17th - 19th September. De Blauwe Stad, and on to the German border.

Going on northwards, we crossed the Winschoterdiep and went on towards De Blauwe Stad. We moored near to a steam museum and walked to visit a nature reserve. To get there we decided to go by this self operating ferry, but it took innumerable winds to get it to our side. Luckily two cyclists appeared on the island and helped us to get the ferry across again.

Below the lookout tower, in the middle of the island, is an outdoor theatre, which would make a superb setting for a play.

Having decided not to wind the ferry again, it was a long walk to the nearest bridge, and was quite dark before we were back at The Puzzler. These shetland ponies and Shannon did not know what to make of each other!

Moving round to the harbour and visitor centre on Thursday, we found several intricate sand sculptures.

De Blauwe Stad was an exciting new development for the people of Groningen, and should have been a great success, with room for many properties on the islands. Sadly, not enough people wanted to come here to live, and it has not reached its full potential.


Going back to the main canal system, this imposing structure takes the motorway over our canal, and also over the railway to our left. Through our "tunnel" there are built-in fenders on the walls, to protect passing boats.

Travelling to the east, the Westerwoldse Aa canal is long and straight. I think my remark last time about interesting waterways was premature!

We sailed as far as Nieuwestans, which seems to be the most easterly town in The Netherlands. It is very industrial.

The next canal, going southwards, runs alongside the German Border. This time we have trees to offset the straightness! On this canal we have a special key so that we can work the bridges ourselves.

We paused by one bridge to have a look at Germany. It does not look very different here to The Netherlands.


At intervals along this canal there are still pillboxes to be seen, dating back to more troubled times along the border.

13th - 16th September. Past a new development near Groningen, Eemskanaal, then south on Winschoterdiep. Two day convoy travelling through 63 bridges.

As we are approaching the Eemskanaal from Sloterdiep, there is a major development in progress, beside the canal. This is a new lock and harbour under construction, and the houses will lie further back. We are quite near to Groningen here, so this will no doubt soon be The Place To Live!

Once on the Eemskanaal, Shannon is keeping a good lookout for any barges ahead. She is not too sure about these barge canals.

Approaching Borg Bridge, we had to wait for the barge Sira-M, before we could go through. He definitely has priority, weighing 1504 tons more than The Puzzler!

Turning south from the Eemskanaal near Groningen on to the Winschoterdiep, then off on to Drentsche Diep, we pass through a narrow wooded section, which makes a nice change. These Dutch waterways are all different.

Zuidlaardermeer was a bigger lake than we had expected, but the weather is really good at the moment. An Indian summer!

We paused briefly at this wooden lookout tower, by the Leinewijk canal, to climb up and enjoy the view.

Looking down from the tower to the canal below, you can see how much water there is in this area.

We found a herd of goats, but chose not to walk through their field!

On Monday we were in a convoy of four boats, escorted by three bridge keepers on their mopeds, going first for 5 km through the village of Kiel-Windeweer, with 11 lift or swing bridges. After a couple of sharp corners, we went on through Annerveenschekanaal, Eexterveenschekanaal and Bareveld, all of which are linear villages, lying along the canal. We did a total of 21.5 km today, with 28 bridges and three locks. Many of the houses were similar to these, implying a wealthy area. This canal was lined first with an avenue of beech trees, then further on, oak trees.

We paused overnight on the outskirts of Stadskanaal village and visited Kleine Hortus. Brothers Jan and Albert Boskers created this garden behind their house in 1968, and have worked on it in their spare time ever since. It measures 70 x 20 metres, but there is so much to see that it seems to be much bigger.

In the morning we started on the Pekeler Hoofdiep canal at 9 am. The Stadskanaal bridge keeper saw us through the first two bridges and assured us that someone would meet us at Koppelsluis at 9.30am. We waited, and waited. We tried various phone numbers, then waited some more. Eventually two bridge keepers arrived, soon after 11.30 am and we were on our way, going through the villages of Boven Pekela, Nieuwe Pekela and Oude Pekela. Again houses and oak trees lined the canal all the way, making for very pleasant sailing. Here we are in Oude Pekela.

At the end of a long day, with 33 lift bridges and four locks, we reached Jachthaven Oude Pekela. This was a friendly marina with very reasonable rates.

8th - 12th September. Canal circuits around Groningen, as far as Appingedam, near the northeast coast of The Netherlands.

We are trying to see as many different waterways in Holland as possible in our time allowed, so we left Groningen going north, then west, on the Reitdiep canal.

We went as far as Elektra, before going southwards on Kommerzijlsterrijte, a much smaller canal, as far as the village of Neizijl, where our friends, Willem and Anke, joined us for a very pleasant evening. Although we were moored at least two kilometres from the Van Starkenborgh canal, we could still feel the water surging as the barges passed the end of our canal. When on the same canal as them, they seem to create little wash.

