July 2015

1st July. The heat wave continues so I headed into town early before it got too unbearable. It was market day but I found the market a bit disappointing. I went instead to explore the interiors and cloisters of the Cathedral and the other big church in town. Both were built between the C12 and C5, both have suffered damage over the years as this heavily fortified and strategic town have come under attack and both are undergoing restoration.

The Cathedral of St Etienne has made good first steps with the ceiling that lend light to the huge interior. There are remnants of the original decoration in a couple of places that serve to remind us that these churches were not the bare clean lines of unadorned stone that are the feature of most old churches today but were a riot of colour and richly decorated as became the power houses that they were.

 

The ceiling restoration pays tribute to the original ideas of light and richness of coulour.

            

The Cloister and garden were decorated with wood sculptures but the stone could do with a clean.

 

Over at St Gengoult the cloister was smaller but the stone work was more elaborate and had been cleaned. I really liked this one.

      

The interior had not received the same level of attention as the cathedral.

I walked back under the shade of my umbrella and settled down to sweat out the afternoon in what must have been 40 degrees.

By the evening of Friday 4th the water tank was repaired and re-installed. I decided to stay for Saturday as it was the first night of the luminére at the Cathedral.

5th July. Cuised from Toul to Pagny-sur-Meuse today which involved 15kl, 14 locks (one of which was 6m deep, a 867m long tunnel and a lift bridge in a cruising time of just under 5 hours. The free mooring at Pagny is run by the town, the pontoons are in good shape, there is a drinking water tap, picnic benches and flowers and trees. The town itself has a good solid feel to it and there are many floral displays on the fronts of houses giving a feeling of a town that has a sense of pride. It is not a poor town. When I was walking through at 7pm the temperature was 31 degrees!   It has been a hot one again but a fresh breeze has got up now and it is pleasant. The water in this stretch of canalised river is clean and clear. There are a lot of fish swimming past the boat close to the surface and would swear that there some seriously pan sized trout among them!

Displays of flowers outside homes in Pagny-sur-Meuse

             

7th. Cruised to Commercy today. The town’s claim to fame is that it was the site of one of King Stanislas’s castles and in fact the facade and Horse-shoe Place are a bit reminiscent of Stanislas Square in Nancy but nowhere near as grand or as ornate. There is a model in the tourism office showing how it looked in its prime with an avenue stretching out to the forest where the King liked to hunt. The avenue is still in evidence today but as a high street which still seems to extend to the forest and lined with houses rather than trees!

The gardens were destroyed after the King’s death in 1766. Today the town is supported by several industries including the manufacture of the famous “madeleines”  celebrated by Proust and said to be named after a Lady-in-Waiting in the court of Stanislas. A short distance away at Euville there is also a huge stone quarry.

9th. Cruised to Saint-Mihiel and moored up behind Jackie and Chris on Jolly Roger. The moorings are nice. on a pontoon with Electricity and water and a charming lavoir on the opposite bank. There is a bridge close by with heavy traffic that could potentially be noisy.

 

The most important buildings in the town make up the Abby complex that was built in the seventeenth century by Benedictine Monks. The complex is large and impressive and it is no wonder that it is known in the town as “The Palace”. After the Revolution the monks were sent packing and the building converted to other uses. However the Benedictine Library on the second floor is very grand and well preserved. I was not allowed to take photos though.

      

The two things that I like about old churches are the architectural features and the music and this one had them both in spades. As I went in the organ was being played. I did not recognise the pieces but the organist was belting the out with all the stops out. The church and the complex as a whole are one of the few historic monuments to have survived the war in this part of France. There are some good stained glass windows, a magnifisent organ, a very grand choir and a sculpture by the C16 resident sculptor Ligier Richier.

        

                           

The second church, St Etienne’s has very modern stained glass with a predominant blue tone that colours the whole church. It is very effective. It also has a couple of interesting sculptures, a modern Christ and a sepulcre by Richier.

      

10th. Took a cycle ride to try and look at the Chapel of St Nicolas who as well as being Father Christmas is also the Patron of Bargies in France. The tow path ran out and I was faced with a busy narrow road with fast moving traffic so decided to give it a miss but I did find a field of war graves, the first of many monuments of this kind that I expect to encounter en route to Verdun. In the evening I went onto Jolly Roger for aperos with Jackie & Chris. Horst and Wendy from an adjacent boat were also on board. A most pleasant evening.

