of misunderstanding anything in translation.  It turned out that there was a programme of dredging being carried out on the canal leading down to the river Marne and the boats were taking the dredged material away.  What I found amazing was that they were taking their cargo and depositing it at a site 90km away.  It wasn’t just the distance that I found amazing it was that there were 28 locks to negotiate in each direction which must make the journey quite tedious.  

Tonga off to get loaded with spoil on Monday morning

 

With the continuing hot weather and the fact that our mooring was shaded for much of the day we decided to stay put and not start cruising for a few days, concentrating more on keeping Buddy cool and getting some jobs done.  During the afternoon we drove over to Châlons-en-Champagne to stock up with food and replace one of the gas bottles that had run out.  We also took the opportunity to pick up our mail from the port in the town and this included our long-awaited carte vitale.  This card contains our social security number and proves we are part of the French health system when needing medical attention or a trip to a pharmacy.  It was long-awaited because we’d been using temporary social security numbers for four years which had caused us some difficulties when using them, not least that we had to re-register each year which resulted in new numbers every time.

 

Condé-sur-Marne port where we left Chalkhill Blue during the summer

 

TUESDAY 5 & WEDNESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

 

The hot weather continued so once again we had easy days, taking Buddy for short walks early in the morning and late in the day.  I did have to service the engine before we left so that was one unwelcome job to do, especially in the heat.

 

Other than a boulangerie and dispensers for pizzas, fresh meat and produce there’s no other commerce in Condé-sur-Marne.  There used to be a market but even though it is no longer held, the small hall that housed it has been retained.  As far as other sights are concerned there's the customary church and mairie but anything else is related to the canal: 

 

Condé-sur-Marne church and mairie

 

The port was once a thriving commercial concern being on the junction of two canals and the nearby river Marne for the transportation of timber, grain and beet. Nowadays grain is the only freight transported from the village and a large silo dominates the canal as they often do on waterways throughout France.  Just opposite our mooring is a large pumping station built in the 1860s to pump water from the river Marne up to the summit of the canal de l’Aisne à la Marne:

 

Pumping station opposite the port

 

There is one lock in the village and that is just north of the port with an old electric locomotive on display.

 

 

These engines are no longer used but once towed barges along the northern and eastern canals.  They were taken out of service in the 1970s and we often see them on display in strategic places such as at locks and by old engine sheds.  While looking at old photographs recently I came across one that held a lot of historic interest:

 

The canal de la Marne au Rhin in 1955

 

Not only have the towing loco and the steam engine been replaced, but the canal is also no longer used.  The 17 locks on this section of the canal de la Marne au Rhin were replaced in 1969 by the Arzviller inclined plane that we travelled on a couple of times last year. 

 

While on lost forms of transport here is a second photo I came across showing two horses towing a barge and an electric car towing another at one of the entrances to the Arzviller tunnel.  Also in view, on the far side is an electric tug that used to tow the boats through the tunnel, the portal of which can be seen in the background.  Boats now go through the tunnel under their own steam but an electric tug was still in use when we were towed through the 5.67km long Riqueval tunnel on the canal de Saint Quentin three years ago (see blog entry for details of the passage by clicking this link).

Undated photo of the tunnel at Arzviller

When we start cruising again we’ve decided that we’ll take it slowly down the river Marne which we can join in about 20km at its highest navigable point.  In 2019 we’d cruised up the length of the navigable river from its junction with the Seine in Paris and thoroughly enjoyed it, both the river itself and the towns and villages on its route.  This time we intend stopping at some of the places we missed last time and also make sure we witness much of the champagne grape harvest that starts this week.  The champagne controlling committee publishes the dates that each village can start its vendange (grape picking) for each of the three main varieties of grapes used in champagne production.  Champagne villages occur in five départements of which Marne, where we will be travelling, contains the majority.  Here is an extract of the four pages detailing the start dates for the villages in Marne just to show how strictly the production is controlled:

THURSDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

Early in the morning, Karen moved the car to Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, one of our next planned stops, so she could run back the 12km before it got too hot.  Her run took her alongside some vineyards, so she was able to confirm that the vendanges had started and on the date laid down by the authorities.  After her return we set off on a short cruise but first we had to spin the boat around which, as we were on a commercial canal, was very easy as the cut is wider than the length of the boat.  We then took on water before heading onto the canal latéral à la Marne passing the grain silos as we left the port:

                  

We had a swing bridge to negotiate at Bisseuil which in the past we’ve found tricky as the twisty pole was so short necessitating one of us to get on the roof and jump up in order to reach it.  It had obviously been replaced recently as we had no such problems this time.

Approaching the swing bridge at Bisseuil

We stopped for lunch just after going through the swing bridge and as there was shade for Buddy under the trees we decided to stay there for the rest of the day. 

Thursday night mooring opposite Bisseuil mairie

On Thursday we cruised seven km down one lock through one swing bridge and saw four commercials and no private boats. 

FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

Even though we’d cruised through Bisseuil previously we’d never stayed and had a look around so before it got too hot, we had a walk around the place.  It wasn’t very big (pop. c600) but did boast a boulangerie and a little bar. The main square wasn’t really large enough to have such a moniker but the summer decorations on display certainly made it feel like the locals thought it deserved the name:

Last year we visited a town on the Moselle called Pont-à-Mousson which housed a massive steelworks owned by Saint-Gobain.  It wasn’t until then that it clicked with us why so much street iron and steel work had ‘PAM’ emblazoned on it: it was short for Pont-à-Mousson. We knew Saint-Gobain were a large producer of these artefacts as the majority we have seen in France contain the abbreviation or the full name of the town.  What we hadn’t realised, until we saw ‘PAM’ inscribed on manhole covers when we paid a visit to London in the summer, was that they are exported too.  The different designs can be quite intricate as shown by this storm drain and manhole cover we saw during our walk around Bisseul.

Storm drain and manhole cover

When we returned to the boat we took a short cruise to our next stop, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, and managed to find a spot below the town lock that looked like it would be in shade for most of the day:

Thursday night mooring opposite champagne vines

During the day we had a couple of shortish walks along the canal which skirted the town and its port and was also fortunately nicely shaded by large trees. 

Fine display of petunias at canal bridge into town

The vineyards we walked past were all quiet as picking isn’t allowed to start until Monday in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, but the yards attached to the champagne houses were busy with workers.  It seemed that the main occupation was bringing trays out of storage, washing them down and stacking them ready to be loaded onto trailers ready for distribution by Monday.

Trailer loaded with grape crates

During one of the walks Karen got excited as she noticed a couple of ripe walnuts were laying on the ground.  I had to contain her by pointing out that she still had quite a lot of last autumn’s harvest to process.  I think she ignored me but she did say that the couple that had fallen weren’t particularly good and had probably dropped too early. 

As we settled down to watch the rugby we heard the unmistakable sound of a hot air balloon overhead.  It was on a tourist flight over the vineyards and we watched it make its way down towards us and then along the canal towards Aÿ.

On Friday we cruised three km down one lock and saw two commercials, two day boats and no private boats.