BACK TO CALENDAR 2000

July 17                         Monday

Reuil to Cummiere.

Arrived mid-day.

Just finished moor up on nice empty pontoon - like last night’s - when ex Solent seaplane re-fueler Dorothy Maureen II arrived and moored behind. Great character boat (didn’t know her history till later)

About Moorings. We greatly prefer bush moorings, chosen for their quietness and vertical banks, but on a fast flowing river with strange people monitoring the river level at the barrages rather whimsically at times, one must, for safety’s sake, as well as comfort, moor up on a proper formal built-for-the-purpose mooring. On the river, these are usually either the revetted outside end of the moorings used in the past by peniches awaiting their turn at the lock when there were hundreds of them working, or custom built - and very neat and tidy - floating pontoons very well anchored in concrete to the river banks, complete with cleats, walkways to shore, etc, built usually under the auspices of the local tourist board, frequently supplied with water and electricity - and, like the lock moorings - free.

End of diversion.

Went on bikes to Hautviller - reputedly the most beautiful of the Champagne towns, and the home - in the Abbey - of Dom Perignon, the discoverer of the champagne process.

A lovely little town with superb views over surrounding countryside - miles and miles of vineyard. But hard work getting there - had to walk most of the way, and cycle back with smoking brake blocks.

Invited to Dorothy Maureen II for post supper wine - exchanged experiences, information on grandchildren, and shot lines.

Fun.

 

July 18                                           Tuesday

Cumieres to Epernay.

We didn’t actually mean to come to Epernay, but Dorothy Maureen II had just come from there, and persuaded us.

They were right.

It is the capital of all things Champagne, geographical, administrative, tourist, head offices, museums and cellars of all the big champagne houses.

It is a nice town, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there - but the town’s roads are unbelievably abominable - we cycled a lot - we know!

Moored up at the P. de P., run by the local rowing/tennis club, who were incredibly helpful and thoughtful (and expensive - 120/130 francs a night) inviting us to a "get to know you" aperitif at 1900.

Gave us a tourist rundown on arrival, including free tickets to the Catalane Champagne House tour.

Went on the tour in afternoon - exhausting 2 hours, but very thorough and informative (except for secret mix for making up quantity in bottle for 2nd fermentation after "disgorging".

Also went on "petit train touristique", which gave us a rough ride, but exhaustive tour of the town, and some vineyards around it. Even the council flats are closely surrounded by vineyard.

Had intended to leave in the afternoon, but tooth-ache re-arrived after lurking since Meaux in spite of medication, and also a chance to sort out the voice message system (answerphone) on mobile.

Meveda - English Dutch barge from moorings 2 nights ago at Mont St Pere arrived, and more gossip over aperitifs. The guy built her himself in Warwickshire, after a boating career that included travelling all over the English system with motor and butty - whilst wife had babies - bringing N.B. to France - not butty - 2 years on Thames with Meveda - 18 months on continent with same - Holland, Belgium and France - having brought her over by sea.

 

July 19                                       Wednesday

in Epernay.

Sorted mobile answerphone - at least France Telecom did.

Sent post from main Post Office, falling foul of some child’s best insanitary effort on marble floor whilst so doing.

Dentist after lunch - poked about, and more medication - same antibiotic!

Dossed all afternoon - really quite tired - must have cycled miles in heavy traffic over terrible surfaces.

 

July 20                                        Thursday

Epinay to Tours sur Marne - up River Marne

To S.M. on - technically outside Epinay, but really part of it - canal side first thing - big food shop (no beer, but gin!), also gas cylinder - Fr fr 30 to 40 (£3 to £4) cheaper than general suppliers - and also 3 cans of diesel. Hot and sweaty and dirty, but getting the hang of it, now. Boat virtually full of gas, water, diesel, food and beer - each in own container, hasten to add. (Mighty strange soup in bottom of boat otherwise)

Out of river at Epinay turn-off, into canal lateral a la Marne.

Locks automatique - super.

Moor up for night at Mareuil-sur-Ay P. de P., nice finger moorings off nice canalside park, but seething with people, fisherman, and Brits - all somewhat of the great unwashed type.

Had cup of tea, fell over thorn hedge, spiked legs, lost dignity, swore disgustingly, unmoored, and left again.

Moored up an hour later on nice quiet bit of canal. Found we were on route of local buzz bike and buzz scooter circuit. They soon stopped, however, and it was a most successful "bush mooring", very - genuinely - quiet.

Drinks under trees in shade in peace and quiet - nice after racket of Epinay.

2 days now without rain, but to-day hot, humid, and potentially thunderstormy.

 

July 21                                             Friday

Tours sur Marne to just after the tunnel short of Cormelois

This days run saw us off the Canal Lateral a la Marne which really just runs parallel with River Marne and "tidies up" it’s navigation with locks and cuts, back into canals proper.

Nearly missed the turn off from one canal into the another - somehow one expects these Tee junctions to be heralded by drums and trumpets, and big fancy notice boards.

They aren’t - just little signs saying "Canal a les Ardennes, Canal de l’Aisne a la Marne, etc, no bigger than a house sign.

