Fumay, Chipilly, Corbie, Villers-Bretonneaux FR 6-12 May 2022 Before travelling further along the Somme we took a side trip to Fumay on the Somme to attend the Barge Association Rally (DBA). After that we cruised down to Corbie where we visited the Australian WWI related sites in Villers-Bretonneaux. Misty morning from our boat in Chipilly We were lucky enough to be offerred a lift to the DBA Rally by some friends who were travelling from the UK, Glynis and Tim and we were offerred a bed on a barge at the rally by a couple we had met at a previous rally Dave and Wendy Brown. We had a great time catching up with friends and meeting new people and, of course, talking all things barging. After a day of rest we left as planned on Tuesday. We only went a couple of hours up the canal to Chipilly. It was slow going with a lot of weed in the canal. We were so slow that the managers of the river called us to check whether we'd stopped, as they had waited for us so long at the lock. The good news was that there are crews of people working on clearing the weed. At Mericourt lock there were dredgers on both sides of the lock which we had to squeeze past. Once we arrived we had a look around the small town of Chipilly, including a ride out to the nearby Belvedere which had a view out over the Somme Valley. We also stopped at the cemetary on the way home, which had a small war graves area at the back. In the afternoon we went to the town of Cerisy which is just over the river. On the way back, taking some photos of nearby lakes and the boat. Howard decided to fish a little in the nearby lake, but when he didn't catch anything we decided to go to the bar for a drink. To our surprise there was a closed-in terrace at the back with a view of a lake. Also we were able to order a burger and chips meal from the next door friterie which was delivered to our table, with paper place mats, cutlery and salt and pepper. Service indeed. Also I was able to buy a head of lettuce from someone who dropped by the bar. The next morning was misty and we set off for our run into Corbie. Only one lock on the way, so a fairly quite cruise. We passed many holiday enclaves, which seemed to be there mostly for the fishing. We arrived at Corie and moored behind a tjalk, owned by an Irish/English guy, Nick. Corbie is a significant town, with at least 3 boulangeries and 2 supermarkets as well as a train station. There were also some impressive public buildings including the Mairie and Church. We guessed that petanque / boules was a major sport here (we believe they are 2 names for the same game). There was a petanque club house and a "Boulodrome", a large tin shed that had obviously been extended. We found a pentanque court in almost every town we visited in this region. Today we headed to Villers Bretronneux which is only about 4 kms away. We stopped at the Australian National Memorial which is at the end of an impressive Commonwealth War Graves cemetary. The memorial is to Australian Soldiers with no known grave from WWI in France. Howard climbed the tower, but I skipped it (due to my sore foot). Then the Sir John Monash Centre which was a terrific museum about the first world war. From there we went on to the town of Viller Bretonneaux. For some reason I thought it would be a small village, but it was a significant town. And very pro Australian. After the first world war, school children (mosty from Vitoria, Australia) donated money to build a school in the town, and, because there were so many Australian visitors, they converted the school's attic into a museum, which we visited.
2 Comments
Andrew Keir
15/5/2022 12:26:04 am
The kangaroos look like they were painted by the same artist who did the wall to the park in Princes Street Collingwood
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Karen Melchior
16/5/2022 08:32:15 am
Impressive photos and tributes.
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