Bethune & Courchelles-sur-Lens

Hello all!  Sorry we've been quiet on the blog - a few days on the move and the last 2 without any mod cons, to include mains power.  So, since the last post we've been cruising the canals and traversing locks galore!

Friday 17 May - Arques to Bethune
We left the quiet backwater of Arques at 9.15am and cruised along the Canal de Neufosse to our first two ascending locks of the day which were within half an hour of each other - there's nothing like a lock to wake you up!  The weather was dry - hurrah - which makes cruising that much more pleasurable.  We are fortunate that we have a dual steering system so you can nip inside if it rains or is too hot (an unimaginable luxury as I write from Peronne as it has rained pretty much since we left Bethune).  1.5 hours later we passed the junction with the River de la Lys which would take us to Belgium - it's funny as these junctions are posted with signage similar to roadsigns.  After 6 hours steady cruising we arrived at the lovely town of Bethune where we had to moor alongside a hired pleasure barge.  Another first for the First Mate which involves tying-up to an adjoining boat.  On this occasion I had to step onto said boat and attach our lines to the other boat - quite scary as the bow of their boat had no toerail or handrails so my balance was called upon!  I'm glad to report that all went well and we had a steady mooring for the night.

After a quick lunch we went ashore to explore the town and we were pleasantly surprised.  A strong Flemish influence is evident in the architecture here.  We've noticed that the French really love their town halls (Hotels de Ville) - they are a central focal point of the town and ususally quite impressive buildings.  We had to get a few supplies on board and Mick, using his best Franglais once more, asked for directions which resulted in a lovely lady walking with us all the way to the supermarket (en route to picking up her grandchildren from school).  Would that happen in the UK?  Increasingly less so I think...  Anyway, with supplies in hand we decided we'd earned a beer or two so found a nice little bar which was full of locals.  We were made very welcome even though we were the only non-French people but they did laugh when Mick asked for 'l'addition' in his best Sarf-East London Franglais - better than my French though! 

Bethune Architecture

Saturday 18 May - Bethune to Courchelles-sur-Lens
Laundry time again - yawn!  I know I'm in trouble when I say that I got rather excited to see a new launderette - nice to think that your clothes will come out cleaner than when they go in!  So once that task was done we returned to the boat and set off for our next port of call, La Bassee which is only a short hop up the Canal d'Aire.  Another ascending lock under our belt (with a big barge alongside) we passed a junction to Paris and Belgium but we couldn't find the spur for La Bassee - the signs ran out so, somewhat perplexed, we pressed on into the Canal de Lens during which time First Mate steered past 5 heavily laden barges - a bit scary as the canals aren't that wide - maybe 100 feet - so you need to keep your nerve and maintain your course as these massive barges can't (and won't) change course.

The rules of the road are that commercial barges have right of way and pleasure craft have to accommodate that.  All barges we've passed though usually have a cheery wave for us pleasure boaters.  What I didn't realise is that the barge skipper (and often his family) live aboard in the aft of the barge, the cargo is amidships and any crew live in the forward section of the barge.  It is a way of life and they usually have a car, motorbike and sometimes a jet-ski stowed on top of the barge and their own crane to lift it off onto land so they are independent at the end of each particular voyage.  So far it looks like aggregates are the main cargo.  The barges are well-kempt.  Skipper and crew obviously take great pride in their barge and home.  The wheelhouses are always decked with lace curtains, flowers and other homely touches - really nice to see. 

Typical barge - complete with car!

A bit further down the canal was the spur for Courcelles-sur-Lens port de plaisance (a quiet stopping place with some facilities but not usually up to marina standard).  It was a pretty location - set in a lake surrounded by trees.  There's only room for about 12 boats so you take pot luck when you turn up at these places.  You can book in advance but the numbers given in the books don't always work. 

Courchelles-sur-Lens port du plaisance

Here, we were greeted by the first Brits (and pleasure boat) since we left Dunquerque - the lovely Alan and Carol on 'She's a B'.

They led us onto our mooring and took our lines as our mast in it's current position effectively makes us 2 metres longer and is tricky when coming onto a mooring.  Alan and Carol are on their sixth trip through the canals - they do a different route each time - and really know the ropes.  They gave us all sorts of useful info and, like us, happened to be leaving the next day towards Peronne.  We asked if they'd mind us tagging along and they were happy for us to do so and we promised we wouldn't cramp their style!  They'd heard that the second lock along our route was closed and operating a reduced timetable so it meant an early start.  We were cool with that so had an early-ish night and set the alarm for the next day.

So that's it for today as that's quite enough for one blog post - over & out for now!