Jussy to Compiegne

Alongside our wharf were a set of huge silos which had obviously once disgorged their product into waiting barges where we were now moored, but it was a long time since that had happened judging by the un-marked grass all around!

We set off in the morning, having given a slow moving fully laden barge plenty of time to get well ahead and spent another easy day barging down the Canal Saint Quentin and onto the Canal Lateral à l’Oise. Eventually, after some hours of searching we found a good mooring near a village called Varèsnes (near Noyon). We were slightly put off by the presence of a burnt out car in the lay-by alongside but decided it would be OK – it was early, but we were ready to stop and Louise had enough energy for a spot of painting. There was also a black 4x4 parked in the lay-by whose driver kindly helped us moor. We thanked him and he went back to his car. A few moments later he appeared at the side of the boat with a bottle of rosé which he insisted on giving us! How kind.

But in our typically cynical British way we pondered as to whether it was poisoned and he would return in the dead of night to capture Riccall, but we took the charitable view, drank it gratefully and were gratified to wake in the morning all intact! (In our musings later, we decided that he must have been the guy responsible for the fly-tipping of some top soil visible when he moved his car, and he was buying our silence!)

On the following day we had an uneventful trip to Compiègne where we hoped to pick up our debit card from HSBC and open an SFR dongle account. No such luck! Apparently because we hadn’t deposited any cash into the new account at Lille (we didn’t know we had to) the card had not been forwarded. They wouldn’t take cash at Compiègne, God knows why not, and when we tried to do money transfer from the UK via our internet banking, the bank blocked the request because it came from abroad! Bloody Hell! They are dead set on making this as difficult as possible. And of course still no chance of an SFR account. And even if we get cash into the Lille account it's another seven days before we get the card (and where do we ask them to send it??!!)

On the plus side, we are on good public moorings on the town quay in Compiègne quite close to the centre and the English narrow boat (yes, narrow boat) behind us. Santanna’s captain Julian is cruising the European waterways for his tenth year, and has found a free water supply hidden in the quayside. So with our genny and free water we could stay here till our fuel ran out. On that score, there is said to be canalside fuel available 1km further on. We shall see next week when eventually we move on.

We have however, decided to stay here until Louise has done her trip home early next week – better the quay you know and like than risk one you haven’t yet seen further on. It will give HSBC the chance finally to send our bankcard and then we can open our SFR account.

While we have been moored here we have had a succession of commercial barges mooring in front or behind and one was so big he asked us both to squeeze up along the quay for the night which has made for an interesting view of barge handling by the experts and of course a varied set of neighbours.

We have had a succession of people stopping to talk to us as they pass. On once occasion Alex spotted Watchtower magazine in time to say, “ Non! Non! Non! Merci beaucoup”. These jovial Witnesses get everywhere don’t they?! And anyway, how do you convert people if you can’t even speak the same language? But I suppose that’s how the missionaries did it years ago – persuading the indigenous populations to give up their colourful gods in favour of one rather austere one.

On another occasion the guy complimented the boat – not a word of English – then proceeded to try and sell us TABLECLOTHS and T SHIRTS (we think)!! Just a different type of salesman! But most are genuinely interested.

And we have been sightseeing in the environs of Compiègne. Our first trip was to the ‘Clairière de l’Armistice’ the clearing in the woods where the Armistice was signed after the First World War. A replica of the train carriage in which negotiations took place and the document signed was fascinating, as were thousands of photos mounted in ‘what the butler saw’ type machines all around. These were 3D images and gave an alarmingly realistic idea of life in the trenches and the catastrophic damage Belgian and French towns suffered, not to mention the horrendous loss of life.

Our next day out began as a 5 km bicycle ride through the forest to the top of the nearby ridge. Once there, the view back to Compiègne down a 100m wide grassy avenue with the magnificent chateau at the end of it was breathtaking. And – we were the only people there.

Having got that far though, we decided to venture further to the town of Pierrefonds with an even more stunning château. Our leaflet said it was free to view till the end of June. Our leaflet however, turned out to be last year’s (we hadn’t noticed) so at a hefty €7 each we decided the outside was good enough! In addition there was a UK film crew there who had added extra bits of castle round the outside for their sets. It was great fun going round tapping at bits of wall to see if they were stone or polystyrene! On the way back, and still in the forest, we stopped in a delightful little village – originally agricultural – surrounding a 13th century church. The church was rather plain but the surrounding refurbished cottages and gateways were charming.

The Forêt de Compiègne is huge and criss-crossed by hundreds of cycle paths. We loved riding through it and had a super day, though we had forayed much further than we had set out to do, and consequently had no cold weather gear with us when the day turned a bit chilly. Another lesson learned – keep those saddle bags well stocked.