Monday 19th June 2017 Joinville to Chamouilley 23.5kms 11 locks

Weed gathering machine below lock 48 Curel

11.7°C Very hot and sunny. I phoned Vitry control to tell them where we were going today, (not knowing if any of the liftbridges still needed VNF staff to work them, as it happens they didn’t) as we set off from Joinville at 8.45am. Already getting very hot. There was a new mooring, a halte nautique with water and electric a bit further on, a cruiser and a Belgian DB were moored there. About 100m further on there were four boats moored by a restaurant,

Moorings at Joinville from lk 45 Rongeant

two pointing uphill and two downhill. Into lock 45 Rongeant (3.20m) which was already full. The lockhouse garden was full of faded gnomes. 1.9kms to the next, lock 46 Bussey (3.20m). The canal was getting even more weedy. Lock 46 was empty and it was the first lock we’d come across without any rods to lift (we’d taken to using the “bassiné” button on the zapper anyway instead of the rods as there are bollards in the right place on the opposite wall to the rods. Suddenly there were lots of clegs (horseflies), so out came the swatters and the repellent with deet. Strangely, there were no

Liftbridge at Autigny

more of them about for the rest of the day. Less weed on the 2.2kms pound to lock 47 Autigny (2.80m) the lock was full and again had no rods. The lockhouse was lived in but the front door facing the lock had been bricked up. 2.4kms to lock 48 Curel (3.10m). A liftbridge had been automated, operated with a hanging pole to twist, the road crossed the railway to our right and the Marne to our left. The bridge was very slow to close after we’d passed through it. The liftbridge just before lock 48 worked automatically with the lock. There was quite a gathering

Collapsed barn by lk 49 Breuil

of men on the lockside, VNF, other workmen and police. Below the lock a VNF man was driving a weed cutter, he had a very sensible parasol to keep the sun off. 1.9kms to the next. Getting very hot 34°C before 11am. Lock 49 Breuil (2.90m) was so full it was overflowing on to the grass. 2.1kms to lock 50 Chevillon (3.30m) DB Domingot was moored below the lock with an “A Vendre” (for sale) sign on it. Looking very smart, it was moored for years near to Condé in the layby before Billy-le-Grand tunnel at Vaudemange. 2.4kms to lock 51, Fontaines (2.70m). The liftbridge above 51 at Sommeville was under re-construction. 2.3kms to the next. Below 51,

Sommeville bridge undergoing reconstruction

the first liftbridge had gone and the second was automatic and worked in conjunction with lock 52 Bayard (3.4m). Lunch on the 3kms pound to lock 53 Bienville (3.5m). The lockhouse was bricked up and used as the local youth playground as there was rubbish everywhere. Again the lock was so full of water it was overflowing the lock sides. 2.3kms to the next, lock 54 Euville (3.50m) also overflowing. 1.3kms to the next. We passed an uphill boat, a cruiser with noisy engine. Down lock 55, Chamouilley (3.10m) our last of the day. We moored on a

Patton tank at Euville museum

long quay that had been recently refurbished and used to be a hirebase (Locaboat if we remember correctly). There were two boats moored, a large old Dutch DB from Meppel and a Swiss cruiser.

Canal-side bakery at Chamouilley

We landed gently behind the cruiser at 2.40pm. Later, another cruiser arrived and moored in front of us. Plus another a bit later.

Moored on refurbished quay at Chamouilley

Saturday 17th June 2017 Vouécourt to Joinville 26.7kms 10 locks

Crown vetch flowering on canal bank nr Villiers

7.6°C A much cooler night. Sunny with a clear blue sky first thing, but with a cold wind, clouding over by mid-morning. A French cruiser went past heading uphill around 8.30am. We set off at 9.20am. It was 25°C outside, but soon cooled down as we went through shade of the trees on the 2.5kms to the first lock and then the thermometer read

Ooh, la,la! Naughty gnomes!

