It’s no surprise to anyone who follows my blog that I’m rather fond of boats and boat travel. “Yes, Val,” I hear you thinking. “That’s hardly news, is it?” However, as you also know from my previous post, we’ve been having some boat engine trouble, meaning we haven’t been anywhere much on the water since last October, which for me has been a serious drought, despite the wet winter. One small ‘spuddle’ trip, just for fun, and a trip to the yard a mere 5kms away have been it so far this year.
Imagine my delight, then, when the local council announced the closure of the road bridge over to our nearest town in Zeeland for maintenance purposes. This was followed by a further announcement they would be providing a foot and bicycle ferry (voet en fiets) across the canal to compensate. Since we are spending most of our time in Zeeland (on account of said engine troubles), the bridge is a vital and daily connection between us and the boat, so I’ve been taking great pleasure in fulfilling a few faring needs by using the ferry every day.
It’s only a ten-minute ride across the canal, but it’s great fun and I would dearly love it if the council kept it going after the bridge is re-opened. I’ve been very lucky so far because I haven’t had to wait for the next crossing once. The ferry can take a maximum of twelve passengers and their bikes; it’s always well used, and sometimes totally full. On two occasions, I’ve seen people turned away due to the maximum being reached before the departure time. Sadly for them, it’s an hour’s wait before the next crossing.
The thing is, although the crossing is short, it takes a while for passengers to embark and disembark, meaning there isn’t enough time to do more than a there and back (or heen en weer) trip in an hour. I reckon they should have a bigger boat, especially at weekends, but the fuel costs are probably quite a consideration at the moment.
Just so you can have an idea of the extent of the crossing, below are my photos from the trip over. As you can see, it’s no meagre waterway:
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| Embarkation point village side |
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| Bicycles galore |
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| Leaving the village |
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| Out on the canal |
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A view of the bridge, which is now permanently
opn for shipping |
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| Normal traffic on the canal |
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Turning off the canal into the harbour at
Sas van Gent |
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| Not far from our Hennie H now |
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Disembarking point
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Those photos were from my first crossing, but here are some others of the return and also what came past another day.
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| Leaving the harbour |
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If you expand the photo, you might just see
The Hennie H in the distance |
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| Skipper giving it some welly |
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Always grand to see these DFDS ferries
Little and large together! |
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| And on it goes towards Gent |
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| Heading home again |
So that’s been my fun this last week. A small but real consolation given the hold ups we’ve been experiencing. Unfortunately, the weekend did an about turn with the weather and it’s now cold and wet, but I have work to keep me busy until the sun shines again.
Have a good week
allemaal and I’ll catch up with you all again soon.
Delightful as always with WOW photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much :)
DeleteIt's good that a boat ferry service has been provided during the bridge repair, not sure that would be the case here. I was surprised when I saw your photo's how large the canal is. Our perception of a canal is rather different, the "narrowboats" we have here would be lost on these vast waterways.
ReplyDeleteI remember the paddle steamer ferries that took passengers across the Humber Estuary from New Holland to Hull on the Yorkshire side. As a kid it was an exiting time and we always had a look at the massive steam engine below. The photo's of your canal are not disimilar to the Humber Estuary! Also, there must be a reason for the name New Holland, I might look into that. The opening of the Humber Bridge in 1981 put an end to the ferry service.
Interesting story & great photo's Val. 😊
Thank you kindly, David. Yes, this is a very big canal, very much the equivalent of the estuary there or the Manchester Ship Canal. It runs from our Westerschelde estuary to Ghent and carries all the whoppers. There are small canals, but not all that many. Most of them are big enough to carry commercial barges. I’m glad my photos evoked some happy memories for you.
DeleteHi Val, Dale here! (I’m going to try to post anonymously, as I’m never able to comment via my ‘googly’ account). It must be a wee bit frustrating not being able to fare or spuddle at the drop of a hat, oar or paddle… and I’m loving the big and little ferries you speak of. Here in BC we have a wonderful ferry system, both coastal and inland. When I lived in the Lower Mainland in the mid 1980’s (just outside of Vancouver), I’d take the small Albion Ferry across the Fraser River daily to and from work. Your little ferry brought it to mind, except yours is just for foot and bicycle traffic. In the years since my little ferry days, they have built a bridge and the place is unrecognizable. Enjoy your ferry rides and here’s to all going well with getting Hennie H back and shipshape! Sending you and Koos mountains of love xx
ReplyDeleteOh Dale, I love these memories this post is evoking. How sad, though, that your little ferry has gone and it’s not recognisable now. It sounds as if you really enjoyed it. Yes, Google can be odd about these comments. I’ve found I had to enable ‘cross tracking’ in my settings to comment on my own blog and others too. It seems to be something relatively new! Oceans of love from us both, my dear xxx
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