In no rush we made our way south at a leisurely pace. This is a well worn path, as we have cruised to the Meuse via the Boven Schelde to the Canal du Centre and the Sambre for the past few years, escaping Belgium and heading for France.

From Ghent to Oudenaade

The port at Oudenaade is being renovated, with the offical reopening planned for September this year. Colin, Julie and I braved the mud to visit the town. It was on entering the port that James on Mimosa discovered he had lost his bow thruster making manouvering in small spaces very difficult or should I say, virtually impossible. The fix was planned for when we reached Namur, still a week, 17 locks, 1 Ascender and 237kms away!. But confident in his boat handling skills we bravely soldiered on!

From Peronne to Mons

Strepy Thieu mark 5

The Strepy Thieu is a signifiant landmark and dominates the local scenery. We stopped at the mooring before the lift, which gave me an opportunity to survey the adjacent historic boat lifts on foot. One of the rights of passage among the canal boat skippers we had travelled the 4 lifts in 2019. With the attitude of “been there, done that” we now stick to the Strepy Thieu boat lift, that raises our boat 73 meters from the downstream to the upstream reach in one seamless operation.

The Sambre

The area around Charleroi on the Sambre is aptly named “The Black Country” due to its industrial past. Most of the factories have now closed and the landscape now remains dotted with recycling facilities that resemble large garbage dumps and abandoned industrial buildings.This part of the Sambre River is an important commercial waterway, as the large boats make their way to and from Belgium and the ports in the Netherlands.

We had made pretty good time, entering the locks without delay, which is always a bonus, and not being held up by slow moving vessels. Last stop before Namur was the Florette, and with our luck holding there was room on the pontoon. Here we also encountered friends, Tim and Penny on their Piper barge, Deep Thought.

The Abbey that dominates this part of the river was founded in the 12th century and similar to many such establishments in Europe it has a chequered history. From once housing a relic of the true cross, that apparently, on two occasions, oozed blood, to being pillaged and closed by the French Republican army at the end of the 18th century, to today being both an elementary and secondary school and the production site for Florette beer. Mmm… schools and beer production, I don’t know how that goes together. Maybe it’s a Belgium thing!!!

Only 2 more locks to Namur, but our luck ran out and at the last lock we were stopped. The lock had broken down and the divers had been called to remove an obstruction. We tied against a commercial barge and braced ourselves to what became a 3 1/2 hour delay.

After travelling for 13 days we were finally in Namur, meeting up with friends from Coupure to celebrate Terry’s 70th birthday. Geographically we are still in Belgium, but now on the Meuse and heading to France

Happy Birthday Terry!