What a day! First off the Notre Dame. Today an iconic structure, but in an earlier time, it was Victor Hugo’s novel, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ that brought this Gothic landmark to the world’s attention. Situated on Ile de la Cite, a small island in the centre of the River Seine and Paris, this […]
Opening in 1859 as a railway in 1859, the line took travellers from Bastille to the suburb of Verneuil l‘Etang. Taking six years to complete and a short distance from the Arsenal Marina, this 1.5km link comprised of a 64 vaulted viaduct – Viaduc de la Bastille and tunnels. Operating for just over a century, […]
Our intention to enter Bras de Marly via the Bougival Lock didn’t take place today. Both lights having turned red late the evening before, they still remained so at 10am this morn. Radio and phone calls to request entry unanswered, we continued upstream on the northern arm and entered the Chatou Lock instead. We […]
With mostly no bike lanes and many busy roads, what an interesting bike ride it was to Chantilly. Encircled by water on one side, and high wall on the other, the Chantilly Chateau landscape was most picturesque (quite expensive to enter, Bob and I made the decision to enjoy from the outside, as Versaille near Paris […]
With inclement weather upon us, a couple of days past saw Bob and I make the decision to continue onward. With that decision made, we entered the Oise river and motored to first Compiegne, then Creil. From Creil, weather permitting, it would be possible to undertake the 10km or so bike ride to Chateau Chantilly. […]
https://youtu.be/MhCAxjzeOuc https://youtu.be/QGHjBS-AlgI
Douai to Lock 7, kilometre 17.5, France Canal du St Quentin was next on our list, however another spanner in the works came this morning when Bob went online and discovered one of the bridges has been out of action for the last two weeks with no date provided for reopening: this really has been […]
Today was the UNESCO man and biosphere accredited 22,000+ hectare Maison du Marais experience. This region is comprises of marshes throughout which small channels run, all fed by the Aa or canal d’Aa. In operation since 13th century and the only French marsh to undergo continual cultivation, it is in this fertile landscape that generations […]
The morning was spent out on the bikes attempting to find cycle tracks into the exquisite de panne, all to no avail. There were plenty of paths for walkers, but the closest the cyclist could go was around the perimeter. We liked this critter….. Then to the beach we cycled……. What a beautiful piece of […]
Over the past few mornings, Bob had been taking note of the times at which early morning barges passed through on their way to Zeebrugge and Oostende. Departing just ahead of one would provide us with the best chance of least waiting time for bridge and lock openings. With a long day ahead, and movement […]
An exquisite summer’s morning had Bob and I alighting our bikes for the 14km trip into this UNESCO heritage Belgian city. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2zTAR2TioU&feature=youtu.be Arriving at the township, it was wow! Beautiful doorways. waterways, interesting boats, and we loved the whale. One of the locks is still in operation: it’s colossal! Once there were seven, then there were […]
Arriving at the entrance to Lock nine at 9am on this warm summer’s day, our delightful lock keeper was there to see us through. There is no VHF contact for these locks, so the mobile phone (+32 4789 6203) comes in handy for arranging passage. The lock hours for each gate opening are highly restricted, […]
Awaking to a warm morning, breakfast consumed, it was time for Bob to reconnect the seal and lid to the base of the water muffler. Taking a matter of minutes to accomplish, all required now was to turn Big Bertha over. Engine idling, no leaks evident, it was time to test by increasing throttle revs. […]
One the road again, the one – way passage through the narrow waters of Tornai would normally have made for a slow but relaxing motor, however, issues with our normally reliable Bog Bertha commenced (an Isuzu 4.5L marine diesel engine) and continued on a major scale. With the light green it was time to depart. […]
The bikes offloaded, Bob and I set off on a pleasurable ride to Tornai. Situated on the border of north – western Wallonia, what a town this was! With 2,000 years of history that dated back to 1BC as Tornacum under Roman rule, in our minds the oldest city of Belgium easily rivalled Gent. Our […]
We headed out to enjoy a ride through Kortelake Nature Reserve. Situated just south of Geraardsbergen, sadly, we found that like those we had attempted to enter before, this too only allowed the cyclist to enjoy the periphery. For those who, like Bob, can’t walk long distances this means missing out on enjoying some of […]
It was a trip beneath ground for Bob and I today for here was to be found the remains of the former Coudenberg Palace. Once way back in time, high upon a hill overlooking a beautiful valley in which lay a tiny village, a family climbed and built a simple wooden keep. Over the years, […]
An hour’s train journey and a 5km bike ride transported Bob and to the battlefield where Napoleon’s final downfall took place. Rising above the flat farming lands below, the memorial mound constructed in commemoration of the wound the Belgian monarch took during the midst of battle, is the first object that draws the visitor’s eye. […]
Grote Markt(Grand Place), Royal Palace, Museum of the Black Sisters and Basilica. Having been advised it was far too dangerous to ride our bikes within the city centre , Bob and I chose to make use of the rail network: apparently, drivers have a bit of what we call road rage when it comes to cyclists […]
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