Thursday 28th June 2018 Damery to Condé 23.7kms 5 locks (A total of 1,235.7kms and 400 locks)

Irate swan below Cumières lock

13.6ºC Hot and sunny, white clouds later in the afternoon. Cold gusty wind (kept us cool). Péniche Tchiki-Boum, now loaded, went past heading upriver at 8.55am. Mike chatted with the lady who drives hotel boat’s van – taking the tourists on days out and getting their supplies of food and wine. Mike asked her about the hotel boat listing so badly, she said it had one fuel tank which had been built into its port side and causes it to list as the tank empties and she agreed with Mike that it’s enough to put their

Extension slider (in case of flood water)
for floating pontoon in lock 1

guests off. It is a new boat and it will have to be sorted when it docks next winter. They winded and set off again downriver at 9am as the cruiser in front of us, Dolfyn, also set off but going in the same direction as us. We set off at 9.30am, slowly, knowing that we had a loaded boat and a cruiser in front. 2.5kms to the first lock. We hadn’t gone far when a cruiser went past heading downstream. A man and two small children in a rowing boat paused under trees as we went past. Fishing? No, just out for a trip on the river. Beautiful day for it! The kids waved and wished us bon voyage. Lock 1 Cumières has sloping sides and a pontoon to tie to. The resident keeper came out to have the zapper back – another VNF operative constantly on the phone. Up 1m and after a short canal section we were back on the river and another cruiser went past going downriver. The last river reach is navigable up into Epernay, but we’re not going there today. Through the road bridge and yet another downhill cruiser. We waited below lock 15 Dizy after turning the hanging pole (not easy with the wind and the flow from the river weir). A

Above Cumières lock - note height of antenna

Norwegian yacht came out of the lock and we went up 2.5m after Mike lifted the blue rod (I couldn’t get it to move) and I attached a side rope to the pole in the wall. A crew of three VNF operatives, one woman and two men, were hedge cutting at the lock house. Hotel boat Panache was moored above the lock. On the Canal Latèral à la Marne now, the now un-navigable river flows alongside the canal. Yet another cruiser went past, this one edging a bit too far towards the reedy bank for my liking, it’s not deep along the edges! The mooring quay in Dizy was

Paddlewheel trip boat in Cumières

completely full, a large DB with fading red paint turning pink,  a small yacht, a small cruiser and a lived on DB, no more room. On the following long straight we could see cruiser Dolfyn just leaving the next lock 2kms away. A short wait while lock 14 Ay emptied. It had been fenced off to keep the children and vandals (do they really have them here?) away from the lock. There were handlebar height hoops and fences on the towpath/cycle-path. Mike had to lift the rod again, I couldn’t shift it. The wind was blowing the boat off the wall so we rose ropeless another 1.8m.

Vineyards around Cumières

Midday and 4.5kms to the next. Two spaniel dogs were swimming in the canal and trying every now and again to get out, but couldn’t as it was too deep at the piled edges, so we stopped and I got off with a rope to hang on to the boat while Mike went back with a boat shaft to get them out. First thing they did was shake themselves and get him soaked. Then they both squatted for a pee before taking off along the towpath then into a field. Both had collars, we hope they found their way home safely. Mareuil-sur-Ay, like Ay,

Riverside decor in Cumières

was crammed out with moored boats. Two resident péniche houseboats had the prime position, two small cruisers were tied on the sloping edge of the layby, the finger moorings were filled with yachts and cruisers (including Dolfyn) and DBs took up the rest of the quay except for a péniche length with bollards at the end. The campervan places were full too. Beyond the moorings there was a lovely chateau facing the canal, Lock 13 Mareuil was full, I turned the pole and we waited while it

Hoop and swinging gate
 to force cyclists to get off and walk by the lock

emptied then went up 1.8m. Again Mike did the honours with the blue rod. The work vans were lined up outside the VNF workshop above the lock, including the hedge cutters’ van (recognisable by its smashed back window) having lunch. 5.1kms to Tours. First we had the swing bridge at Bisseuil to contend with. It worked just like the locks, twist the hanging pole then the bridge worked automatically. Lock 12 Tours was also fenced off from the public. This time I actually managed to lift the blue rod and set the lock working. A feed

Moored boats at Mareuil

paddle was permanently open, so the lock started filling before the rest of the gate paddles opened. Up another 2.1m in the last lock for this trip. There was a crowd of people walking the towpath – it looked like a guided tour. It was getting hotter and hotter, 33ºC outside. 4kms to go. I made us some cold drinks. We could see loaded péniche Tchiki-Boum about to go up lock 11 Vraux, as we turned left by the silos at Condé. The pontoon was vacant, but so was the place by the piling, so we left the pontoon for the passing boats and tied up at 3.20pm by the old gantry. 

