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My last entry left us in the small port of Demange sur Eau anticipating our voyage through the Mauvages Tunnel. We had spent the last week travelling up out of the Ornain valley to the summit level. After navigating the tunnel we would be descending to the Meuse valley and the city of Toul. The Read more
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Well, by this time you must know a little about the challenges of barging in Europe. Luckily this particular challenge was not ours, but belonged to our travelling companions on Mimosa. A broken bow thruster prop was suspected and finally confirmed with an under water inspection. The fix was to be delivered by a diver Read more
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The Canal l’Aisne de la Marne takes a southerly route from the Canal Lateral a l’Aisne to the Canal Lateral a la Marne. These canals are east of Paris and provided access for commercial barges from the Meuse to the Marne. The inclusion of the word “Lateral” indicates that the canal runs alongside the river. Read more
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The Canal des Ardennes was designed during the French revolutionary period 1793-1801, as a strategic connection between two rivers, the Meuse and the Aisne. The build did not start until 1823, and was eventually opened in 1831. Today it carries little commercial traffic and is mainly used a a through fare by private boat owners Read more
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Rising in France the Meuse meanders its way through France and Belgium before draining into the North Sea in the Netherlands. Its total length is 925 km. The river navigable over a substantial part of its length. In Belgium and the Netherlands it is part of an extensive inland navigation infrastructure connecting the Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Antwerp port Read more
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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 Read more
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The first two weeks The sun was out with the promise of another warm summer, but after 6 months there was boat work to address With the aid of the Kacher it took me a day to banish the green mould that covered the boat. The most challenging job was to clean the wheelhouse roof. Read more
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We fled Lille on the Saturday when the rugby came to town, inflating our hotel price from €180 per night to €700. Our boat was still not ready so we stayed a few days a hotel in Diksmuide until she could return to the water. It is now time to tally up our European adventure Read more
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In Brussels we farewelled Margaret, who took the train from Brussels Midi to Charles de Gaulle airport and the long flight home. Our last visitor for the season, and soon it will be time for us to leave our summer home. The harbour master at the Brussels Royal Yacht Club recommended a boat engineer to Read more
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The canal de Sensee was a project developed under Napoleon to link the river Scarpe to the Escault (which in Belgium becomes the Schelde), specifically for the transportation of coal. This commercial canal is 15kms in length, with no suitable moorings. Once we exited the canal we were on the Escault, with another 22kms to Read more
Karen’s Travel Blog 