Thursday 7^th May

We finally left Verdun this morning. The river was flowing fast with floodwater and we had to turn around while being swept downstream past moored boats. We were soon back on the canal where the pace is much slower. We travelled 25 km and moored an a side stream at Consenvoye. We were in time for lunch at l’Auberge Lorraine, our first three coarse €13 lunch this year, excellent. In the evening a small camper van parked near us, as well as two adults it was home to 4 dogs and a cat!

Consenvoye

Friday 8^th May

The next section of the Meuse still has manual locks, we had arranged with the lock keeper to leave at nine and he arrived promptly at 8.50am. We had to back out of the side stream, watched by 2 adults 4 dogs and a cat. We had an easy journey to Dun-sur-Meuse and are back on river moorings. The flow is still very high so we turned around to moor facing upstream without any of the messing about there had been at Verdun. This mooring is next to a popular campervan park and by the evening 16 have arrived.

Always something to keep you alert

Mass campervans

Mooring at Dun-sur-Meuse

Saturday 9^th May

Today we walked up to the 14^th century church in the fortified village perched on the hill above Dun sur Meuse. There is a figure of eight walk around the old ramparts with fine views of the Meuse valley.

Valley of the Meuse at Dun-sur-Meuse

Sunday 10^th May

A two hour cruise down stream to Stenay this morning. We moored upstream of the town opposite a weir as the main marina here is off the river and the entrance is a bit narrow for us. We walked around town in the afternoon and admired the 18^th century buildings. We always take money for ice cream on our walks and today, for the first time in France, we found ice cream for sale and a shady spot by the marina to sit and enjoy it.

More obstacles to keep you awake

Fortified church

Mooring at Stenay 

Ice cream by the marina

Monday11th May

We have stayed at Stenay and went in search of a railway station that is marked in our 2007 “Atlas Routier” with a tourist train symbol. We found the spot but the railway line looks as if it has been out of action since 2008. It was a hot afternoon and we took a walk through the water meadows. In the evening there was a sudden rise in the water level and it fell again after 10 minutes. Presumably the VNF were adjusting the weirs; the river is still flowing fast. 

Walk along the water meadows

Tuesday 12^th May

Between Commercy and Sedan the river Meuse flows in and out of the canal so sometimes we are on river and sometimes on canal. The river is still in flood so we were surprised at how low the water level was in the canal section after Stenay. We have stop at Alma, a very pleasant country mooring on an island next to a picnic area. There is a good quay and D use the opportunity to service the bicycles.

Mooring at Alma picnic area

Wednesday 13^th May

This morning we were woken up by a cuckoo; cannot remember the last time we heard a cuckoo in England. We have arrived at Mouzon, which is the furthest north we will go; L is keen to start heading south. The entrance to the town mooring is at an angle to the river, a large cruiser was moored there and we could not turn into it while heading down stream. We continued on downstream and through the next lock before the channel was wide enough for us to turn around. As we approached the moorings again the cruiser moved out leaving plenty of space for us. This is another popular stop for campervans.

Mouzon

Thursday 14^th May

Mouzon is a historic town with fortifications dating back to 12c and a 13c abbey. We had thought we would be able to go by bus to Sedan for the day but buses seem to have gone the same way as the trains so we stayed put and D set to cleaning the outside of the barge. Over winter green slime accumulates in all the nooks and crannies on deck. He received much encouragement from campervan owners and fisherman. We did not see any fish caught but on the opposite bank one fisherman and his teenage daughter did catch a chicken (a live one!) did they have it for tea we wondered. We went to do some shopping but found everything closed, we had forgotten Ascension Day is a public holiday in France. In the evening it rained heavily and the hatch in our cabin started to leak. The green slime D had cleaned off must have been keeping it watertight, unfortunately it could only be fixed from the outside, but “a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”, even if it is raining.

Mouzon

Friday 15^th May

Just before eight o’clock this morning a man, dressed in combat gear and carrying a large painting walked along the opposite bank. He left the picture by a rubbish bin and D took a look at it through binoculars, it was a reclining nude (?ex wife). We decided to leave all the campervans and go back upstream to spend the afternoon at Alma. So after a quick trip to the supermarket we are on our way before 10.am. It is 8km to Alma with a lock before the mooring. The lock worked fine but then one gate did not fully open because a large pole was caught behind it. D was able to move the pole but not the gate. We fished the pole out of the canal so it could not cause any more problems. It was a solid piece of shaped timber and thinking it might come in useful one day we stowed it on deck. Then as L was dialling the VNF a lockkeeper drove up and reset the lock. We presumed it was just chance that the lockkeeper arrived but were very glad he did and were soon moored up.

D. clearing the lock gate

Clear but still not opening

Wood now onboard

So this is what the wood is used for

Wild life at Alma

Sitting in the wheelhouse having lunch we heard voices, quite loud and clear but there was none to be seen (spooky). We left the wheelhouse to look overboard and saw 2 men in a canoe paddling down stream quite close to us. After the canoeists went through the lock the lights changed to double red, which means the lock is out of action. After lunch we walked up the island to look at the weir and realised our pole is one of the pins used in barrages. It could not have got into the lock cut from this weir so it must have come down from Stenay. We then walked back to the lock and found the lower gates open. Possibly the canoe was not large enough to trigger the photocell that signals the gates to close. We wondered how man locks they had canoed through and if they where all stuck open.