19°C. We had a tarmac towpath on our left and a minor road on the right, no traffic on either. Down lock 35 Buxières (3.40m) A cruiser with a Kiwi flag was waiting below the lock to go uphill – the crew didn’t respond to Mike’s “Good Morning!” Good start. Two men were about to set up to fish below lock 35, they waved and said bonjour. 2.6kms to the next lock. More fishermen – it’s Saturday. Forested hills to our right. A group of fishermen were fishing in a very weedy

Goods train by lock 39 Gudmont

winding hole just before the town of Froncles. There were four boats on the mooring, an ex-Connoiseur hireboat - UK flagged, a small Danish yacht, a small Luxe DB UK flagged and a “dead” cruiser. There were a couple of gaps left on the quay for small boats. There were masses of campervans parked by the quay beyond the boats. On to lock 36 Froncles (3.30m) where there was a VNF depot above the lock. A couple of gongoozlers watched us lock through from the tail end bridge. The canal continued on a low embankment overlooking cows in a meadow along the banks of the Marne. A water rat swam across the canal dragging a long reed behind it. 3kms to lock 27 Provenchères (3.30m) a

River Rognon joins the Marne by lk 41 Mussey

VNF van stood on the lockside next to a lived in house. A British barge was waiting below the lock to go up it. 3rd boat of the day! I thought it was a shortened Sheffield keel but Mike disagreed as he thought the bows were too rounded, he was right it was a new-build. It had clouded over so Mike took our sunshade down. The wind was very chilly so I put my fleece on. 2.5kms to the next, 38 Villiers (3.30m) The lockhouse had lots of statues and gnomes in its garden. A large Dutch cruiser

Weed. Abv lk 42 St Urbain

was waiting below 38, that’s number four! Ten minutes later number five appeared, a Swedish yacht going very slowly – it had a sign on its bows to show its draught of 1.7m hoping it could keep to the middle of the channel which is only 1.80m. 2.7kms to lock 39 Gudmont (3.80m) The liftbridge at the top end of the lock worked automatically with the lock. A goods train was parked on the track alongside the canal. Mike counted 16 wagons full of stone, 70 tonnes to each wagon making a total of 1,120 tonnes. 2.9kms to lock 40 Rouvroy (3.90m) I made sandwiches for lunch. The canal was becoming more and more weedy, but cristal clear so you could see the bottom and the fish – lots of them, including some whoppers. 1.70kms to

The town of Joinville

lock 41 Mussey (3.20m) The liftbridge at the top end of the lock was an old one, manually wound and was kept open all the time for canal traffic. There was an aqueduct over the Marne before the lock chamber. Two fishermen were looking down into the river, fish spotting. Mike went to take a photo of the junction with the river Rognon from the aqueduct. I made a cuppa. The weed was getting worse, having to spin it off the blades in reverse every now and again. A coypu swam across the canal as we set off on the 2.8kms pound to lock 42 St Urbain (3.50m) A long straight pound, masses of weed and some very large fish sunbathing in the shallow edges. Big fields

Moored in Joinville

of barley, wheat and grazing cows along the edges of the Marne. 1.6kms to lock 43 Bonneval (3.40m) We could see several radio masts on the hill overlooking Joinville and kept fingers crossed for a good Internet connection. Another long straight pound, 2.8kms long into Joinville. The towpath became more in use again by walkers and cyclists as we approached the town. The water continued to be cristal clear, full of weeds and fish. The old stone railway bridge across the canal now carried the busy N67 trunk road. Down lock 44 Joinville (3.20m) and into a short cutting with high stone walls on each side next to a busy road. We stopped by a road bridge and blocks of flats at 3.45pm and moored next to some pilings, an old quay with deep water. Someone had hammered in some bent bits of metal to tie to. Mike went to take photos of the boat from the bridge and a lady who lived locally came to question him – the usual questions, where was he from, where was he going, etc, etc  - and “are you married?”, twice!! :)

Thursday 15th June 2017 Chaumont to Vouécourt 19.4kms 10 lock 1 tunnel

VNF men doing some piling work Chaumont

13.3°C Very hot and sunny, clear blue skies first thing, then clouds building up by midday and sharp showers of rain. Thunderstorms had been forecast but missed us. When we set off at 8.55am the VNF were working opposite where we’d moored, pushing short lengths of piling into the bank using a digger bucket while two men held each metal pile in position. There were five men, a grass-cutting machine, a digger and a small lorry to do

Condes tunnel, aqueduct and liftbridge

the work. A short distance to lock 25 Relancourt (3.50m) A VNF van had gone past on the towpath before we got there. Down the lock on to a longer pound of 3.4kms. Past a silo quay which looked disused, it hadn’t been used for loading grain into boats in a long time. Before the next lock 26 Condés (3.70m) was the tunnel of the same name and a liftbridge, all of which worked automatically after Mike went on to the front deck to zap. The bridge lifted and we went over another aqueduct over the Marne and into the tunnel, only 308m long but unusual as it is a passing tunnel - wide enough for two péniches

