Meaux to Neuilly sur Marne

31 kms, 4 locks, 1 tunnel. 5 hours 15 mins, but could have been done in 4 hours max.

Funny old day today, we had 31 kms to cover including 4 locks and 1 tunnel.  Our planned stopping place was at a waiting quay above the lock at Neuilly and PC Navigo told us that the journey would take 5.5 hours.  We wanted to arrive after the locks closed down at 18.00 so left the mooring at Meaux at 12.40.

But what on earth made us actually believe PC Navigo’s prophecy when it has always overestimated the time required?    After about an hour we were already way ahead of schedule.

The first 12 kms from Meaux (by the way the lock at Meaux has a fall/rise of just 27 cm) are in a canal that cuts out a huge loop in the Marne river.  

Looking back as we exit the lock at Meaux

The Canal de Meaux a Chalifert

Through that section we motored as usual but as soon as we passed through the next 2 locks and the 300m tunnel between them we were back onto the fast flowing Marne river, with the wind behind us. The time planning went out the window, suddenly we were scheduled to arrive at Neuilly 2 hours too early to take up space on a waiting pontoon for a lock.  So Ian switched the engine off and we drifted downriver at about 2.7 km/hr. We had more than enough time to appreciate the surrounding scenery!  Ian listened to the radio and I did some general cleaning chores inside!

We had to hand back the telecommande  at Lock 10 yesterday, and since then all the locks have been manned.  There is not a great deal of traffic at this time of year so, long before we got to each lock, the lock-keeper had seen us coming, the lock was ready for us, we just cruise on in and minutes later we shoot out the other side.

On the subject of traffic: a pleasure boat from Belgium came hurtling towards at a swift old lick.

We passed a good few working barges today 

including one that we met on a bend just as the canal narrows to go under a bridge.  That required a very smart reverse manoeuver and dive towards the canal side, but the barge did not slow much, sucking the water with it so that we ended up in water way too shallow and hit something with the propeller.  Fingers crossed, it doesn’t seem to be damaged.

A rather interesting suspension bridge

Approaching the tunnel at the end of the Meaux-Chalifert canal

It is only 300m long

About to rejoin the Marne River

The long floating pontoon at Ligny

After exiting the last lock at 10 past 5, and with another 8 kms to go to our destination, Ian could pick the pace up to our normal cruising speed and we arrived at the quay above the Neuilly lock at about 18.15.  It is a really good quay with bollards spaced for smaller pleasure craft.  

But as we enter the outskirts of a really big city (Paris) we are seeing more and more vagrants/undesirables/illegal immigrants/refugees – take your pick.  Both bikes are on deck  locked to a stantion, and every loose piece of rope, mooring line, etc is stowed away.  Nothing to tempt a chancer to hop on board and remove anything not locked down or welded on!