Tuesday 18th April 2017 Demanges to Pagny-sur-Meuse 31.5kms 13 locks

The branch to Houdelaincourt

-3.2°C A really unexpectedly cold night. When we got up there was frost on the grass and ice on the gunnels and around the side hatch. It was sunny with a cold wind and rain showers. Set off at 9.20am, backing off the pontoon as we had a narrow-beamed cruiser in front of us. Lock 1 Tombois was ready for us. Up the 3m deep top lock and we were on the summit level - 281m ASL. As we left the lock, the VNF man who lived in the lock house got in his car and drove off to the

Signs at Mauvages tunnel

tunnel. Just a short distance and we turned left, straight ahead was the dead end arm to Houdelaincourt (which we didn’t go to the end of last time we were here as it was choked solid with weed and there was no time to do it today). A bit less than 2kms and we were at the entrance to Mauvages tunnel and our VNF man was getting his bike ready to ride through the tunnel to accompany us. The lights were all on inside the tunnel plus all the emergency lights and phones (they even have folding

Mauvages tunnel - our cyclist preparing to follow us

planks by the emergency stations so they can reach boats that have stopped in the middle of the canal!) The entrance lights changed from red to red/green, then green and we were on our way.  There was a new fancy sign above the entrance lights which flashed messages in several languages across its screen. Our VNF man moved the barrier and we started through the 4,877m long tunnel. It took exactly an hour. Two more VNF men on bikes (one had a trailer with one of the folding planks) must be doing some maintenance. We said thanks to the three of them as we emerged into

Radar sensor which activates the flight of locks 

daylight. 2.5kms to the top of the flight of twelve locks following the valley of the little river Méholle. The locks were 3m deep and the gaps between them between 500m and 1km. A road followed the canal on our right and beyond it was forest. On the left side were small arable fields backed by woodland. The first red kite of this year flew over and Mike tried taking photos without much luck. An uphill DB called Jacana passed us between locks 5 and 6 and was the only boat we saw moving all day. The

The moth on the lock wall

VNF man who lives at lock 7 Sauvoy was taking his dog out for a walk at lunchtime, he came over to have a chat. We had some lunch on the longest pound between 8 and 9. Mike had better luck with photographing a large moth, which must have just hatched out, it sat on the edge of the lock wall fluttering its new wings at a fantastic speed to dry them out. It was 2.15pm when we left the bottom lock. Through Void and out into the countryside again. The N4 was busy as always with heavy traffic, lots and lots of lorries. The canal was on an embankment at first and we could look down on all the traffic – quite a few hooted and waved. The road came up the hill and we did

Moored on the pontoon at Pagny

a left turn underneath it and away in the quiet countryside again. We were now in the Meuse valley and soon we crossed the infant river on a “new” aqueduct, the remains of the old one to the left of it. At the T-junction by the big white-coated cement works we turned right, following a railway track on our left – a four car diesel-electric train went past heading in the same direction as us. Not long after a two car unit went past heading in the opposite direction. Oblivious, a buzzard landed on its nest in the stand of trees to our right. The railway went off to the left and into a tunnel, the canal went around the hill. A sharp left hand bend and we were in Pagny-sur-Meuse in a deep cutting, stone lined to our left and houses at the top of the grassy bank to our right. Through the road bridge and we stopped on a long pontoon, carefully picking a space between the trees for satellite access. It was 4.40pm. Gave Mike a hand to get the bike off the roof and off the pontoon (gangways with steep steps) and he went to collect the car from Tronville. He was a bit upset at not being able to find his old GPS as he came to the conclusion that he must have left it in the car – now excepting the car to have a broken window and the GPS stolen. (Forgot he’d told me to put it in my handbag last time he used it, I found it later!) I got on with the photos and log, etc. Black clouds were all around and he hadn’t been gone more than fifteen minutes before the heavens opened and it bucketed down for about five minutes, hope it missed Mike on the moped. It did. A large blue cruiser squeezed in on the pontoon behind us. (?Loads more space in front of us??) When Mike returned he put the moped on the front deck as using a plank to get it back on to the roof on a pontoon is not easy and could be dangerous if the plank slips. Central heating on as the temperature sank like a brick again – the coal fire had been going all day.