 

11th, decided not to dash off this morning as it is market day and I need to get some “bread and butter” work up-to-date!

12th. Easy two hour cruise to Lacroix-sur-Meuse where the lovely pontoon with electricity and water is free. The little town is very solid with doctor.nurse.physio, hairdresser, grocers, bakery and bar/restaurant and some very solid houses. Due to the abundance of water the town built several fountains and lavoirs in 1838 the grandest of which features stautes of Aphidite and Neptune. It is nor clear what the town’s source of wealth was at this time but by 1850 many of the town’s women were occupied at home making embroideries for the huate couture of Paris. The rather grand church was built in 1860. Between 1921 and 1983 the town was host to an important cheesery and today there is a trout farm and a “fishing” school!

      

 

13th. Short cruise through to Dieue this morning in order to position myself well for a dash through to Verdun tomorrow with the hope of securing a good mooring. The moornings here are advertised in the map book as having electricity, well they did once but nit any more. There is an air for campers attached which also boasts an evacuation point that no longer exists, a pity as it would have been good to get rid of an Elsan! (Found it later!)

The little town is doing its best with signed routes and story boards. There is a side canal with was constructed in the early C19 to feel the mill wheel at a forge and wheelrights. In 1861 a series of lavoirs were built along this waterway. Three of them are still there today. The town was not in the front line in either of the world wars but was a R&R base and a field hospital. One of the main squares is call Patton Place after General Patton.

         

On the opposite site of the canal there was a village called Rattentout which has, over time, been amalgamated into Dieue. It has an interesting little Lavoir with mechanisms for raising and lowering the floors as the water levels change.

 

Walking back through the villages I see that there are roads closed off in preparation for major Bastille Day celebrations tonight, including fireworks. It is a day early so I think I will give it a miss as I suspect there will be plenty of noise in Verdun tomorrow!

14th July. Republic Day, sometimes known as Bastille Day although the storming of the Bastille was four years later. Went straight through Verdun as the port was full with boats moored two and three deep. The only barge that I could have moored up against had no one on board to ask permission from, so not being a rude and presumptios Dutch person, I didn’t do it! (More on that topic later!) The nice French speaking Belgiums I was moored next to yesterday had suggested Belleville, 2k further on from Verdun so an easy cycle back, as an alternative to the busy and potentially noisy port. It was a nice quiet pontoon that I had all to myself. Cycled into Verdun which is a city of monuments. Hardy surprising given its history. As a plaque by one of the old City gates reads.

“besieged, destroyed or damaged in 450AD; 485; 984; 1087;1246; 1338; 1502; 1792; & 1870.

Destroyed in ten months Feb  1915 – Dec 1916 and rebuilt in ten years 1919 – 1929”

So they have seen their share of wars over the years. I was never going to visit the trenches or the war graves. I visited the Cathedral which is very grand, has vestiges of medieval wall painting, good stained glass and a large crypt covering the entire area of the choir. The crypt was apparently built in the C12. For a century and a half it was lost to the world because it was assumed to have been completely destroyed. However it was unearthed and restored recently and was, along with the cloisters, the most attractive feature of this otherwise rather over egged edifice.

        

  

     

The only other monument I visited was what had been the Bishop’s Palace (they certainly lived well!) and was now dedicated to Peace and Human Rights. Grand architecture and a nice Peace garden.

  

I did my usual wandering round town but I have seen prettier cities. The other old city gate was closed because that is where the firesorks will be set off from tonight.

                          

Back at Belleville mooring I was able to see the fireworks reflected in the water, they must have been spectacular from the port.

         

15th July. Set off at 8am to be at the lock by nine when they opened. I had given myself plenty of time so was not rushing, in fact I calulated that at a steady speed I would get there by 8.45. As I was at Beleville,  2k out of Verdun, I knew I would be ahead of any boats leaving the port. About 3k from the lock I noticed two boats coming up behind me, at 2k out they were close behind me and the lead boat hooted. Although I knew we would arrive at the lock well in advance of opening time I speeded up in the hope that this would satisfy them. However they continued to bear down on me and the about 1k out they overtook me dangerously and at great speed. Then I was able to see that they would occupy the whole lock and that their objective had been to get in front of me so that they would get into the lock first. I was livid and called the Verdun control centre and told them what had happened. The controller called me back when we got to the lock and told me to come forward but the two boats had positioned themselves across the entrance to the lock and totally blocked my access. They went in and I moored up to wait for the next filling however I went forward to the lock and tore a strip off the guy in the first boat, a fat arrogant Dutchman who protested that he had done nothing wrong. Meanwhile the other couple on the barge behind who I had met and conversed with twice before were so embarrassed that they were hiding behind their wheelhouse. I moved round to that side of the boat and the husband fled to the prow. I asked the wife who was looking extremely shame faced where they were going so that I could avoid them in future. She said that they were going to Dun which determined that I would stop at Consenvoye, before Dun.

