Tuesday 16th March 2004 Valenciennes France to above lock one Péronnes, Belgium.

Scrap berth in Valenciennes (picture from 2011)

Sunny and mild after 10° C overnight - spring is almost here! Set off at 9.00 a.m. At least we were pointing the right way to go against the flow! Back up the weir stream and turned left, under the railway bridge and into Folien lock, which was full and ready for us as Mike had called the keeper on VHF before we untied. Just us two narrowboats to descend. A loaded 80m Dutchman called Odysseus was waiting below the lock. Three kilometres to La Folie, the lock was filling, we dropped down again - just us two. 

Sharing Fresnes lock (last or first in France) with a loaded pushtow
(picture from 2011)

We couldn't believe how quiet it was, we must have found a slack time! I defrosted the ‘fridge on the 6 kms to the last French lock at Fresnes-sur-Escaut and just had time to repack it before we arrived at the lock. I’d got all the paperwork ready, plus the cash to get the sixteen day “vacance” licence. Rosy came alongside us. Mike took the rubbish across to the bins while Bill and I went to see the keeper. He asked for our licence and when I asked if we could buy one there he said no, he would have to take our details and the VNF would send us the bill. 

Bows of overtaking pushtown (picture from 2011)

I’d taken the previous bill from Reims VNF, which he copied, and I made sure he knew we only wanted a two week one not a full year. I picked up the new list of charges and a map, two sets - one for Bill. The keeper (a rather nervous young man in his early twenties) had a call from a boat wanting to use the lock, it was for downhill so he started the lock emptying - good thing we’d paired the boats and Mike was on duty in charge of the rope. 

Barge loaded with thirty containers. (picture from 2011)

Bill and I climbed down the ladder chasing the boat (hate doing that!) as the lock emptied and got back on board as the gates opened. It was 11.20 a.m. as we left heading for Belgium. I sorted out the flags to replace the French courtesy flag and made a cuppa. Half an hour later Mariëlle, an empty from Farrsum, passed us heading uphill. At Hergnies at 12.20 p.m. a 64m long containerboat Manu from Brugge with radar turning - the skipper certainly couldn’t see in front of his vessel over the stack of containers - passed us heading for Valenciennes. Shortly afterwards 80m long “Nimo” from Datteln, loaded with 1,260 tonnes of scrap, followed on uphill. 

Turrets at Antoing Belgium. (picture from 2011)

The stream of boats was more or less constant after that, all heading uphill into France - an empty Adversa from Beaussart, then Sandra from Bourisville, a loaded 80m Dutchman. We had lunch. Met the next loaded boat at Mortagne, Samarkand from Marchiennes. Just around the corner we met Tanche an empty péniche from Brugge at the end of the new red and green markers where the channel splits for the Scarpe downstream of Mortagne. The loaded boat which had been following us, Galahad from Bléharies, overtook us at Bléharies bridge. The quay at Bléharies, as usual, was almost full of boats, an 80m empty St Louis, an empty péniche Rosalino with a loaded boat moored next to it, Bona-Fide, another empty 80m Johnny H and a nicely converted péniche-houseboat Marica de Bléharies at the end of the quay wall. 

Concrete works and chandlery/fuel barge Neptunia at Antoing
(picture from 2011)

Another boat overtook us, Laurmick a 55m loaded boat from Brunehaut, just before Hollain bridge and the junction with the Nimy-Blaton-Peronnes canal. Notec (hey! one named after a Polish river) from Douai went past heading upriver just before we arrived at Neptunia. We winded and moored against the small fuel barge, just downstream of the big chandlery barge, and the lad (le jeune) came to serve us with diesel and water. We took on a total of 850 litres of red gasoil and Bill had 400 litres. I paid for it at the bar on the big boat, paying the price quoted a couple of days earlier of 322 Euros per “tonne” (1,000 litres) Or 32.2c a litre - 22.5p (those were the days - RED diesel now forbidden except for heating and the prices have rocketed). Had fun filling the water tank with a two inch diameter hose - it’s as big as our filler tube, needless to say an air lock erupted back in my face to give me a nice icy cold shower! I went to see if they’d got any German courtesy flags, they hadn’t. Try again when we’re in Holland. It was coming up to four o’clock as we set off again, retracing our steps back to the junction. A loaded péniche called Okeanos from Conflans overtook us, followed by one of the small bunkerships just before we reached the TGV bridge. An empty 80m called Frimont was coming downriver. Rosy was in front. Another empty, Odra (another Polish river!) from Antoing (81m x 9.5m - 1,370 tonnes) was fast catching us up and soon overtook us (and the péniche which had overtaken us earlier) and was pulling away slowly. We saw the river bottom at the base of the bank protection rocks as he went past us, slowing us down to a standstill as he overtook. Sipisto from Wemeldinga followed after him as we reached the junction and turned left for Peronnes lock 2. I went in the keeper's cabin once the lock was full, explained what we were doing and paid for a trip to Blaton (1,05 Eu) and the return (60c). When we set off again the keeper said we must get a new quittance from him to go all the way to Maastricht. We carried on, up Peronnes 1 - the deep lock - at least it had got floating “boulders” (nicknamed the bollards once in the Netherlands and it stuck, now we always call them boulders, daft) to hang on to. I went in the cabin, taking Bill’s papers too, to get them stamped. The keeper, a cheerful middle aged bloke, explained that he had a trainee working for him - he was filling in the paperwork (almost stopping to lick the end of the pencil too!) while we chatted. I asked if we could moor above his lock in the corner - yes, no problem. He told me that they now had to charge for drinking water - 3 Euros a tonne! Dashed back on the boat as there was a boat coming up behind us. It was 5.45 p.m. as we tied up. A long, but pleasant, day’s cruising. Traffic was busy until closing time, then a loaded 80m moored bows to bows with us overnight. 

Pictures from 2011 again, sorry none from 2004 for this area.