Knokkebrug to Veurne

Pics of Ian flying his drone yesterday evening

I was in trouble today because I didn’t wake Ian up early.  I got involved with sorting out the stills he edited from his video last night and uploading to the blog and didn’t realise how late it got.  He woke up at 9.30!  As he got up in great hurry I went out on deck there was a man standing on the towpath.  He asked where we were going so I said, well, we would like to go through the bridge and onto Fintele and Veurne.  Turned out he was the bridge/lock keeper for this canal and agreed to open up the bridge right away.  So off we set at 9.45.  Lots of photos to follow – get ready….

BIG branch of wood trapped at the “wagsteger” (dock where you wait till the man comes to open the bridge)

The first mobile bridge of this cruise: Knokkebrug

The Ijzer River is a wetland breeding area in the winter when the fields on one side of the canal flood.  The other side is protected by a dyke.

Entering Fintele Lock

Oh dear, we have a problem.  There is a mobile bridge across the entrance to the lock but after we had entered the booms could not be lifted.  This lock has been mechanised since last summer when the bridge keeper had to open/close all the lock gates and bridge paraphernalia by hand.   The gremlins have not been sorted out yet.

We waited for about 20 mins in the lock while the lock keeper had an animated conversation on his mobile phone.  This is a funny lock with sloping sides and a fixed pontoon.

Action at last – even though the booms at the bridge were still firmly stuck in the down position and the postman had to reverse and take another route around.

Gate on one side is opening, the lock keeper walks all the way around to open the gate on the other side. 

The lovely, narrow, windy Lo Canal

2nd mobile bridge today:  Kellenaarsbrug

3^rd bridge - Lobrug

We have not seen any female ducks, only the drakes; presumably the ducks are sitting on eggs – its’s that time of year!

But why has this funny little bird built her nest in such a vulnerable place

Aha, we not the only crazies cruising in March

Lovely old building at Alveringem with pink doors and shutters 

Last summer when we passed this way the canal was beautiful with overhanging trees, lovely to look at, not so easy to negotiate and always a risk of dead branches falling into the canal.  During the winter a lot of work has been done on the canal, including chopping down many of the trees.  I guess it has to be done from time to time.

4^th mobile bridge – Millebrug

Look at this array of solar panels - Ian is ever so envious

5^th mobile bridge, Korte Wildebrug, was opened long before we got there

6^th mobile bridge, Rozebrug

One of the other bridges had a red light but the bride keeper waved us through before it went green, the others had no lights and we passed through them as soon as they were high enough.  This one had a red light and again we passed underneath it as soon as it was high enough.  Just 200m further on there is a lock (no rise and fall so left open) which we entered but there was a mobile foot bridge at the other end.   No bridge keeper.  We tied up in the lock and wondered what to do, then the bridge man arrived and explained, very politely, that the sensors detected a boat under the bridge before the light turned green and that throws everything into disarray and it had taken him some time to reset it all.  So now you know why you should wait for the green light.  Anyway, with all that excitement I forgot to take a photo of the 7^th and last mobile bridge.

Our mooring at Veurne.