Wandering into the Snails again

This last weekend has been an odd one weather wise. We had big plans for working hard on the Hennie H, but a change in the wind brought rain instead of the sun we've been used to these past six weeks or more. We did quite well on Saturday and finished fixing Koos's beautiful hatches into position. I also managed to give half the back deck a coat of paint (see above), but then Sunday morning came and with it the rain. So, instead of playing duck and dice with the clouds, we decided to head south for the day and have a day in Belgium with a goal, this being to look for the Wandering Snail. We knew they were somewhere around Tournai, but didn't know exactly where.
Our meanderings took us south of Tournai itself and around the villages of Peronnes, Maubray and Antoing. It is really lovely country around there, made more appealing, of course, by canals, railways and old windmills, a series of which can be seen on the hillsides around Maubray. For some reason, only the lower halves remain, but they make very striking monuments standing proud on the hilltops. The one above was especially appealing with its crown of creeping ivy and wild flowers around its footings.

This is the remains of an old lock on the former route from Pommeroeul to Antoing

Just for the record!

By some fluke, we manage to come across the Snail. It was absolutely not where we expected it to be. We'd already been to the boatyard where we thought they were heading. Crossing the Schelde at Antoing, I looked out of the van window and there it was, moored side by side with another narrow boat. We found Ol on board with Woody, Sindy's other boyfriend. Sadly for us, Anne had gone off to a concert in Valenciennes, but Ol made us a very welcome cup of coffee, and we sat and talked boats and waterways for an hour or two. It was great to see him and we'd had a marvellous escape from duty for the day. I can highly recommend it as a tonic, especially as the sun came out for us too. I always approve of that.