16th Cruised on to Dun. Horrified to see that the fat Dutchman is on the pontoon. BTW both of the boats were Dutch. I have heard many stories about how rude the Dutch boaters are and have observed that they rarely come off their boats to assist with your mooring but this was my first really bad encounter. Had a walk round the town which was a bit sad and had a very poor Intermarché. The church up on the hill overlooking the town looked interesting but they only opened the doors to the public after three and it really was too hot to make the climb. There was a plaque on the bridge placed by the US Army to commemorate the taking of a bridge head here in WW2. Over the bridge was Lac Verte, a holiday resort by a lake, where in typical French mode a fake “beach” had been created!

      

17th Couldn’t make up my mind whether or not to leave today or stay on. About 10am I decided that the Fat Dutchman was probably staying so I started to move off, I really didn’t want to be cruising with him. Well I could hardly believe my eyes when he pulled out in front of me! I just put “Liberté” into tick over and let him go. In fact I went slowly enough to make sure that they would be through the first lock before I got there. How pathetic is that? However I had said some rather harsh things to him when I had him a captive audience in the lock previously!

Arrived in Stenay at half past twelve. The moorings are in a little arm off the main river. I managed to turn round and moor up on the first pontoon. It is a delightful spot and where as there were only two other boats when I arrived it filled up quite fast. The town is delightful. It was heavily fortified early in its history as it was on the boarder of France and the Holy Roman Empire. The first walls are believed to have been built in 1000AD. It continued to be disputed territory till the C17, when Louis X!V incorporated it into France and in 1689 ordered the destruction of the ramparts. At this time there were five breweries in the town. Today there is a beer museum and tomorrow I will do a tour of it. I have a free voucher from the tourism office along with vouchers for free apperos if I eat in any of several restaurants, so I will be eating out tonight. There are several attractive buildings in town and a lot of use has been made of a very attractive sandstone that resembles “Bath” stone, honey coloured and rich. But perhaps the best thing of all about Stenay is that the Fat Dutchman is not here!

      

Had a great meal out this evening.

18th. Did a tour of the Beer Museum today. It is housed in a lovely old stone building that used to be the grain store and shp for the town, later it was converted into one of the town’s five breweries and today it is The European Museum of Beer.  It is well laid out and has detailed story boards in four languages at all the exhibits.

      

  

Another delightful feature of this town is that an association has organised for quirky graffiti to be painted on a number of what would otherwise be ugly garage doors in the town. There is a route map taking you round them in the tourism office. This town is certainly doing all it can to create interest for the tourist.

      

In the evening I was invited to the inauguration of an art exhibition in the Capitainerie. I had looked around earlier and had my eye on two pieces by what I thought was the same artist. I was quite surprised to find out that in fact all the work was by the same artist. I only managed to secure one of the pieces that I liked as someone had already reserved the other one. However I now have Kelly’s and Fred’s wedding or moving in present!!!

 

19th. Cruised to Mouzon 24k but only three locks. Moored up in the little finger off the main canal where the port has all amenities. It is necessary to reverse in though as there is no room to turn. This weekend was the annual motorbike fest in Mouzon and the following photos and story are mainly for Rhian’s benefit!  They had closed off a stretch of street in the centre of town where the star turn was performing. I couldn’t get close enough to see what stunts were being performed but judging by the noise of the machine and the crowd, they must have been quite impressive! and seen below signing posters the star of the show – a GIRL! (I think)

    

 So many bike, so little money!

   

The Abby which was rebuilt in 1664- 1668 following its destruction during the war with Spain, is tall and sublime in Sandstone and white. It seems strange to think of the Spaniards this far east but then they were a force to be reckoned with in that era. The adjacent buildings were a hospital and are now a state run retirement home set in the beautiful Abby gardens.