By Wednesday we were on the Van Starkenborgh canal, going back in the direction of Groningen. We were delayed by some work boats, as a big barge, Aloma, was coming towards us at the same time, and we had to wait for it to pass before we could continue. We saw few barges during our 8 km on this canal before going left on to Aduarderdiep, and then back for a brief visit to the Reitdiep, then the Winsumerdiep, to take us to Onderdendam, for the second time.

Thursday found us on Boterdiep, passing this pumping station, beside a zelfbedeining lock. In other words, we work it ourselves, by pushing the right buttons.

We carried on to the Westerwijtwerder-maar, another big name for a small canal. The villages along this canal are all very attractive.

Following Damsterdiep canal to Appingedam, we found the famous “hanging kitchens”, which were added to make more space, when former warehouses were converted into houses.

Appingedam is a pleasant town, which used to be a sea port, but has been replaced in this role by Delfzijl.

We have decided to miss the docks of Delfzijl, going to the south instead. We crossed the Eemskanaal, which is a major waterway, locking up about two metres, then down again on the other side, and on down Groeve canal to get to Schildmeer.

It was quite windy, and we were glad to find this sheltered canal bank, just south of the lake, at Sans Souci pumping station. Two cruisers turned up later on, planning to moor here, and were quite upset to find us in residence. They disappeared back to a mooring on the lake.

6th - 7th September. Into the city of Groningen.

Now this is what I call a proper houseboat!

We are just leaving Oostersluis, which is the largest lock ever encountered by The Puzzler! It is 190 metres long by 16 metres wide and could hold 77 narrowboats like ours!

We have been on the Van Starkenborgh canal, which is the extension of the Prinses Margriet canal. After this lock it becomes the Eemskanaal, which goes all the way to Delfzijl, on the North coast. This barge was entering the lock as we left it, but we are now going to the right, into the city.

In Groningen, the Museum stands out on the waterfront. It is a series of interconnected galleries, mostly below water level. There is a lot of modern art in here, with a few Old Masters, and a superb silver collection, and it is well worth a visit.

The Martini Church overlooks the market place.

The 15th century Martini Tower is Groningen's pride, and it is known locally as "Old Grey". It is 97 metres tall and is open for visitors to climb, but we have done enough climbing of towers!

The other side of the square is dominated by the City Hall.

This Neoclassic building dates from 1810.

Groningen Station is an historic Dutch-Flemish Gothic building with Renaissance details and was designed by I. Gosschalk in 1895.

In front of the station, and sheltered below ground, is a bicycle park for 5000 bikes.

People come to Groningen by train, then use their cycles to get to work in the city.

Inside the station entrance hall, have a look at the roof! The ornaments on the roof are made from papier mache.

Here we are in Prinsenhoftuin. This Renaissance style garden was laid out in 1625, and the colours of the flower beds were very striking. There are herb gardens here too.

This cat was thirsty, but managed not to fall in to the canal! This was right in the middle of Groningen.

As we leave Groningen, there is a real contrast between the modern housing, and the traditional house boats and barges on the canal.

Zernikebrug is a very stylish lift bridge on the way out of Groningen.

3rd - 5th September. Coffee at Wehe-Den Hoorn, then on to Eenrum and Warffum, with its open air museum.

Passing through Wehe - Den Hoorn, we were delighted to be spontaneously invited in for a cup of coffee. As our hostesses had a long mooring by their garden, The Puzzler just managed to fit in. I am sure they will not mind me including this photo, as testament to their generosity.

Lunchtime found us at the northern end of the Kromme Raken canal, next to Merwede, an interesting conversion from an East German police patrol boat. This boat would have been used to shoot people who were trying to escape to West Berlin, at the time of The Berlin Wall.

We turned left on to Reitdiep, which is a much bigger waterway, then left again quite soon, on to Winsumerdiep. Another left took us on to Mensingerweerster Loopdiep, which was a charming waterway, not unlike the Shroppie, in England. It seems that the smaller the waterway, the longer its name!

After going through the village of Mensingerweer, we turned right, and stopped here by the wood. An evening walk through the wood took us to the village of Eenrum.

This weeping beech tree stands beside the church in Eenrum, and is really impressive.

Next morning we sailed on through Baflo, with a brief shopping stop, then turned north again, on Warffumermaar, to reach the village of Warffum, which is at the end of the line! If The Puzzler had been one foot longer, we could not have turned here!

In Warffum there is an open air museum, made up of fifteen cottages, houses and buildings in the centre of the village. The museum shows how the rural population of northwest Groningen lived, during the 19th century.

This small industrial windmill,"De David", can still  activate the bandsaw, which is situated in the base of the mill.

We passed these girls on our way out of Warffum.

On this route into Groningen, we had to wait to join a convoy of boats at Onderdendam. Who needs a horse, when a strong lady like this can pull your working barge!