Monday 23rd April 2018 Fontenoy-le-Chateau to Corre 21.3kms 11 locks

Waiting for lock 35 Fontenoy in pouring rain

9.5ºC Showers predicted, but it rained (quite heavily at times) all day until just before we stopped. Set off at 9.45am in pouring rain. A short wait for the lock to fill, then round the sharp bend into lock 35 Fontenoy, which is in a rock cutting. Rods swapped to the right. Lock 36 Montmotier had no lock house. Rods were on the left again. Below the lock the surface of the canal was yellow from all the tree pollen. Pieces of floating branches were completely bare of bark – eaten by beaver. Took photos of the large lake formed by the river Coney and the church tower of

Lock 35  Mike under the trusty fisherman's brolly

Ambiévillers. Down lock 37 Gros Moulin, rain still pouring. Into lock 38 Ambiévillers which had a lived in lock house surrounded by kids’ toys. Mike took photos of Freland Chateau, shuttered and abandoned. Paused at the VNF mooring place above lock 39 Pont du Bois, intending to dump rubbish and top up the water tank – no bins and the tap didn’t work. Mike started to reverse back to the zapper post when someone came out of the VNF office. Mike said we wanted water but the tap didn’t work – we got called over to the bank and a large hose handed over to fill the tank, which was very nice

Swingbridge in Selles

of them. Chatted while the tank filled. Seems they empty locks as a matter of safety (?whose?) and they leak. After an uphill boat the lock will remain full for an hour and if nothing comes downhill then it will empty. We asked how long the lock will sit waiting for a boat to go in – fifteen minutes, then it will shut the gates. Useful to know. Down 39, then 40 Bois du Selles, 41 Carrières du Selles and through the manual swingbridge in Selles, operated for us by a friendly young lady. Down 42 Village de Selles, which had an empty lock house – the front door was open. A long pound

Contrasting trees, Selles

nearly 4kms to Basse Vaivre lock 43 so I made a quiche for later. Into Demangevelle and down lock 44. Terraced houses at Les Cités surrounded the lock, each block with a letter - H & I by the canal, most were empty and dilapidated, but some were lived in – according to Mr McKnight they were houses built before WW1 to house cotton workers. Down lock 45 Vougecourt, last lock for today, it had a lived in lock house behind which was a busy sawmill and woodyard including a huge charcoal maker. On into Corre. There were two boats

Chateau de Freland

moored before the road bridge, a cruiser and a DB called Coney. There is no longer a hire base  in the offline basin and it now calls itself the Port de Corre and notices said all moorings are “payant”. There were six permanent boats there including DB Lara The African Queen. The keeper was getting the lock on to the river ready. Mike tried waving, so did I, he also tried calling on VHF radio as the lock lights went to red/green. We tied to the bank by the noisy rookery and the light went back to red. Moored with a chain through a

Old lock house at 41 Carrieres de Selles

hole in a pile for the bow and Mike put a mooring pin behind the piling for the stern end – the steep bank was covered in thick wet herbage. It was 4.15pm and the rain had finally stopped.

Mike called these former cotton worker's houses
Cell Block H - anybody remember that?