Wednesday 4th April 2018 Soulanges to Brusson 16.7kms 6 locks

9.1ºC fine drizzle as we set of at 9.55am. Showers, some pretty heavy, all day until we stopped, and then sun came out and the black clouds turned to fluffy white ones. Past the old lime kilns

A plethora of signs below lock 70

and cement works at Couvrot and up lock 3. A man was making a call on his mobile outside the VNF workshop above the lock. Lock 2 Lermite was a deep one with a recessed bollard in the wall for our centre rope (Mike’s decided that we will use a rope when we can, keeps the VNF happy). Last lock on the Latèral à la Marne, lock 1 Vitry, a shallower one. Round the town of Vitry-le-Francois on an embankment with the town below us on our right. Noted there were tall poles with CCTV cameras, one in the town and one on the next road bridge, both

Welcome to the Marne-au-Rhin canal. Phone number for
Bar-le Duc central control in case anything fails to work.

were overlooking the travellers’ camp which was down below us on our left. The site of the fuel depot had now been cleared – it burned down a few years back. Two péniches were moored at the junction with the Marne à là Sâone canal, NDL at the silo and Cobra on the opposite bank. On to the Marne-au-Rhin and up lock 70 with signs below it welcoming us to 131kms of canal with 97 automatic locks. A short distance (and more heavy rain) to lock 69 Adecourt. Below the canal on our left the little river Ornain had been turned into a series of pretty ornamental lakes.

The old welcome sign with the old phone number that
doesn't work any more.

The towpath had a long avenue of ancient plane trees with primroses and wood anemones growing along the edges of the rough path (no cycle path here – yet). Decided we’d had enough of the rain and as the batteries were re-charged we went up lock 68 Brusson and stopped at 1.50pm, banged mooring pegs in behind the piling edges next to a wide open empty field on our left. We’d stopped here before so we knew we could get satellite TV through a gap in the trees – it rained on us again as we finished tying up and setting up the TV.
 

Tuesday 3rd April 2018 Condé to Soulanges 39kms 8 locks

8.1ºC. Showers, some very heavy and short gaps between them, cold wind. We were doing the reverse of last year's trip to start with as our intended route wasn't feasible - river Marne in full flood and dangerous and the other rivers towards Paris are also likewise in flood (Oise and Aisne) AND the d'Heuilley canal (Marne-a-la Saone was also shut as they were making more locks automatic. Therefore the Marne-au-Rhin is our only option.  It was 9.10am when we set off, waving to a fisherman on the old silo quay as we turned left on the Latéral à la Marne on to the long straight. The banks were full of wild primroses. Empty péniche Andorra had been left for the Easter holidays below our first lock Vraux lock 11. The lock was empty and so we were soon in the chamber and rising after I’d lifted the blue rod. A man in a white van paused on the tail end bridge to watch us lock through. The long straight continued. A

Nice new paintwork covered with graffiti

couple were walking the towpath, plus one man and his dog. Made a cuppa en route to lock 10 Juvigny. It was full, so that slowed us down as we had to wait while it emptied. Above the lock the banks were purple, full of violets. 7kms to Châlons and the wind was very chilly blowing across the drowned fields to our right, and so cold that I went in the cabin and put an extra layer of clothes on. The rain poured down as we went past St Martin-en-le-Prè with two mallard drakes flying in front of the boat. I lifted the rod before I put a rope on the bollard in Châlons

Cormorant on a tree root

lock. The lady keeper came out and we had a lecture on ropes, it was obligatory to be attached to a bollard while locking and we had a good telling off! With a broad smile though. We promised we'd be good and use ropes where possible without being dangerous. Past the circus school in the rain and on to lock 8 Sarry. I put a rope on a bollard using my boat pole, it took ages, not easy as it was so high up - full stretch of my arm plus boat shaft, and I was soaked by the time I lifted the blue rod. Changed my lightweight, now very wet showerproof jacket for an ancient rubberised waterproof one. Made some lunch and a

Boats moored in old arm in Chalons

cuppa. Up lock 7 St Germain – sure that the old empty lock house had been recently been renovated since we were last here (looked at photos later - it had certainly been repainted). Above the lock a stream was pouring muddy water into the canal. Through Pogny where a DB called Liberty was moored – windows opened and hands came out waving as we passed. Loaded péniche Melinda was coming down in lock 6 La Chaussée, Monsieur was washing down after just loading and Madame was waving from the wheelhouse as they went by. The rain pelted

Boats moored in the port-de-plaisance in Chalons

down as we went up lock 5 Ablancourt which was empty. A couple with a car and a tent were

braving the weather to fish in the canal - not only us that are mad enough to brave the lousy weather! Up Soulange lock 4 and we were the only boat on the moorings – two campers were parked on the opposite bank and our old friend Gerard was waiting for Mike (we were ten minutes later than we thought we'd be). Tied up and Mike put the dish up (so I could record stuff on TV if he was late getting back), then Gerard gave him a lift back to Condé to collect the car.