The Nancy Loop

Young Grandson drives the boatLeaving Toul, we decided to take the Nancy Loop, a circular route around and through Nancy. With our son, an engineer and sailor, very interested in the working of the locks, canals, and the boats themselves, it was a great opportunity to experience the beautiful wide Moselle River plus the large capacity commercial barges and huge locks.

The beautiful Moselle
We all enjoyed this excursion. The Moselle was at its best. We stopped at Liverdun, an old fortified town perched above the river. The stopping spot is itself very pleasant, in a basin off the main river so not subject to the wash of the barges going past. As expected, we shared the waterway with very big boats, some over 4,200 tons, on their way to Germany and beyond.

135metres x 12metres (4,200 tonnes)

Chateau at LiverdunWe turned for Nancy and pulled up in the port, very handy to this beautiful city's main attractions. Stanislaus Square is the most spectacular we have seen in Europe, and it is surrounded by attractive and interesting buildings and well- kept parks. The highlight was the Sound and Light show at night, lighting up the buildings on three sides. The square is so huge that most people simply sat down where they could find a space, so we joined them in that choice and had a great all- round view of the display.

One entry to the SquareWe had come with real concerns about the possibility of terrorist attacks in places such as this where a large number of people were gathered. However we were reassured by the obvious efforts being taken to keep us safe, from huge barriers at each entry to the square, discrete but effective, to the heavy presence of security forces. There was also the protection that this event was held every night during the summer in Nancy, so it would be very unlucky to become the focus of a terrorist attack on that particular night. It is important though sad to need constant regard for the assessment of risk.

At nightLeaving Nancy we headed up and down a "Staircase", a series of locks so close together that as the boat leaves one, the next is already getting ready for its arrival. This staircase had 9 locks to the summit and 9 down the other side, travelling only 10 kilometres but keeping the forward hand busy: our son's enthusiastic and high quality rope work was very much appreciated.

Finally we were almost back to Toul at a tiny town called Villey le Sec where we met our daughter and family, for a very pleasant family reunion for the next week.

Gardens at Nancy

At this point we reviewed our plans. We had wanted to travel North from this spot to re- visit the beautiful Meuse Valley, but the first 20 locks on the Meuse Canal were closed because of low water levels. Two weeks later they are still closed, except for a brief two day period during which boats stuck there by the closures could finally make their escape. The waterways authority does not expect the canal to reopen in the near future.

After considering various options, we decided to go South instead of North, along the Vosges Canal. We had planned to travel along this canal in 2012 but because several locks had broken down and more seriously, a dyke collapsed and would take a long while to fix, we had to turn back. So we had not previously travelled along this canal. The opportunity to see the Vosges countryside was an appealing prospect.

The Vosges Canal at first runs next to the Moselle as it climbs to the source of the Moselle at Bussang, then down the other side accompanied by the Coney River. After the Vosges Canal, we will join the Petite Saone and then the Saone, on its descent to the Mediterranean. When we reach the Burgundy Canal at St John de Losne we will travel Northwest to Anja's winter berth at Migennes, just near the Burgundy's junction with the Yonne River. It will be fitting that the Burgundy Canal will be our last. It was also our first, the Canal on which we took Anja for our maiden voyage in 2010.  

Best Regards,
Penelope and Dave