Friday 23rd June 2017 Soulanges to Condé-sur-Marne 40kms 8 locks

Dredging below Ablancourt

15.6°C Warm and sunny with a good strong breeze, a few cloudy spells. The Dutch cruiser that moored behind us the previous evening went at 7.30am – they were going back to the Netherlands via the Moselle and Rhine. We left ten minutes later at 7.40am, heading uphill first to turn the hanging pole then a U-turn to get back to the lock, 4 Soulanges (1.60m). A couple were already sitting at the end of the moorings, fishing. 2.3kms to lock 5 Ablancourt 

Mooring at Pogny

(2.00m) cool under the shady trees. The lock walls at lock 5 had at some time been made higher by about a metre to cope with fluctuating water levels as it was river-fed. It had no weir and had feed paddles permanently open. 3.6kms to the next. Had a short wait for a dredger, loading mud into the hold of Paraguay, to move over and let us past. Mike had to stand on the stool on the back deck to reach the turn-pole above lock 6 La Chausée. A VNF man in a van arrived, said bonjour and went into the lock cabin with an aluminium case (collecting data from the lock?) he stayed a few minutes and

Mallow on the canal bank near St Germain

then carried on down the towpath. 6.5kms to the next. Made a cuppa and sat out in the sunshine with a very welcome cooling breeze. A cruiser had just come up in lock 7 St Germain (2.70m) There were bins at the lock so Mike nipped off with our accumulated bagful (the bin at Soulanges had gone missing while we were moored there and never re-appeared) 4.75kms to the next. Mike phoned Chalons to tell them we were on our way back to Condé, it was one of the Chef’s co-workers who answered his phone and he said there would be someone at Condé later. A Dutch cruiser went past heading uphill. A DB was coming up in lock 8 Sarry (2.50m) we went in as soon as he cleared the lock. 5.9kms into Chalons and there were starting to get more and

Cathedral at Chaons-en-Champagne

more cyclists on the towpath. Took photos of two of the new-fangled weed gathering machines which were sat on the bank before the lock. No turn-pole above lock 9 Chalons – a sensor activated the lock. A very smart motorcycle was parked by the lock and a guy (who was definitely a biker) came out of the office to lift the rod as I put a rope around a bollard, then he fetched a windlass and wound the bottom end manual paddle up – none of the hydraulic paddles seemed to be working. A German cruiser was heading for lock as we left it – from Neass-am-Rhin, must be

Weed gathering machines at Chalons

another one bound for the Moselle then. 7.1kms to lock 10 Juvigny. Empty péniche Keiko from Terneuzen in the Netherlands was moored by the silo quay, wheelhouse down, car off-loaded, most likely off shopping in Chalons. Round the last bend in the canal at KP36 at 1pm, 13kms in a straight line all the way to Condé. Down lock 10, lock house shuttered and empty. 5kms to lock 11 Vraux (2.6kms) whose lock house was lived in and surrounded by masses of flowers. They had one of the biggest stores of wood we’d seen in a long time. An empty peniche, Maringo from Dunkirk was moored on the left under the long avenue of

Capitanerie at Chalons

tall plane trees, crew in the wheelhouse keeping cool – they said bonjour as we passed. A bit further on a DB was also sheltering under the big trees, a big hotel boat with bikes - must be having a rest between guests. A loaded péniche turned out of the Canal de la Marne à l’Aisne towards us, we slowed off so we didn’t meet Relicat from Paris in the narrow bit where there are the remains of an old bridge. Turned right at the junction at 3.10pm and saw that our old friend

Lock keeper winding a paddle at lk 9 Chalons

Gerard had “reserved” the pontoon for us, cordoning off our mooring place with some rope. Our next door neighbours were on their boat and came out to say hello and offer help with our ropes. The British cruiser that had been moored by our bows had gone, it must have been sold, a Dutch boat was temporarily in its place. Nice to be back – now to get connected to the mains electricity and retrieve our air con unit so we can cool the cabin down, then sort out the campervan ready for our next road trip….

13kms long straight canal all the way to Conde-sur-Marne