Condes tunnel looking back at the liftbridge

to pass. Down the lock, which had a very nice house and garden on to a short 800m pound leading to lock 27 Brethenay (3.0m) which also had a very smart lockhouse. A VNF van was parked on the towpath as men were strimming the edges of the towpath. 1.9kms to lock 28 Mouillerys (3.70m) No house. A large VNF van was on the lockside, its driver came out of the lock cabin and drove off, followed by a small VNF van down the towpath. 1.8kms to lock 29 Raucourt (3.80m) A Red

Lock 27 Brethenay and liftbridge

Admiral butterfly decided it liked Mike and sat on his head, his nose, then his hand. So he gave it some of the fruit squash he was drinking and it loved it. Transferred it to me and more fruit squash and took photos of it slurping while we were waiting for the lock to empty. Along the 3.5kms to lock 30 Bologne (3.40m) there were some beautiful houses. Below the lock there was a picnic mooring with a concrete quay and steps up to an open fronted building where there were picnic tables. Wow!

Horse with fly defence headgear

We passed a smoky Dutch cruiser going uphill, first boat in two days’ travelling. Clouds started building up towards midday. Strangely, although the cruiser had just come up, lock 30 was empty and it had to refill when we zapped. Into the lock over another aqueduct over the infant river Marne. A young man in a VNF van stopped to ask us the usual questions, where are we stopping, etc. 920m to the next lock 31 Roôcourt (3.40m). It was full, so

Church tower at Raucourt

the gates opened just after we zapped. The red roofed village of Roôcourt was spread out along the valley, with a church part way up the hill behind. 2kms to lock 32 Viéville (3.40m) also still full. 2.8kms to the next lock. In the town of Viéville there is a liftbridge and a mooring. A keeper (the lad in the van) worked the new liftbridge from a cabin alongside it (the old one had been automatic). The moorings were full, one “dead” cruiser, two “dead” DBs and a two visiting cruisers which were occupied, plus three campervans. Lock 33 Granvaux (3.40m) was approached via another

Red Admiral butterfly slurping fruit squash

shallow cutting. A couple on bikes paused by the lock to chat to Mike in French (we thought they were most likely Dutch due to their accents) they didn’t know that heavy rain and thunderstorms had been forecast for this afternoon. 1.9kms to Vouécourt (3.50m). Large fields of wheat stretched up the valley sides on our left to the forested hills beyond. The canal went into Vouécourt on an embankment higher than the village houses

Moored boats and liftbridge at Vieville

into the lock. It started to rain and it poured down – it could have held off for half an hour and let us get tied up! It had stopped when we arrived at the quay. There was 20m long concrete with a wooden decked top which was halfway up our windows (ideal for getting the bike back on the roof after Mike has moved the car on to Vitry tomorrow) and bollards set back from the quay by about 10m. Some local resident had made some flowerpot – type men to decorate the bank by the mooring, amusing miniature fishermen! It

Moored at Vouécourt

was 2.10pm and very hot and humid. Later it poured down again several times but the main storms missed us. When the rain stopped we had a good breeze through the front doors which cooled us down until dusk when we had to close the doors due to mossies and tiny moths. We both had an afternoon nap again – it’s not our age, it's the fresh air!

Miniature fishermen at Vouécourt

Wednesday 14th June 2017 Rolampont to Chaumont 28.5kms 15 locks

Langres, on its fortified hilltop from lock 10 Prees

12.4°C Sunny most of the day – a few clouds in the afternoon, but soon back to sunny and very hot again. We left the quay at 8.30am. The cruisers were not showing any signs of setting off and there were five campervans which had parked overnight. A couple of kilometres to the first lock, 10 Prées (3.40m) which had an empty lockhouse with no windows. A young lady in a VNF van went past us heading for the lock. It was manually

A well-equipped back-packer abv lk 10 Prees

operated and she’d got it filled and ready for us and I managed to get her to stop running round to open a second gate. A very pleasant YL she soon got the hang of working through one gate and Mike hopped off to help winding paddles as and when he could. 1.5kms to lock 11 Thivet (3.60m) and another derelict house. 2kms to lock 12 Vesaignes (3.40m) the lock was undergoing alteration to automatic and there were several campervans on the locksides with the occupants sitting out in the

