Another canal transversed

Six days of travel have taken us from Vitry le Francois to Toul, along the Western section of the "Canal from the Marne to the Rhine". Last year we travelled the Eastern part, from Strasbourg to Nancy. A section of the canalised Moselle River now separates the Eastern and Western sections of the Canal though until 1978 they formed a single canal.

Naix aux Forges

The Canal from the Marne to the Rhine was built in the first half of the 19th century to link Paris with the Rhine. The Western section which we have just competed is 130 kilometres in length and has 98 locks, so we were kept busy with ropes and pull cords throughout. Fortunately there were two "chains" where one lock would open as the previous one closed, which reduced waiting time substantially.

There are two tunnels, the longer, Mauvages tunnel, is 4877 metres long, so almost identical in length to the Balesmes tunnel (4820m) which we negotiated a few weeks ago. In a  previous blog we described how uncertain we were, and remain, about when to go into the one- way Balesmes tunnel. There was no uncertainly with the Mauvages Tunnel. There were clear notices for many kilometres leading up to it, informing us that we would be towed through the tunnel, and clearly stating the fixed times each day that boats could travel through, once each way in the morning, once in the afternoon. If a boat is not there when the convoy leaves there is no alternative but to wait, perhaps until the next day.

Four locks before the tunnel two quite senior lock- keepers arrived to give us the regulations about passing through the tunnel including not lighting a gas stove, not holding up a boat hook and not shouting. They told us we would be the only ones passing though in this session.

When we arrived at the tunnel mouth, right on time, we found that we were not in fact to be towed. The tower had been out of action earlier in the year, and though it is now fixed the decision has been made to let smaller boats pass through under their own steam. However, the two eclusiers who had met us earlier hopped on their bicycles and donned their head lights to ride through with us to make sure that all was well.

In fact we discovered the hard way that the tunnel has a very low arch at the side away from the tow path. As a result our high and wide roof scraped even though the boat did not touch the side at water level. David had a repair job on his hands at our next stop.

Tronville- another "little Venice"

The major town (population 16,000) is Bar-le-Duc, settled first in Roman times, with a Roman road still evident. Like so many similar towns in this area the main town was built on a higher plateau, and in "Haute Ville" the streets are lined with well-preserved Renaissance houses which belonged to the upper classes, clustered around the Chateau which is now a museum. We visited the museum and were stunned by the quality and preservation of the many 500 year old paintings. Bar le Duc was also at the start of the "Sacred Way" which was the only road out of range of artillery in WWI and used to supply the town of Verdun which held out for the whole war and is the only town to have every been awared the Legion of Honour as a town.

The smaller towns also offered interesting features. Several, including Tronville, had "fortified churches" dating from the 12th century. The bell- towers were constructed with battlements and arrow loops in which townspeople could shelter and defend themselves in the event of attack.

The Roman influence was strong in this area from 100 BC. In the tiny town of Naix aux Forges (population around 200) we saw a note that there was an archaeological site. Further research told us that this had been the large Roman town of Nasium with a population of 15,000. We walked around the area but to our disappointment found little of interest. Then at the next stop, in the small town of Void, we were stunned by the grandeur of the Market and found that it consisted of columns which had been relocated from the Roman temple of Nasium in the 19th century.

Bar le Duc

Republic day, July 14th, occurred as we were passing through these towns. On the evening before, there was a fireworks display at Tronville. They were lucky to fit it in between some very heavy evening rain. The next night we were in Naix and were again treated to a good display, finishing  three minutes before a really heavy shower though the evening had been fine until then. We were dry and snug in the comfort of our barge.  In Void we noticed that the celebrations had been postponed because of the "meteorological conditions" and rescheduled for August 14th.

We both set off on our bikes to visit Vaucouleurs, the place from which Joan of Arc set out to save France. The distance sounded reasonable, about 13kms, but when we were half way there the route became very hilly so Penelope Joan, still nursing an injured leg, turned back and left David to go on alone. The original Joan would not have been so easily deterred but it proved a wise course of action for her namesake. Even the much fitter David found the going hard at times especially since the town was deep in a valley and accessed over a high set of hills. There was a small museum at Vaucouleurs plus a chapel erected on the oringinal crypt that was there when Joan of Arc came and left. After eating a "Joan of Arc Hamburger" at the Brasserie Joan of Arc, David went to the museum but found it shut. So, he applied at the Tourist Bureau where the woman shut the Bureau and opened the museum for him. Then, later, the chapel was also shut despite signs on it saying that it should be open. So, a French couple, who also wanted to get, in phoned the Tourist Bureau and the same lady again shut the Bureau and came to open up the Chapel. We were also able to go into the crypt and they had a very good audi-visual about Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc ws born about 10km away but I (David) wisely considered a further 20km return over hills might be unwise. As it was, I had a very sore derriere and was quite stiff on return to the boat.

Joan of Arc- Vaucouleurs

Of course, we know a little of Joan of Arc and her name and statues are everywhere in France. But we realised that we do not know the whole story and there were many unanswered questions about who she really was and how she came to lead armies of men into battle.

Fortunately, over 100 books have been written about Joan of Arc and we have been reading the truly excellent account by (of all people!).....Mark Twain. He said it was his greatest book and he spent 12 years researching it and then had six attempts to decide the style of the narrative. It is indeed an epic book and we are finding it hard to put down.

We stopped overnight in Toul (which we visited last year) and have now entered the Moselle River.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

Skeleton Sculpture by Ligier Richier (Bar le Duc)