Saint-Christ-Briost, Noyon, Pont l'Évêque FR 28 June - 6 July 2022 We left the Somme and headed south along the Canal du Nord. Our first stop was Saint-Christ-Briost. This was just recess from the river, meaning we were out of the main flow and slightly protected from the wake of the large commercial boat. As it was a good mooring for painting and Thursday was looking like it would be rainy we decided to spend an extra day there and got quite a bit of painting done. The two local towns were nice, but nothing special, and we found that the Somme was at the other side of the parking area from our mooring. On Wednesday, Howard noticed a tap that the campervans staying there were using, so we moved forward to take advantage. Unfortunately a local was upset with us using that water and turned off the tap. A Brit, Josh stayed Tuesday night in his camper van, and when we he went to leave on Wednesday he had problems with his engine and had to stay another night waiting for a tow truck. Thursday, as predicted was a rainy day so we decided to go all the way into Noyon, our last stop on the Canal du Nord. It was long day - over 6 hours cruising. We did however stop in one lock to take on some water - watching carefully to leave before the next boat arrived. We also went through a tunnel - just over a mile long. As soon as we entered the windscreen fogged up - it was so humid in the tunnel. So Howard had to stand outside the door with the squeegee to wipe the window regularly so I could see. After that we had a short 30 minute stop for lunch and a rest before heading into Noyon. One of the highlights for me was taking photos of Herons on our way. We moored on the "port du public" which was a quay for the silos. The next morning (Froday) it was misty early and I managed to catch a flock of ducks coming out of the factory on the quay and returning to the river. Friday was a shopping day, with a visit to the nearby shopping complex. Before we even started we found that Howard's bike had a flat tire, and that the tire (not just the inner tube) had a hole. So we had to go buy a new tire and inner tubes, as well as new walking shoes for each of us, sandals for me, socks, a cap, parts for the bikes, and of course a large food shop. Saturday we had my friends from Stanford, Kathryn and her family come to visit. They caught the train up from Paris and we had a nice lunch on the back deck. In the afternoon we went into town, Howard and I on bikes, and the others walking. It was the day of a medieval fete which was interesting. We left the others in the town and returned to the boat. On Sunday was the red fruit market in town, so we visited. There were some lovely stalls and we bought plenty of fruit as well as some jam and asparagus. Some of the displays from Saturday were also still there. I especially enjoyed the games. We had lunch there before visiting the town museum and the John Calvin museum. After lunch we cycled to Pont l'Évêque. This is the other port for Noyon, but only takes smaller boats. It is on the Canal lateral de l'Oise. On Monday morning I woke up feeling absolutely exhausted. So I decided to take a day off, and Howard continued work on the boatand did some fishing, while I mostly stayed in bed. Here are a few photos from Howard's fishing in Noyon, including the day he caught 9 nice bream. In the evening we cycled to the restaurant, Le Comptoir des Templiers, that we had booked, it was lovely. We were able to take a couple of photos on the way home. I had another day off on Tuesday, but by Wednesday I was feeling fine again. We did the walking tour of Noyon with Audio Guide from the Tourist Information centre. One of the interesting areas was the houses opposite the cathedral. And of course the cathedral itself. We had visited it on Saturday with Kathryn, Peter and Alex, but this time we returned with our audio-guides. And the half timbered library was also amazing. How it survived all the wars I don't know. That evening we had Sandra and Ross from Chloe over for a drink. Nice to see some other DBAers/WOBs. And then nature put on a fabulous sunset for our final night.
2 Comments
Steve Hugo
13/7/2022 02:04:37 am
Love following your travels, Even a few photos of Howards fishing - wonderful. If you put in more fishing photos I won't mind.
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Sue Mylius
14/7/2022 01:20:18 pm
There are some familiar places in your photos. We stayed in the hotel opposite the cathedral
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