Church and chicken sheds at Versaignes

sunshine who now had a passing boat to watch! 1.9kms to lock 13 Marney (3.40m) where the house was beautifully looked after and the garden very neat. A woman brought a child to look at the boat, he was aged about three and pretty much unimpressed. 1.3kms to lock 14 Pommeraye (3.30m) with cyclists in lycra whizzing down the towpath. The Chef was there at lock 14 to ask where we were going to today, what time we were starting tomorrow and where we were headed for. He was chatty and pleasant. The lock was a slow one, they’d started putting the hydraulics in and had removed the paddle on the right so only the left paddle worked (each gate used to have two paddles if I remember correctly). The boss gave the girl a hand to open the gate which was very hard to get the capstan moving. Below the lock there were loads of wild strawberries growing in the crevices on the stone walls leading down to the towpath and lots of tiny fruit on them. 2.5kms to lock 15 Pré Roche (3.40m) Another empty lock house and the lock was half converted and still had to be worked manually. 1.3kms to the next, lock 16 Boichaulle (3.40m) an occupied house and a lock part

A radar motion detector,
now long redundant nr Versaignes

converted, again only one paddle working so it was very slow and Mike gave the girl a hand to open the gate. Below the lock there was a silted up winding hole then a narrow section with cabin-high stone walls both sides, the Marne on our left. There were moorings provided at Foulain, a couple of ten metre piled aprons, but no takers. Lock 17 Foulain (3.70m) was faster with two paddles working. A short pound of only 600m took us to lock 18 Pecheux (3.70m). 1.7kms to the next so I made some lunch. Our gas bottle expired, so I steered the boat while Mike did the changeover of bottles. A red kite was circling slowly over the field on our right. Lock 19 Luzy (3.20m) was soon empty with two paddles working. Below the lock the vertical liftbridge had been demolished, no doubt to be replaced soon with a more modern liftbridge. 2.9kms to lock 20 Val des Ecoliers (valley of the schoolboys!!) (3.90m). A lockhouse with a large verandah extension and a very dirty car parked by it – inhabited or not? We thought not. 1.5kms to lock 21 Foulon de la Roche (4.00m). Two VNF men were cutting the grass, they stopped

Our mighty little lock keeper,
winding a paddle on lk 12 Versaignes 

and took over working the lock for the girl, she was temporarily redundant and so was Mike. Getting closer to Chaumont, a large town (the biggest on the whole canal route apart from Vitry) so cyclists and fishermen were more in evidence. 1.3kms to lock 22 Chamerandes (3.80m). A child was sliding down the sloping concrete edge of the canal, splashing into the water and then doing it all over again, watched by a parent maybe, or older brother, from his car on the towpath. Through a narrow section with high stone walls either side. More fishermen. Into 22 and said au’voir to our young lady lock keeper. We went against our principle of not tipping people for just doing their job as she’d worked

Grooves worn in the stone by countless boat ropes.
lock 14 Pommeraye

very hard doing thirteen locks (when most mobile keepers only do three or four locks then another takes over) on a very hot day. She had told us she was a first year medical student, doing a five year course to be a clinician, so the money would be useful. 2.9kms to the next. The towpath was more in use by cyclists and pedestrians as we came close to Chaumont. There was a group of about nine or ten youths on the last bridge before lock 23 Choignes (3.60m). They were jumping from the bridge

Footbridge over the river Marne by lock 19 Luzy

into the canal. Took a photo which they thought was great fun. Then I closed all the doors and Mike got our big fishing brolly out and moved the boat over to the right hand side so they couldn’t jump in down that side as the edges were too shallow. Several jumped in, feet first, making a loud splash - but didn’t get the boat wet. A crowd of lads on the bank got on bikes and followed us to the lock. Now this was starting to feel a bit threatening. We’d just realised it was Wednesday afternoon and the schoolkids were out in force on their midweek half day off. There were more of them swimming in the canal just before the lock.  When the lock was full we went in, I lifted the rod and Mike kept

A lizard in the paddle gear box lk 19 Luzy

the boat in the middle of the chamber, too far for any of them to jump on to the boat. The lock house was inhabited, but no one around. One youth asked a very strange question – had we got a motor? Yes. (Silly question – we hadn’t got a horse!) What sort? Perkins. By which time the lock was almost empty. Relieved to get away from that lot, they weren’t aggressive, but we felt menaced – first time since leaving the UK – apart from once in Germany. Below the lock were more high

