Friday 14th April 2017 Fains-les-Sources to Tronville 14.6kms 15 locks

VNF office in Bar-le-Duc

7.7°C Grey clouds but no rain, sunny spells late afternoon. We’d booked the liftbridge the day before for 9.30am, but then a DB called Zophia came down so we untied and went up at 9.15am. Saves the keeper doing the liftbridge twice. A very pleasant VNF man took a rope for Mike and asked where we were going, etc, as we went up lock 42 Fains-les-Sources. 1.23kms to the next, passing the”new” Intermarché and Bricomarché just before the railway bridge. Lock 41 Grand Pré (big field) was empty and

Liftbridge in Bar-le-Duc

the sides were dry so we deduced that Zophia had stayed overnight on the péniche dolphin moorings by the supermarket. Just 450m to lock 40 Pont Canal de Chanteraines, leaving the lock on an aqueduct over the lovely little river Ornain, whose valley the canal follows. 1.36kms into Bar-le-Duc and up the lock of the same name, number 39, 1.55kms to the next, but we paused to top up our water tank at the moorings in the town. No water for boats, cut off until May. A large tjalk called Fairhaven was

Grocery shop sign on house by Marbot lock

moored there and its Ozzie skipper came over to tell us that he had been buying water from the campervan facilities where water costs 1€ for 100 litres. What! That’s Dutch prices! He said they don’t start charging for the moorings until May 1^st (10€/night) and the electric is free until then, so he reckoned it evened itself out. We were only going to top up about 150 litres so it can wait. A VNF man in a big van came to see if we were continuing, yes, just paused for water. His colleague was in the liftbridge cabin and

Rollers for passing tow lines under bridge

would work it for us when we were ready, no rush. Not only does he work the bridge from the cabin he also sets the next lock 38 Marbot and works the liftbridge below it. There was a terrible noise as the liftbridge at Marbot lifted – a piercingly loud grating wailing noise, which thankfully stopped when the bridge was fully lifted. Then the lock gates opened (why not both at once?). As soon as I lifted the rod the bridge started lowering AND the lock gates closed behind us – see they can do both at the same time. Took

Lockhouse garden 32 Tannois

photos of the house by the lock with an ancient epicerie (grocery shop) sign painted on the wall. That must date from when a lock keeper lived at each and every lock and the passing mariniers (péniche skippers) would pause in the lock to buy daily essentials from the shop. 775m to lock 37 Popey, a shallower lock at only 2m lift. 1.24kms to lock 36 Savonnières (soap works?) On the far side of the busy road, which now follows the canal on our left, was a large centre commercial with a giant Leclerc hypermarket. 585m to Longeville lock 35. At the modern lockhouse there was a little dog

Another ancient sign on house by 31 Silmont

sitting on the drive waiting for his humans to come home. Out of the lock on another aqueduct over the Ornain. 1.24kms to lock 34 Grande Chalaide. We were entering hilly country. 1.59kms to lock 33 Maheux, which was full so we had a short wait while it emptied. 785m to lock 32 Tannois, which was also full, so another short wait. Views of the valley were becoming more scenic as the hills closed in. 500m to lock 31 Silmont. Another house with an ancient advert, Mike took

Blossom at 28 Tronville

photos. Beyond the lock were two unusual horses, a white one with silver grey patches and a small velvety brown one with a long blonde mane. 1km to Guerpont lock 30. Large fields just turning green on our left, the road further away and the Ornain river beyond that. 895m to lock 29 Bohanne then 580m to lock 38 Tronville, our last lock of the day. The next pound was a long one, over 2kms but we stopped halfway and moored next to a quay with three fishermen behind us. It was 2.30pm. The car was

Old lockhouse at 28 Tronville

parked a short way down the hill into the little town of Tronville. We went to get some groceries from the Carrefour Market in Ligny-en-Barrois only 6kms away.

Cowslips lock 28 Tronville