The Meuse River

We turned onto the Meuse River at Pont a Bar (in France) with thoughts mainly of our progress to Belgium so we were unprepared for its beauty. Flowing through the Ardennes region, it is a river of sheer cliffs and green forests, quite breathtaking. Several of the towns have been based on industry, sometimes on mining, but they have not influenced the predominantly rural nature of the countryside. Slate has been extensively quarried here and is reflected in the slate roofs and even walls of most buildings.

View of the Meuse Valley from the Aymon Monument
The largest town in the area is Charleville- Meziers; Charleville has a beautiful Ducal square and an interesting museum which covers the Ardennes area and also an interesting exhibition of marionettes. The World Festival of Marionette theatres is held here every three years. The biggest marionette of all performs on every hour between 10am and 9pm when a giant brass puppet figure tells a chapter in the legend of Aymon and his four sons, who were chased by Charlemagne and escaped by riding a magical horse, Halberd, to a spot where they established the Castle Regnault. Further along the river we found the exact spot where the Château had been and walked up to the statue of Aymon and his sons there. The play area at its base has a magnificent wooden horse mounted on springs on which children can ride.

Aymon and his four sons
The beauty of this area is offset by the sadness of its history. This border country has been fought over for centuries. Charleville- Meziers alone was bombarded in 1815, 1870, 1914, 1918, 1940 and 1944. We found a delightful stop at Haybes. It is a "3 flower" town but looked different from most small French towns. There were no really old buildings and the Hotel de Ville was of a newer style, though not modern.

Then in our regular "walk around town" we came upon the War Memorial and discovered that the whole town had been destroyed by the German army over three days in August 1914, first by a bombardment and then by fire. Seventy civilians were killed and the names on the memorial made sad reading, with whole families named in the list, men, women and children.

Almost a hundred years later it was a very popular spot for people enjoying the first really summery Sunday, taking advantage of the excellent "Green Way" which provides a great cycle and pedestrian path along the winding river.

 Halberd the Magic Horse

Nearby is the most exciting flying fox we have seen. A person is strapped facxing downwards into some sort of sling and then propelled across the River Valley on a wire, hundreds of metres in the air. The speed of travel is amazing.  The people "flying" went right over Anja as we descended in the lock!

The river itself is quite busy here with many white cruisers travelling between the Netherlands and this part of France. As well as the many Dutch there are some from Belgium and a few from Germany but it is rare to see a flag from an English speaking country. There is not much commercial traffic at this point of the river, at this time of year. It might be quite different when the harvest comes in.  

And so to Givet, on the border between France and Belgium, previously an important customs port. Its historical importance is reflected by the huge fort which dominates the town, built by Charles V in the 16th century and later remodelled by that master military engineer, Vauban.

 The Extreme Flying Fox

About to leave France and enter Belgium, we sorted out our ship's papers, had our passports to hand and made sure that our Belgian courtesy flag was ready.

Best Regards,

Penny and Dave

The Meuse

Haybes

 Fortress at GivetDucal Square at CharlevilleAncient artefacts from the regionMarionettesBehind the giant puppet. 24 full scenes move around on railsThe Giant Puppet with marionettes