18th - 22nd August 2016. On to Ligny-en-Barrois, Givrauval and Tréveray.

The scenery along this part of the canal de la Marne au Rhin is very pleasant.

The current church of Notre-Dame des Vertus in Ligny-des-Barrois dates from 1552, although there has been a church here since the 10th century.

This window was made in 1548. It is interesting how the style of stained glass in churches has changed over the centuries.

This blue one was made much later.

The port at Ligny has room for several boats. We were moored behind the Dutch family, on the right, and Shannon made friends with their granddaughter, who was visiting. Great Britain beat The Netherlands in the Olympic hockey final, much to their disgust!

At Givraul we found this small pontoon, in a lovely rural setting.

Half of this house in the village of Givraul has been renovated to a high standard, while the left side is awaiting development.

The church is hidden up by the trees, but we found an interesting walk above the church, along the edge of the forest. These wood piles are everywhere, and seem to have been there for years.

This painted building was in the middle of some fields. Is it a country cottage?

The Puzzler is crossing the river Ornain at Menaucourt here. Some people were swimming in the river, but sadly we could not get down to it. The weather is extremely hot.

This is a pretty wooded section of the Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Ouest)

There are a great many locks, but each one is a little different. This approach is more scenic than most.

We found shade at Tréveray under a plum tree. The back hatch is resting on the solar panels as we have been repainting the back slides. This could not be done in Roanne in the spring, because the satellite dish was in the way! It makes it cooler in the boat at night with no back hatch on!

10th - 17th August 2016. We join the Canal de la Marne au Rhin (Ouest) at Vitry-le-François, and continue to Bac-le-Duc.

We had hoped for a choice of bankside moorings on the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, but found it to be a rough canal. This was the best we could do on this first section, although the marked moorings are quite good.

The locks too, have seen better days, although they work well enough, with magic eyes to see us coming.

This goat was very possessive about his lock, when The Puzzler came too close to him!

Beyond Fains-les-Sources we moored on two Ducs d'Alb, which are these pillars designed for barges, rather too far apart for comfort. It was worth it though, as we could bring the Intermarché trolley very close to the boat here. Bricorama was next door too, so we could at last replace the missing hammer, which might have been left by someone in the long grass a few weeks ago! We had to stay here overnight, as by the time we had been to both stores, aswell as filling up with diesel, the locks were closed for the night.

Two locks further on, we reached Bar-le-Duc, which is a sizeable town, with many historic buildings. The Rue des Ducs-de-Bar is a supreme example of an aristocratic street, dating from the 16th century.

The buildings in this street, which lies parallel, are much simpler in design.

The brothers, Pierre and Ernest Michaux, are remembered here for their invention of the pedal bicycle in the 19th century. They were both born in Bar-le-Duc.

The house with the tall slate roof is the Hôtel de Florainville, in Place Saint-Pierre, and was built in the 16th Century, but the ornate decoration was added in the 18th century, when it became the Town hall. Since 1949 it housed the magistrates court, followed later by the Assizes. The small house next but one to it is particularly different in style, but they all have their own character.

The îlot de la Halle was first built in the 13th century as a covered market, with the 16th century arcaded galleries opening on to this central courtyard. The green building is a recent extension to the restaurant, where we had a pleasant lunch with fellow boaters, John and Karen.

The Château of Bar-le-Duc, of 10th Century origin, was rebuilt in the 17th century.

There is a superb view of Bar-le-Duc from the castle walls.

Shannon and I decided to rest in the castle gardens, although we might have seen a no dogs sign, if we had been looking!

This is the biggest plane tree we have ever seen, in front of the Town Hall!

In the Eglise Saint-Antoine were the oldest church pews, in a box style. The altar in this church is made of a solid piece of marble.

In Bar-le-Duc, the river Ormain is very pretty.

Bar-le-Duc Cemetary, which is quite impressive