Frise and Cappy FR 26 April - 5 May 2020 We finally made it to the Somme proper, and to Cappy which is where we plan to be for almost 2 weeks, so that we can safely leave the boat for a couple of weekends away. Here's what we've been up to. Fragny On Monday afternoon we had called the Somme PCE (the organisation which manages the Somme waterways) as requested, to let them know we were coming on Tuesday. Tuesday morning we had to back out of our mooring into the Canal du Nord and then head back to the junction with the Somme. We had a pleasant cruise to the first lock which was ready and waiting for us, with a cruiser and a large commercial on the other side (although perhaps the commercial was permanently moored there). After negotiating a lift bridge we were soon at our mooring in Frise, recommended by the eclusiers (lock keepers), just before the first of the 2 Frise locks. The old lock keepers house is now a gite for cyclists. Before lunch we had a cycle around the town and up to the second Frise lock. At this lock there was part of the wall which had been repaired, resulting in some metal shuttering sticking out from the conctrete wall. The Somme River is very windy at this point and the canal takes a short cut. The river itself is full of small penisulas and islands, great for fishing. In the afternoon we went for an explore following route that Google Maps provided. We cycled up through the middle of one of the loops (or boucles) through farm land, and ignored the sign saying effectively no through road. When we got to the top of the loop there was a sign saying no cars or motorbikes, so we pressed on along a narrow and bumpy path with ocassional small bridges, checking with Google Maps from time to time that we were on track. After about 10 minutes we came across a slightly more significant bridge which allowed us to cross to the other side of the river. We had arrived at the hamlet of Fargny. We had seen glimpses of another village a little to the east so we rode there to look around, and then continued our trip to the Belvedere of Vaux, a look out over the river. Unfortunatley Google had taken us to the bottom of the hill not the top where the lookout was, so we decided, in spite of my sore foot, to climb to the lookout, where we had a wonderful view over the river and farmland around. From there we cycled home, a lovely afternoon. On Wednesday we had to wait a little while since they were clearing out some weed at the lock, but we only had a short trip to Cappy. On the last stretch we were slowed down significantly by weed and had to reverse the propeller a few times to clear it. The Somme has a huge problem with weed and is investing in having it removed so that river traffic can cotinue. Ater lunch we watched the major weed removal operations going on. Two containers were pushed through the lift bridge in town ready for the afternoons work. There were different machines for cutting the weed and then collecting the weed (on a sort of conveyor belt), then the weed was transferred to one of the containers which was pushed to where a tractor could empty the container. The tractor was also clearing out small trees growing at the side of the canal. A serious operation. Cappy itself is a small town. We needed to find a taxi to take us to the TGV station on Thursday morning. We hadn't been able to find a taxi service on the internet, and the tourist information wasn't yet open for the summer. So we went to the town hall. There, no-one was around except for a group of ladies setting up to play scrabble. They, however, were extremely helpul, and even called the taxi service based in the next town to make a bookig for us. I was very pleased that they understood my french ok. Ater our success, we headed to the other side of the river and cycled past some lakes and fishing spots to the town of Suzanne. Unfortunately the restaurant that we had read about was closed but it was a nice village with a chateau and church. On Friday morning I was a little aprehensive in case the taxi I had ordered didn't arrive, but it turned up one minute early and the driver was friendly and helpful, and she even helped us with a booking for our return trip on Sunday evening. We were heading to the Netherlands to complete our bioetrics for our residents permit. We hadn't been able to get an earlier apointment. And were making a weekend of it to visit with friends in Hoogvliet and Lelystad. We caught th TGV to Brussels and then hired a car, which made it all pretty easy. The next week we spent most of our time in Cappy doing jobs around the boat. As I have a sore foot one of my jobs was sitting on the deck using the mouse sander to prepare for painting. I wore noise cancelling headphones and listened to music. On Thursday we decided to make an expedition to Bray-Sur-Somme where there is a supermarket. However we found that there was a cycle race coming through Cappy and Bray that day. We cycled to Bray anyway and was cheered at many spots. I said "Je suis le premiere cycliste" (I am the first cyclist) and people laughed. Even though we were told that the race was coming through at about 1pm, there were many people about. It turned out they were waiting for the promotional cars which there out small gifts. Once they were gone they disappeared again. We went for a ride down to see the port, which isn't on our route, but is quite lovely. We then came back into town for lunch at a restaurant. When it looked like the race was about to return, most people just left their tables and went outside to watch. Howard and I then went back inside to have dessert and chat with the farmers at the next table (all in French.!) After a trip to the supermarket we returned home. While staying at Cappy we have been entertained by the frogs and birds singing and the occasional visit by what we think is a water rat. Howard has also fished from our wheelhouse door.
5 Comments
Judy Holden
6/5/2022 02:01:15 pm
I am enjoying reading your blog so much.
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Matthew
7/5/2022 12:03:37 am
Thankyou - great! Enjoy. We Australians lost a lot around there. Love the fishing! Regards Mattw.
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PAM KERSHAW
8/5/2022 10:13:30 am
Sounds wonderful Deb! So is Howard catching fish?? Do hope your foot is not causing too many problems. Happy cruising! Pam
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Anne Hayres
8/5/2022 11:16:43 pm
Looks beautifully sunny but still cold. Sounds like some hard work too with maintenance. But absolutely gorgeous. Hope the foot is better soon!
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Cheryl P
11/5/2022 10:29:01 pm
Wow - lots of weed; looks a huge challenge to maintain the waterways. Love the 'spot the Aussie in sunnies' game.
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