6th - 9th August 2018. On along the river Sambre through Namur and industrial Charleroi further into Belgium. Down, then up, the inclined Plane at Ronquieres, then down the Strépy-Thieu lift.

On leaving Namur, we are immediately in an industrial area, but not for too long. However, the river Sambre is lined with sloping concrete banks for kilometre after kilometre.

This is one of the very few villages to be seen along this stretch.

Charleroi is built in the middle of all the industry.

This goes on for a long way.

We are seeing quite a lot of commercial traffic. When empty, like this barge, they always look more imposing.

The tall tower ahead marks the Ronquieres inclined plane. We have yet to discover why there is such a tall tower here.

We were straight in to the caisson to descend this amazing structure. There are two of these floating boxes, but only one is in use at the moment.

To go back up the plane, The Puzzler was allowed to share with Amigo, a large barge from Holland. It is a good thing that we are narrow, to fit into that space!

It seems strange to be sitting there, doing nothing, while we are moved up the hillside.

Half way up. We are ready for a quick getaway at the top!

There is a visitor centre within the building, with an excellent video presentation about the lives of the bargees. However, our only access to it from our mooring above the lift, was through the workings on the other half of the lift, as directed by a workman.

Who is worried about health and safety? We declined going up to the 9th floor for the view though!

Returning back to the junction, we continued on the Canal du Centre to reach the Strépy-Thieu lift.

Here we are in the lift, with our entry door visible up above us.

At the bottom, having descended 73 metres!

The whole tower of the lift looks very impressive from here, as we sail away.

As we exit the Strépy lift, to our left can be seen one of the Historic boat lifts. The Historic Canal du Centre, with four boat lifts, is now a World Heritage site, with the two canals running almost parallel to each other.

31st July - 5th August 2018. On from Sedan on the canal de la Meuse, with a detour for a fuel stop at Pont-à-Bar on the canal des Ardennes. Then on to Haybes, finally joining the Belgian Meuse below Givet, to arrive at Namur in Belgium.

Martin and Jenny left us on Tuesday, and we pushed on to go up one lock on to the Canal des Ardennes, at Pont-à-Bar. The lock control pole made a handy bollard!

There was a tame ragondan (or coypu) there, which really enjoyed slices of apple. Shannon literally quivered with excitement, as she has a love affair with ragondans!

Up one more lock to Pont-à-Bar to fill up with fuel. We would have enjoyed visiting the Canal des Ardennes again, but this pic (from the noticeboard)  of the collapse of lock 21 at Neuville-Day, shows why the canal is closed. It is very sad. The canal de la Meuse is also now closed due to lack of water, both at the junction with the Marne-Rhine canal, and, more recently, at Stenay too, so we have been very lucky to get through.

Continuing on the Canal de la Meuse, houses are squeezed in below the trees, along the river banks.

Trees dominate the banks here.

Sometimes it is difficult to see how there can be a way through!

At Château-Regnant we found Esme, and caught up with Chris and Diana, until 1am! We now have a great deal more information about Belgium, so many thanks to them for that. It is lovely to see friends again.

Monthermé is another small town which fits on to the outer edge of a bend in the river. This waterway is by now mainly river, with canal sections.

We managed to squeeze three boats into Deville lock, with The Puzzler going across the lock.

This chateau is very private here.

An hour later the trees are closing in again.

Our geraniums have really liked the hot weather!

We stopped at Haybes again. It does not seem like three years since we were here last. This is a very pleasant village.

Here is the cat burglar! Last night it was so warm that we left the outer side door open overnight, protected by the mosquito net. At 5 am the cat must have stepped on to the top of the netting, and then fallen into the boat, taking the net with it! Shannon practically exploded, and ran up and down the boat, screaming at the top of her voice! No sign of the intruder, but he must have made a very quick exit!

We moved on to Givet, with the cliffs leading on to the citadel.

The citadel overlooks the town.

We moored on the wall, pretending to be a commercial, but no-one minded. No shade here, but with a high wall all our doors can be open, with no risk of Shannon escaping.

It is late for cygnets, but these ones look very healthy, with two white babies, which is unusual.

The river is much busier now, as we move on into Belgium, with many more marinas such as this.

The church in Dinant is practically built into the cliff, which dominates the town.

The locks are now bigger, and we are travelling with 5 other boats. Four of them are faster, so they wait for us in each, and the other slower cruiser keeps us company!

Ahead, these houses on top of the cliff must have a fantastic view!

We couldn't decide whether this was an actual house, or just a garden ornament!

Approaching Namur, our last town on the Belgian Meuse.

The citadel of Namur, which we explored three years ago.

23rd - 27th May. From Huy, up the river Meuse to Namur, then on to Profondeville.

We found free wifi in Huy town square.

While waiting below Ecluse (lock) d'Andenne – Seilles, Shannon is concerned about access to the land!

We found a space among the barges for The Puzzler to moor. In this respect Belgium is easier than Holland, where the barges are kept separate from the Sport, or pleasure boats.

On up the Meuse, which is now lined with picturesque wooded cliffs. This river was used for transportation of goods as early as Roman times.

The city of Namur lies at the confluence of the rivers Meuse and Sambre. The 17th century citadel guards this junction.

The turtle is more modern than the rest of the citadel, but gives the impression of being on guard here.

The view from the top of the citadel looks down on the River Meuse, where it is joined by the Sambre. This confluence is just beyond the car park.

The snail is the symbol of Namur, so Shannon is checking these ones out.

This fine building started by being a meat market, but has had many other uses since then. It is now a town museum.

Going on up the Meuse the cliffs alongside the river are spectacular. Look at the top of the left peak.

There are three climbers near to the top. It is a perfect place for rock climbing.

This was the most impressive house along this stretch of the Meuse, with copper beech trees to both sides of it.

The evening light at Profondeville was lovely.