        

    

Did some more walking around the town and its environs this afternoon. There are a lot of rather attractive sandstone buildings. A little out of town is a C12 church of Saint Genevieve and the tower of the gate of Bourgogne which boasts 200 years of history for the town. Given the fossils in the paving stones at its base I suspect that it is a bit more than that!

    

21st. Two and a half hour cruise to Sedan where the mooring is on the river section about ten mins walk from the town centre.  As I had got in nice and early I went straight into town and explored the fortified castle which is huge. The original castle was built in the mid C15 by a nobleman of the La Marck family who wanted a secure fortress from which to have a degree of autonomy. It was eventually recognised as a Pricipality. Following the first castle the fort was continually enlarged and extended, usually without demolishing the existing buildings but just extending round them. This is beautifully illustrated by the tower within a tower. The original living quarters of the small first castle existing within the new tower. In the end the perimeter walls were over 20m thick as can be seen in the two gates. Perhaps the best way to get a perspective on the sheer scope of the fortifications is the scale model showing how it existed in 1840

  

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

22nd July. I did not find much merit in Sedan outside the fort so decided that I would move on and cruised into the beginning of the Canal des Ardennes, mooring up at Pont a Bar Services just above the second lock. The change was remarkable and immediate. I had no realised what a challenge being solo on the large Meuse had been till I felt the weight fall off as I entered this little intimate canal in its delightful bucolic setting. It is just so much cosier. The port services are comprehensive and I was able to replace a damaged fender, buy a couple of sparers and top up with fuel. There is nothing here outside of the port services except a bar next to the canal and a “chippy” van parked next to the pound between the first and second lock. I really great venue where everyone gathers, the food is good, they serve beer and there are  tressle tables to sit out and eat with others and chat. I shares my table with a young family on bikes and determined from them that the cycle path follows the river to Charleville-Mezieres. I will do that ride tomorrow. This is a bonus as I had thought that leaving the river would mean that I missed out on these twin towns.

    

 

23rd. Rode into Charleville-Mezieres via a good cycle path along the canal and then the river. The outstanding features of the day were the stained glass windows in the Basilica or Notre Dame d’Esperance in Meziers and the Place Ducal in Charleville.

The stained glass windows were executed by Rene Durrbach (a friend of Picasso) between 1954 – 1979. They are modern, abstract and altogether extraordinary, even if your tastes are more traditional.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The outside of the church show the evidence if the hits it has taken in various conflicts since its construction started in 1499, including 1815; 1870; 1914′ 1918 and finally 1944

The construction Place Ducal was ordered by an Italian Prince who gave his name to the town and who Principality it became. It is very appealing with its alternate sandstone and pink brick but at this time of the year it is devoted to children and summer fun.

      You could be forgiven for thinking that you were at the beach!

      

 

24th The Ardennes is quite delightful, both the area and the canal. Composed of alternating farmland and forest, the farmland is reminiscent of “The Shires” and you almost expect Bilbo to come round the next corner. The forest are home to wild boar and, it is said, to wolves.

I have stopped on a small quai at La Cassine, from the Italian for small house, which refers to the Chateau built by a relative of Charles of Charleville fame, another of the Gonzague clan. The castle is a ruin having caught fire and the resident Lord having decided it was God’s will and forbidden anyone to douse the flames. There is also the remains of a small monastry built in 1850. This evening there is to be a “Spectacle” there and I will go along with the couple off the next boat.

 

 

 

 

 

The evening was most enjoyable.  The stage sets, and there were many of them were arranged in a row. The seating was on a terrace much like those found in stadiums, which was mounted on a rail. This whole thing moved from set to set with the actors. The evening ended, as seems to be the norm here in summer, with fireworks. It really was such fun. The weather had cleared in the afternoon and was fine for the event.

 

 

 

 

 

25th. Moved on in the afternoon just the ten kilometers that has me in place for the flight of 26 locks that one is expected to do in one journey. I missed the official mooring as it was not where it was marked on the map and spent the night on an old wharf. The weather cleared and I gathered my first blackberries of the season and located the town mooring with the electricity point. I will move onto it tomorrow and spend the day in order to catch up with work as there is no power at the next stop.