Remains of a vertical liftbridge at Luzy

banks as we were in a shallow cutting. 1.6kms to lock 24 Val des Choux (valley of the cabbages!!) (3.00m) another inhabited lock as we were near to the town. More high walls and another cutting below lock 24, then out into more open countryside. We went past the pay moorings at La Maladiére, there was one cruiser moored there and loads of campervans. Put mooring pins in at the back of some piling and tied to the bank by the gardens of some houses. A very pleasant spot, nice and quiet. A long day for us - it was 4.40pm. We both went to sleep, mild heat exhaustion again - the temperature in the cabin was in the high 20°C s and outside had been 35°C

The youth of Chaumont about to jump in the cut

plus.

Moored near Chaumont at La Maladiere

Tuesday 13th June 2017 Champigny to Rolampont. 9.97kms 6 locks.

New liftbridge at Jourquenay

7.6°C Sunny with blue skies, clouding over later. Set off at 9.25am. A short distance to lock 3 Moulin-Rouge (3.40m). On the quay were a couple of “dead” boats, the UK catamaran and a new-build DB with a USA flag on the front, then halfway down the empty quay behind it was a UK cruiser which had moored overnight, no signs of life as we passed it. A VNF van went past us to the lock. A VNF man got out and told us off for not ringing Vitry

Lock 7 Chanoy

to book the locks (another one who could do with a customer appreciation course) – Mike thought the manual locks started after Rolampont where we  were headed for today. No? OK. As we went down in the automatic lock I phoned Vitry to book us to Rolampont today and to Chaumont for the next day. 1.8kms to the next lock 4 Jourquenay (3.90m) which was set up ready for automatic use. Our grumpy man in a van handed over to a very pleasant dark-haired young man who was

A tatty looking buzzard

driving the oldest VNF car we’d seen in a long while. He worked the lock from the boxes at each end of the lock. 1.9kms to the next lock but there was a bridge to work. The old swingbridge had been replaced by a new liftbridge, again set up for automatic use but worked by our YM from a building on the bank. Lock 5 Humes (3.90m) was automatic and switched on so we zapped, it worked and the YM sat in his car to watch and make sure it worked OK. As the lock was filling a herd of cows walked past

Our roving lock keeper at lock 9 Rolampont

the lock and into a lane heading uphill to a field. The cattle sheds stretched most of the 800m down the right bank to the next lock 6 Pouillot (3.60m) also automatic and working, our YM watched until we were in the lock then drove off to the next. The house alongside the lock was empty. 1.4kms to the next, between high banks, the red sandy banks on our left were well eroded by wash of traffic passing too fast. On the right was a big sloping field of wheat. Lock 7 Chanoy (3.80m)

New lock cabin at 9 Rolampont

was automatic, but not yet switched on, so our YM worked it from the boxes again. The chamber had been redone with new concrete, recessed bollards in the walls and ladders in the right places! 1.8km to lock 8 St Menge (3.80m)was our first manual lock, it was undergoing transformation to automatic, two men from the electric company Suez were working on the lockside and both very interested in our unusual boat. Had to hoot to let the YM know we could work through one gate. Said au’voir to him as we left through one gate and headed for the quay at Rolampont, no boats were moored there, but there were two campervans parked, plus picnickers and a man from a camper fishing at the far end. It was 12.30pm. Lunch then I started on downloading Microsoft Office as we had a very good Internet connection, full house 4G. Amazed it only took half a gigabyte. Mike went for a nap and I pressed on with catching up on the log. It was 6.20pm when I finally

Lockhouse 9 Rolampont

caught up. A French flagged cruiser moored right in front of us and caused me to close our front doors as its engine was filling our cabin with fumes. Later a German cruiser arrived and tied to the bank behind us as there was no space left on the quay.

Moored on the quay at Rolampont

Saturday 10th June 2017 Villegusien to Champigny-les-Langres 17.5kms 10 locks 1 tunnel

View from lock 6 Descente en Saône

9.8°C Sunny, hot. A loaded boat went past heading uphill at 7.30am. The Windows 10 download had finished, just hope a new installation will put my laptop right (it didn’t). We were in the shade of the silo first thing so it was cool when we set off at 9am. I did two loads of washing as there should be water available where we’re stopping. A Swedish yacht went past heading downhill. The eight locks to the summit were linked and each one was 5m deep.

