24th - 31st July 2018. Martin and Jenny join us at Commercy to continue on the Canal de la Meuse via Verdun, Stenay, and Mouzon to Sedan.

Martin and Jenny joined us at Commercy on Tuesday evening, and Martin was hard at work the next day, closing a lock gate.

Arriving quite late at Verdun, we squeezed in between a Dutch Tjalk and a Dutch cruiser. The people on the tjalk were very happy to have our bows overlap their tiller, but the ones behind arrived after we were tied up, and thought we were too close to them, even though the boats were not touching. He got quite upset, poor fellow!

We had a very pleasant meal out in Verdun, at Le Clapier restaurant.

Next morning it was time to see the town, before it became too hot. The main town gates are still an impressive sight.

The Battle of Verdun was fought between the French and the Germans during most of 1916, with the French being the final victors. There is still evidence of the fighting throughout the town, with schrapnel damage on this church wall.

Nearby is the main war memorial, decorated with attractive flowers.

On Friday we moved on to find a rural mooring, with no artificial lights, for the anticipated eclipse of the moon.

The eclipse was very faint, due to drifting cloud, but here the moon is emerging again.

We passed several of these old railway bridges, which were destroyed during the second world war.

We came into the mooring at Stenay, which is on an offshoot from the canal. It was easy to back out when we left, but would have been tricky, had we been several boats further in!

We came to Stenay to visit the Beer Museum, and found it very interesting.

Some new Dutch friends had recommended this mooring near to Alma lock, and it was certainly worth a visit.

Our game of pétanque had to be played on grass this time, as the track was too close to the canal. Does this picture look a little bit posed?

Next day it was a lunchtime visit to the 13th century Benedictine Abbey at Mouzon.

The carvings round the front door are impressive.

All along the canal de la Meuse, we alternate between river and canal sections.

At Sedan this is a memorial to the battle of Bazeilles, which was fought on 1st September,1870, during the Franco- Prussian war.
On our way out in the evening, we saw some young men fighting, near to this memorial, but an ambulance happened to pass them, and so they pretended they were playing! After our meal, which was frequently punctuated by the roar of two motorbikes, we walked back to the boat, and a dog bit Sally on the leg. Just a slight bruise, but the owner rewarded the dog with a treat! No doubt it will try harder to draw blood next time!