26th. The town mooring

27th Set off down the 26 lock flight early so as to be in the front, not that I could see any other boats facing in my direction. The locks went smoothly and I was making good time through the flight. Once through I handed the remote in at the last lock as the locks from here will be operated by turning a pole hanging down into the waterway. I really hate these as I have to line the boat up, stop it where I can reach the pole and go forward to grab and turn it. This is fine as long as the water is still and there is no wind. Today we had 25k winds gusting to 40k (tomorrow they will be 30k gusting to 50k – what is going on?). The very last lock within spitting distance of Attigny had a boat stuck in it and the red lights on indicating a malfunction. I moored up and went forward to see what was going on. It was a big barge with five or six French people on that had been moored opposite me two nights back.  They said that the activating pole was broken and they had called the control. To cut a long story short we were stuck there for a good hour and a half before a VNF person arrived and locked them first and then me afterwards through the lock. I was pretty tired by the time I got in and the French guys helped with my ropes.

    

 

In the central square of Attigny alongside the Town Hall is an elaborate arch called “Dom de Charlemaine”. On the pillars at each side are some earl dates and events but no real explanation to how it comes to be here. So this is what Wiki had to say about it!

“In the High Middle Ages Attigny had some importance as it had had a royal residence since Clovis II who built a palace there in 647. It was also the Carolingian imperial residence and Charlemagne is said to have attended many Christmas and Easter festivals there. Charles the Bald stayed many times at the palace. The first Council of Attigny was convened at Attigny in 765 by Pepin the Short which was a general assembly of the Frankish nation that was continued as a synodal council).”

 

 

 

 

 

28^th. Moved on to Rethel where I will stop for two nights. Having seen relatively few boats on the canal so far I was surprised to find the long quai at Rethel full. There were three large Dutch barges and several cruisers.

I went into ton and walked up the hill to look at the Church dedicated to St Nicholas. One of the things that I really enjoy about Gothic churches is the detail, some examples of which are shown below.

      

 

Like so many churches in this part of France it suffered damage in the World Wars and as such has both old and new style glass windows. I know which I prefer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main claim to fame of the town is the Boudin Blanc, or whit sausage, which I was resolved to try. This was allegedly invented by a Musketeer in the C17 while he was hiding in Rethel from Cardinal Richeleu. Bored with his life as a fugitive he started making sausages and this was one of them! There is a very fine Butcher’s shop behind the Town Hall and I bought mine from here. It was very good but doesn’t beat a good Cumberland!

29th

I emptied the jerry cans into the tank and refilled them at a Total 200m away across the bridge.

Later I settled down to paint the second of the kingfishers I had drawn, all taken from my Adfrica bird book as there is such a variety of them whereas Europe only has one. While I was busy a cheeky man (I hardly dare mention that he was Dutch) came on board. He didn’t knock or call out, just stepped on and sat himself down in the back deck. He first established that I was indeed on my own and then proceeded to tell me that his wife had died three years ago and that he had an interesting navigation program on his computer that I could come to his boat and has a look at. I said I was busy right now but maybe later and managed to hide from him for the rest of the day! I guess this is the boater’s equivalent of an invitation to “come up and see my etchings”!

30^th. 22k and two locks bought me to Asfeld. I saw two kingfishers along the way. The first since I left St Jean, must be a nod to my painting them! The mooring is by the bridge on the edge of town, very quiet, just bollards and a picnic table. The main reason for stopping here is to see the church and what a splendid creation it is too. Italianate Baroque built in 1683 in the shape of a Base Viola it has no straight walls so it is not my taking of the photo that is out of kilter. I really liked this building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31^st. Cruised another 22k today that bought me to the wide pound at the junction to the Canal that goes to Reims and that I will be taking tomorrow. It was immediately evident as to why the pound was so wide as many large commercial barges streamed out of the joining canal and headed on south. These valleys are certainly a cerial bowl with many silos lining the banks of the canals and much of the grain still being carried by commercial barges. The small town of Asfeld as well as boasting a glorious piece of baroque architecture also had two farm machinery shops. One for motorised mowers, quad-bikes and the like and another selling really large equipment for ploughing, sowing and harvesting. So this is where the money is coming from for the handsome old houses and the new developments in these otherwise insignificant little towns.

Had to locate and fix the fault that caused the oil pressure guage to stop functioning earlier today. It was fortunately quite a simple matter of the nut that holds the sensor in place having vibrated off.