Just made it, with a furious "U" turn, under the eyes of sundry strange boat owners moored up gazing at nothing in particular in a bored fashion, and set off up the new canal wondering why they were not going up ahead of us, and as always on these occasions, wondering if they knew something we didn’t like information about a collapsed lock or bridge.

The book told us to allow 3.5 hours, we saw it was an 8 lock run plus a tunnel up to Reims, normal reasonable time 1 to 1.5 hours. so scoffed.

It took us 4.5 hours!

We have been dead lucky since we came here, never experiencing a waterway with more than casual traffic - 1 or 2 peniches and 2 or 3 private boats a day.

Here there were lots of peniches (!) cargoes of new harvested grain, chalk soil (believe it or not) for the vineyards, scrap metal for Reims steel works. A peniche takes about 5 times as long as us to go through a lock - desperately slow to enter, and desperately slow to exit, goes at about the same speed as us, or fractionally faster on the open canal if loaded, and a lot faster if empty, and must be given lots of space at each end of a lock, bridge or any tight corners, to maneuver. And, of course, he has total right of way to go to the front of any queue.

The trip was taking us round the east side of the champagne country.

This was hit by a heavy hailstorm 3 weeks ago, and the industry has lost about one quarter of this year’s output.

We didn’t go close to any of the damaged vineyards, but from a distance through the glasses they looked just like the tea estates after similar storms. What should be green and luxurious and healthy is brown and withered and sick and sad.

The climax of this day’s run was Reims.

We had gathered that Reims - pronounced Rhans through the nose - was a rather nasty dirty modern industrial town.

It is, naturally, modern - 2 world wars virtually flattened it - but from the canal it appeared neat and clean, with little or no graffiti - certainly with factories and industrial estates, etc, but reasonably inoffensive. Indeed the only offensive thing was the P. de P., which was right beside a major road in the middle of the city, virtually below a bridge carrying another major road, too small, and given over to shenzy and trip boats, and with silly little short finger pontoons - and full up anyway.

We didn’t stop, it was too noisy and too hot, with a major road parallel with the canal, and just didn’t look fun, although there were some super municipal gardens, and the developments - flats, offices and industrials - looking as though they were being built reasonably sympathetically.

On our way out we got a very good view of the Cathedral over the town - quite something, and if we come back this way worth a visit.

Countryside-wise we see a complete change. The vineyards - lovely, neat and tidy - have given way to vast flat lands given over to small grain growing - millions of acres of it, with not a fence to be seen, not even alongside the roads.

 

July 22                                         Saturday

Short of Cormelois to Courcy, on Canal de l’Aisne a la Marne.

Don’t know what happened to-day, the log did not get written up - sorry!

 

July 23                                           Sunday

Courcy on the Canal Lateral a la Marne to Barry-au-Bac on the Canal Lateral a l’Aisne.

Short on bread - so after boiled eggs and short-of-bread breakfast set out for Courcy - 2 kms - to rectify.

Boulangerie had big notice up - "closed for proprietors annual holiday" - or words to that effect. Not uncommon, and normally some arrangement is made. So it was here - 2 kms up the road to next village, or wait for vanman at 1100 (maybe).

Back to boat, saw 1 peniche and 2 private boats (2 lockfuls) slide in front of us.

Set off down canal - must join queue on these occasions - always remembering that peniches may jump it - making bread the while in underutilised bread making machine.

Country now almost totally flat, enormous fields of corn, vines just visible on forest edge to north. This land was heavily fought over in 1st World War, but apart from an enormous cemetery and monument on a slight rise a long way from canal - no signs.

Once boats for lock queue had stretched itself, never saw other boats at all - as is usual on these occasions.

All locks on automatic chain system. One enters first on radar or tirette, and this triggers all the rest on time basis. One arrives at each lock, the lights tell you to wait, or the lock is being prepared, or green - come on in.

Enter lock, pull up blue rod, and lock does it’s thing, by means of various "seeing eyes" that see the boat, tell the computer etc, etc.

However, not all "seeing eyes" work properly, and we have found that if you carry a frying pan, you can make the seeing eye work by stopping it seeing when it shouldn’t to by blocking off it’s vision completely, so it thinks we are a very large and important boat going past. (The travelling L.K. just uses his foot, which is frequently just as effective).

Thus, when attacking the tirette at automatic locks these days, we carry a frying pan - much to the bemusement of gongoozlers.

Finished the day’s run equably just after turning the corner at the junction of the Canal des Ardennes at Barry-au-Bac, from the Canal Lateral a l’Aisne.

Enormously wide canal, but with some fun and games promised ahead.

Moved up canal half a mile away from other boats - they probably thought we were stand-offish, but we were on grass, as opposed to gravel, and were in the shade on a 6" bank, as opposed to open sun on 5 ft bank with burnt grass.

Set out chairs and drinks on canal side, to find that it was a promenade path for locals. French language in much use - we still enjoy this side of the life as much as ever - everything from ordinary gossip, to Post office technicalities, to - dare I say it - the dentist.