Thursday 5th May 2011 Jussy - Bellenglise. 34kms 8 locks

Church at St Simon

Chilly, blue skies and sunny, warming up a bit later. Mike was up at seven, he went to the boulangerie and bought a loaf (1,02€) before we set off at 8.00 a.m. I did a few chores as we went along the last 5kms of the 10.6kms pound. Mike saw a great spotted woodpecker fly across the canal in front of the boat, being in the cabin I missed it. The canal banks were very wild and the towpath was blocked by a fallen willow tree, so no cycle piste here then. As we approached the village of St Simon there were lots of new houses stretching along the canal bank. DB tjalk Elizabeth J was moored on the island at Point Y. The left hand chamber was preparing itself as we arrived at lock 25 Pont-Tugny (2.3m) and there were two VNF men in the lock cabin so I got on the roof to throw a rope around a bollard and one of the men lifted the rod to activate the lock. Judging from the buckets and cleaning gear we guessed they were cleaning the cabin. I interrupted their conversation to ask the tunnel times, 3 p.m. this afternoon or in the morning at 7 a.m. We probably had time to catch the 3 p.m. tow, but then we wouldn’t be tying up until well after six so we decided the morning tow would be best even if we had to leave at six a.m. 

In the days when a lock keeper used these cabins
this long wooden box was a periscope so he could
see uphill vessels approaching under the road bridge

3.7kms to the next lock. I made a cuppa so I missed seeing a Dutch cruiser, Oenoe from Terneuzen, go past heading downhill. Shortly after an empty péniche called Lore from Nancy went past heading downhill. It seemed to take ages for the red/green lights to come on at lock 24 Séraucourt-le-Grand (2.0m) but the left had gates opened and we went into the lock. A VNF man was painting the ends of the blue passarelles with yellow paint. Water poured over the top end gates, a sure sign of more traffic. We passed empty péniche Santa Maria from Denain as we left the lock. 4.5kms to lock 23 Fontaines-lès-Clercs (1.9m). No one around so we were in and up in no time. 7.3kms through St Quentin. I read some more of Pillars of the Earth to Mike as we went along. To our astonishment a narrowboat pulled out of the arm at St Quentin and carried on up the canal in front of us. Wow! We thought we’d got company up the locks, then as we went past Levant its skipper said they were only out for an engine trial and not going through the next lock as their boat had only just been put back in the water after being out on the bank all winter and now they had leaks everywhere, even the sea toilet! Oh dear! Hope they get that fixed soon. 

Loaded peniche Lesseps above top lock 18 Lesdins

We had noticed there was another narrowboat, called Last Farthing, tucked in the corner of the basin where we once spent a month tied next to a DB many years ago. They had also built a new swimming pool next to the canal just upstream a bit of the port-de-plaisance. It was midday. Two VNF vans were parked on the towpath by the lake on the right hand side and the drivers were deep in conversation. Into the right hand chamber of lock 22 St Quentin (2.7m) The locks were fenced off from public access with more high green mesh security fencing. Two more vans were parked on the towpath above the lock. On the left we spotted four winos carrying loaves of bread, cubis (gallon plastic containers of very cheap wine) and plastic bags full of more booze. They came to an encampment where there were more of them. 

Southern portal of Lesdins tunnel

What a life! Begging in the town centre in a morning, buying booze with the money at lunchtime and drinking it on the banks of the canal in the afternoon. A grebe surfaced, unusual to see one in town centre. 2.0kms to lock 21 Moulin Brûlé (2.2m) As we went into the lock Mike told me to watch out as there were two youths sitting on the bridge parapet above the tail of the lock and they were shouting (probably abuse, but we couldn’t hear them well enough to make out what they were saying). The lockside was fenced off again so the two by the top end gates just stood watching as we locked through. On the right was another group of four sitting on the Armco by the towpath. I took photos, just in case we had any trouble, we didn’t and we haven’t yet – but times are changing here too. 2.0kms to lock 20 Omissy (2.3m) I made lunch as we went through the lock. No more fences and no youths either. 

Moored on the silo quay at Bellenglise

1.2kms to lock 19 Pascal. Into the left hand chamber as the itinerant in a van passed over the road bridge. We rose ropeless as usual. 360m to lock 18 Lesdins (2.10m) the top lock. I put a rope on a bollard as the itinerant had arrived just before us and was in the cabin. He came out and lifted the rod. Mike asked if there was a water tap (we could see there was a new VNF workshop a bit further on from the lock). At first he said he didn’t understand, then he said no, there was water at St Quentin. I said it’s a bit late for that, (we went through there this morning). It was 1.50 p.m. as we set off on the summit pound. Loaded péniche Lesseps from Dunkerque arrived to go down just as we left. A small cruiser was moored at Lesdins on the quay by a house with La Meuse written over its windows, maybe a bar? 

Chicken for dinner? Bellenglise

We passed two old men fishing, both smiled and said hello. Decided we were too late for today’s tow through Le Grand Souterain anyway. We had a green light for Lesdins tunnel, 1089m. The tunnel was single péniche width with a towpath on the right (access blocked for pedestrians) and lit all the way through by fluorescent tubes attached to the electric cables in the centre of the roof. My old Inland Waterways of France from the sixties says that there were two electrically powered tugs, which warped their way along a chain laid in the bottom of the canal over the whole length of the summit, nowadays there is only one which takes boats through the longer tunnel, called Le Grand Souterain, Bony or Riqueval, 5,670m, taking a very noisy two hours to do it. The train of boats to be towed used to start at Lesdins and the other one from Bosquet crossing at a basin about halfway across the summit, this took between eight and ten hours and each tug could pull up to thirty péniches. At the end of the Lesdins tunnel an empty péniche called Salve from Feurne was moored in a new piled layby under a new loading chute at the village of La Haucourt. 

What a beautiful bird! Bellenglise

We carried on a further 3kms and moored on the end of the silo quay at Bellenglise at 3.00 p.m. Chckens from the house by the quay were scratching about on the quay, so Mike took photos. Gave Mike a hand with the bike and he went to retrieve the car at 4.00 p.m. At 5.30 p.m. an empty péniche called Cindy arrived and also moored on the quay. At 6.45 p.m. three empty péniches went past heading for Lesdins; Ideal, Navigo and Rose d’Or, the latter moored just beyond the road bridge. The first one, Ideal, winded and returned to moor in front of Cindy on the quay. At 7.40 p.m. a loaded boat, called Farida from Douai, wnet past and carried on to the tunnel. Getting very busy!