Canals and Inland Waterways

We have been involved with the 'Friends of President' for some time. President is the restored steam-powered narrow boat owned by the Black Country Living Museum at Dudley. There is a page of my photos of President taken between 1986 and 1999 on the FMC President website as part of their Photo Album.

We used to own a small cruiser on the Staffs and Worcs Canal, moored at the bottom of our garden at Kidderminster, and took two week or longer holidays on it every year from 1973 to 1980, but now we hire or go with boat-owning friends.

The French Canal system is well known, and there are lots of things to see on it - here are just a few -

• The Canal du Midi is all worth seeing, but particularly the water slope at Fonseranes near Beziers, which bypasses a nine-lock staircase - 'Les Neuf Ecluses', the round lock at Agde (three gates at a junction, all different levels), and the Riquet memorial at the summit. We spent a week from near Carcasonne to Narbonne on this in June 1999. The highlights were the staicase at Fonseranes near Beziers, and the bit beyond Narbonne down to the Med at Port La Nouvelle past (but not through) coastal lakes - amazing views of wildlife - flamingoes, herons and the like. There is a good museum about the Canal du Midi at, oddly enough, the motorway service station near the summit. This is accessible from the canal to boaters as well.
• The old seven-lock staircase at Rogny-les-Sept-Ecluses on the Canal de Briare, and Briare itself, very much a canal town with basins, arms, and locks all over the place, and Eiffel's ornate aqueduct over the Loire which brings in the Canal Lateral de la Loire to the town.
• The original water slope, - 'La Pente d'Eau' - with two converted railway engines on rubber wheels, at Montech on the Canal Lateral de la Garronne, west of Toulouse. The lock flight which this bypasses is very attractive, too.
• The preserved, but isolated from the canal, boat lift, Anderton-style, at Les Fontinettes, which is on the edge of the town of Arques just south of St. Omer, only half an hour or so from Calais. This was no longer signposted and looking rather derelict in June 1998.
• The narrow beam Canal du Berry, West of the Loire, which is being restored from the Northern end, at Noyers-sur-Cher, with some English style, and probably English built, hire boats on it. I have no idea what is in plan here, but the line of the canal has been entirely built over further on toward Bruges.
• Lots more, such as the Brittany canals, Aigues Mortes on the Canal de la Rhone a Sete, the Canal du Nivernais south of Auxerre, the Marne-Rhine canal across the Vosges with the Arzvillers plane, and lots of quiet and pretty spots beside the water all over the place.

Belgium has a thriving network, of course, and the 4 lifts in the Western suburbs of La Louviere, at Strepy-Bracquegnies, Houdeng-Goegnies and Thieu, and nearer La Louviere near the station, and the inclined plane at Ronqieres, near Nivelles, not far away, must be seen.

The replacement for the four La Louviere lifts is now complete (2003) at Strépy-Thieu and is very impressive and is now in use for commercial barges.

The canal here has realised that tourism is their future, so now it is well signed and trips are available through the lifts up to a cantonment below the top lift, built for the Italians who built the lower three lifts during the First World War, where there is a restaurant and hostel accomodation. Try the local beer there - wonderful!

There are bits and pieces elsewhere as well. We found some derelict locks on the edge of Pavia in Italy the other year.

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Last Updated 25th April 2004.