View down the flight from lock 1 Descente en Saône

Cattle country, smelly. The first lock 8, Percey was the only one with a name the rest were just called Descente en Saône. Lock 7’s house had been empty for a long time. A friendly lady jogger went past us, running downhill as we went up lock 6 (which had no house now) I took a photo looking back across the Plateau de Langres to the wind farm on a ridge of low hills. Our friendly lady jogger went past running uphill now, waving and wishing us bonne route. Lock 5 had a lived

Lock 1 and the checkpoint at Heuilly-Coton

in house and 4 had no house, but it had bins – at last we can dump our accumulation of rubbish. Lock 3’s house was lived in, lock 2 had no house and the top lock had a house used by VNF and workshops. There was a modern building for the controller alongside the lock and the dark-haired young man came out to tell us the current situation in Balesmes tunnel. One boat was coming through, then the péniche in front of us would go first and we must wait for a green light before following him through the 4,820m long tunnel. On to the 10kms long summit level, altitude 340m. A Dutch cruiser came out of the tunnel and the boat in front of us, Athena, a loaded péniche from Nieuwe Amsterdam, (the boat that went past us this morning at 7.30am – we should have realised just how slow this trip was going to be!) untied and went off to the tunnel through the long narrow entrance section, slowly. We waited ages for our green light and a light display said OK for No. 242 to go (the number of our zapper box). There were dozens of yellow floating buoys marking the channel into the narrows, (Mike took a photo of a Willy-wagtail on

Control centre by lock 1

one) then a barrier and height restriction gauge. It was 12.05pm as we set off into the narrows before the tunnel and 12.30pm as we passed a string of hazard signs and went into the tunnel. There were traffic lights in the centre of the roof, a narrow towpath with lights and emergency communications posts on our left and twin ventilator fans in the roof with a flashing yellow light. The traffic lights made sure we kept between 800m and 1200m behind the boat in front – and it was going very, very slowly. We had to keep stopping as the automatic system kept three red lights on between us and the péniche. It was the slowest we had ever been through a tunnel and that includes the tug tow through Riqueval. We had some lunch – at least it was cool in the tunnel. The last few hundred kilometres were wet, water dripping down the walls and off the roof leaving calcite deposits and spraying through the thin cotton of our battered old sunshade. It was 2.20pm when we finally emerged into the sunshine again. 1 hour 50 minutes. A record. Into the long narrow section through a cutting, where there were lengths of cut timber leaning against the cutting wall for péniches to use to hang over their hulls as fendering when passing through the tunnel. Through

VNF depot by lock 1 and two very old boats

the barrier and height restriction gauge and into the wider canal again. There were six new péniche moorings for waiting for the tunnel going south. A couple were fishing by the feed from the infant river Marne near a long-derelict house for the VNF man who looked after the feed. 71 locks downhill to Vitry - in the Paris basin now - and the loaded péniche hadn’t got to the first lock yet. Eventually it went through and we zapped and lock 1 Batailles (3.90m) filled and we

Peniche mooring, lights and sign board for Balesmes tunnel

went down. There was a man on the lockside by a lived in house who was taking photos. 2.6kms to the next. A German couple were sat out on the stern of their cruiser from Hamburg, moored next to a concrete quay by a bridge which carried a track over the canal. We waited, the boat in front wasn’t in the lock yet. Lock 2 Moulin Chapeau (3.60m) had an inhabited lock house. A short distance after the lock we tied up at the long quay in Champigny-les-Langres behind a

Willy-wagtail on a channel marker buoy

UK catamaran. It was 4.45pm. In front of a new-build DB beyond the sailing boat, the péniche was reversing into a gap on the quay. It got a line from its stern to the bank and remained there with its bows in the middle, a gangplank to the bank, and stayed there overnight. A group of young people (students?) were sitting on the grass under a tree by our stern and having a picnic, they stayed there until after dark. I tried doing all the repairs suggested on my laptop and

Balesmes tunnel green light to enter south end. The next three lights are red.
The fourth is green for the peniche. The lights are 400m apart.

nothing worked. I know from previous experience that it will take ages to get my laptop working again as it will have to go back to factory settings, then I’ll have to re-download all my programmes. Mike took the hard drive out of my HP and I transferred all my files to his Acer laptop to a file for safe-keeping on its desktop, which took hours.

Peniche moored at Champigny

 

One of the many emergency intercoms in the tunnel

Leaving north end of tunnel

Moored at Champigny