Corbie to Amiens

25th April 

18km, 3 locks

We left Corbie at 9.30.  The lock keeper who took us through the 3 locks to Amiens was super friendly and spoke English.  He told us at the height of summer there are 20 boats per day passing through his locks (he looks after 5 locks) and 3 lock keepers.

It was another very chilly day, with a max temp of 7.5 C.

We passed quite a few old derelict factories

And some fancy houses

and some derelict shacks

Ian wanted to go to a shop called Electro Depot in search of ssd cards for our new smart phones and we found one just 2.8 km from the canal.  We stopped at a little village called Camon, on a tiny dock about 3m long in a strong current – not easy – got out the bikes and rode there.  We arrived at 12.30; they closed for lunch from 12.30 to 14.00!  Back to the boat for lunch.  

Then it started to rain, so I chickened out of the return trip to Electro Depot but Ian braved the elements.

The canal on the outskirts of the town is lined by these tiny “chalets”.

 Bridges across a stream

Close to the centre of town

The mooring in Amiens - and look who's here:  the unfriendly catamaran!

 

We went to the cathedral which is the biggest in France.  Wow, even Ian was impressed.  It is immense; apparently the internal volume is 200,000 cubic metres.  Construction started in 1220 and largely completed by1269, apart from the towers (1366-1402) and the spire was reconstructed between 1529 and 1533.  Sculptures, sculptures and more sculptures. Got to back with the camera tomorrow.

What a quaint old Town!  Lots of photo opportunities!  It is very touristy, the canal is lined with bars and restaurants, and it is charming.