Simon
Jenkins is a well known figure on the British canal system and has
been a boater for decades, living on, working and owning boats and,
for the last couple of decades, the managing director of Norbury
Wharf on the Shropshire Union Canal.
He is just back from the boat buying
trip of a lifetime, bringing his first historic barge back to
Belgium, the country in which it was built, from the shores of the
Mediterranean. Last month he
met old friends, and avoided crushing a mad Englishman. Now he comes
up against manual locks which take him onto another of Europe’s
major waterways and an angry Frenchman.
This is his story, in his own words.
So
we are now heading downhill and are following the river Moselle, at
some point and I cant remember when the locks went from automated to
manual. Sacre
bleu
I thought – I am now thinking in French, of course - but to my
amazement they all had lock keepers. Some were students doing summer
work and others were full time lock keepers who were mobile, so drove
to the next lock to get it ready. I was liking this.
A
bit of industry started to occupy the canal and then the first
commercial boats we had seen since leaving the Saône.
These were purpose built ones used over short distances, unlike the
large ones we had been used to seeing with their wonderful rear
cabins and cars plonked on top.
 |
| Boats with wonderful rear cabins and cars plonked on top |
They
were being employed on what appeared to be an aggregate job, it must
have been the weekend as there was no sign of life, or maybe it was
their lunch time, which seems to start at about 10am and finish at
about 3pm. Well that’s what it seemed like! The canal becoming
industrial and built up was quite a nice change after being out in
the countryside for ages, it made a nice contrast.
It
wasn't long before we were back out in the sticks, though, not a very
exciting canal and nothing really notable. We crossed the river
Moselle on a modern looking aqueduct, then through yet another lock
and, all of a sudden, I noticed that we were picking up speed, we now
had part of the river Moselle with us. That didn't last long -
another lock and back to ditch crawling - but things were changing.
As
we progressed the river came in and out of the canal, it was getting
wider and our pace had picked up and then we locked through a small
lock and into what seemed like another world.
Straight
in to a huge inland port surrounded by ships and huge barges just
like the ones we had seen on the Rhone. We progressed past the vast
steel works with their loading bays and railway lines, more aggregate
loading wharves, and giant gantry cranes with huge magnets unloading
barges full of scrap. We had reached the river Moselle and its inland
ports.
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| Giant gantry cranes with huge magnets unloading barges |
 |
| Aggregate work |
We
only had a short journey to do on this mighty river. The lock keeper
called us in once he had cleared a commercial tug and advised us to
move down river to a small jetty where we should stay the night.
So
out onto the Moselle – 152 km long with 16 locks, each 172 m x11 m,
fortunately we would only be doing a short stretch and a couple of
locks, we passed through the large lock and on to the main river and
carried on our way to the mooring that was suggested, no other places
to tie up between the two locks anyway.
The
mooring soon came in to sight and there was a French barge already on
the mooring, no problem we shall pull alongside, something customary
over in France where a boat tied to the bank is considered to be part
of the bank therefore another boat is allowed to tie alongside.
 |
| There was a French barge already on the mooring |
Not
in this instance, a vile French couple came out shouting at us in
French "Vous
ne
pouvez pas amarrer votre
bateau
à côté
de mon
bateau, cochons anglais. Je me fiche de savoir si vous avez
l'autorisation du gardien de l'écluse. Il est probablement
aussi cochon anglais. Allez amarrer votre bateau ailleurs chez vous.
Porcs anglais, je vais couper vos cordages. si vous essayez de vous
amarrer à côté de moi!”
A rough translation sounds a bit Monty Python: “You can not dock your boat next to my boat, English pigs. I do not care if you have permission from the lock keeper. He is probably also an English pig. Go moor your boat elsewhere at home. English pigs, I will cut your ropes. if you try to moor beside me! "
It
was like a scene from Trafalgar but without the cannons, oh and no
Nelson. We told them that we had been instructed to stay there, but
they were having none of it, so, for a quiet night, we carried on to
the next lock as the sun was setting.
 |
| That bit of the river is outstandingly beautiful |
I
am glad we did, as that bit of the river is outstandingly beautiful
and in the early evening as the sun was going down it was even more
spectacular. We were shrouded in the most amazing deep wooded valley
with trees hundreds of feet up the valley sides and right down to the
waters edge. Every bend the river opened up a more dramatic vista.
We
eventually tied up at the lock side in a most peaceful place. The
next morning we were up early and met by mist over the water and
hanging in the trees. This was a really magical place.
 |
| This was a really magical place. |
We
soon passed through the lock and we carried on to Toul
where the navigation split into three sections - the main river went
right, a larger canal in the middle and a smaller one to the left. We
took the smaller one as we could see on our maps that there was a
good stopping place at an old factory which also gave direct access
to the road and some shops, we stopped to do some more essential
shopping at a nearby supermarket.
Once
the shopping was complete it was off again, through a small lock and
on to a short section of canal where we came to a junction with the
Canal de la Marne
au Rhin
on our left hand side and that would lead us back on to small canals.
There
was a bit of a commotion when another Eric Sykes sort of chap was
flailing about in the middle of the junction asking for help, we
managed to take a rope off him and help him to the other side of the
junction, his engine had failed - good deed done for the day!
In
the next episode: The end of the first leg is in sight but there is
ugly industry and the beautiful Ardennes to enjoy first.
