The Henni H fares forth again

So here we are in the latter part of September enjoying our first real faring of the year; I, for one, am revelling in it despite the changeable weather. 

There’s something very special about being on the waterways just out of the season. There’s still plenty of boat life and folk with small yachts or cruisers are still enjoying their watery playgrounds, but the frenetic sense of the rush of the holiday period is over. The kids are back at school and most people below retirement age are back at work.

The commercial activity, however, carries on regardless and for this I am especially grateful as we’d otherwise be going nowhere. Why? Well, most of the canals in Flanders, which is on our route to anywhere, have major restrictions in place for pleasure craft, on account of the drought. In fact, no locks on the smaller, non-commercial waterways are being serviced in Flanders during September until the 26th, the result being that we can only go through locks used by commercial barges, and even then, only when there is a barge that needs opening, a factor that can result in long delays for the holiday or liveaboard boater.

Koos and I knew we had two weeks beginning last Sunday, the 14th. Other commitments dictated we couldn’t leave earlier or return later, so our disappointment in learning about the restrictions was keen as we’d planned to do a route we’ve tried to complete twice before and failed due again to water level issues or out-of-service locks. But shrugging off setbacks is something we’re used to so we revised our plan to return to the much-loved Canal de Roubaix. 

That was until we learned that the lock we thought we could go through in the middle of Gent was closed on Monday, a mistake on my part for having a senior moment and thinking Sunday was the 13th and not the 14th. We could have passed through it on Sunday had we got there before 6 p.m.. However, having confused the days and times and believing we could make the passage on Monday, we made our leisurely way to Gent in blissful ignorance, only to realise that evening we’d have to turn back and go all the way around the Ringvaart (Ring Canal), adding an extra 30 km, which is a day’s faring for us.

Another factor causing us to revise our plans again was the reason we had to be home by the 28th. Koos’s son had asked to come and visit us. What I hadn’t understood when the arrangement was made was that the visit should be at CC2 in France. As soon as the penny dropped, I gulped, threw up my hands and squealed ‘not possible’. But then having had my hissy fit, I started thinking rationally and we realised we’d have to be back in our home port a couple of days earlier to make the plan work at all. So, we are staying much closer to home than originally intended but are still enjoying every moment.

The end result is that we spent four nights in Gent, but in two different places: the first being at our favourite place next to the Brusselsepoort lock we couldn’t go through; the second being at a marina on the south side of the city on the Leie river, which we reached via the Ringvaart.

Both were lovely and relaxing with great walks for Zoe and attractive urban environs, confirming yet again why and how I love Gent so much. From the marina, we simply crossed over the Ringvaart and carried on up the beautiful, winding Leie as far as Astene. Apart from the aesthetic beauty of this river, it has the advantage of carrying no commercial traffic until just before it joins the widened canalised section at Deinze. There are also no locks, so no stoppages or delays.

We wound our way through bends lined with rich, gracious and sometimes lavish homes, both classical and modern, all of which had velvet green lawns stretching down to the water’s edge. 

I was so impressed by these almost uniformly beautiful swards of emerald velvet I said to Koos, “When you buy a property here, you must have to sign a contract promising to shave your grass to within an inch of its life. Imagine the shame of having buttercups and weeds!”

Almost as I said it, there was a home with its grass looking slightly uneven and lumpy. “Oh dear,” Koos said, laughing. “They’ll be named and shamed for sure!” 

Anyway, we then spent a perfect and peaceful night at the delightful old Astene lock (which is not used as such anymore), with its pretty lifting bridge and its maritime museum/café, the creation of an old friend of Koos’s. The business has now been taken over by another friend whose design for his liveaboard barge was inspired by Koos’s Luxor. It was great to be there again, reconnect with old friends and catch up with news.

Yesterday turned unexpectedly hot as we made our way to Deinze where we were planning to spend another couple of nights. As it happens, the quay has been reserved for a yacht club event from today until Monday, so after sampling Deinze’s bustling life, we cast off this morning and returned downstream to tie up along the side of the river next to the towpath-cum-cycling track. 

Since it’s raining and likely to be stormy this afternoon, we’re quite happy to stay here for the day and then head back to Astene for a night before making our slow way home again. Perhaps there’ll be another couple of nights in Gent on the way to sample a different spot and maybe a meander into the Moervaart. Who knows? Much will depend on the weather in the coming days. In any event, this relaxed, take it-as-it-comes trip is actually perfect as we have no stress, and no worries about delays. I’m loving it!

To give you an idea of where we’ve been and what we’ve seen, here are a few photos. Unfortunately, they aren't in the right order, as the last one is the first, but I'll organise them and add more later when I've got WiFi and more electricity. For now, though, I’ll wish you all a great week ahead allemaal,  and fill you in on the rest of our trip next time.

Astene

Astene

The Leie mansions

The Leie mansions

Beginning of the Leie

Woods near the marina in Gent

The Leie marina in Gent

Zoe in her travelling kennel

Evergem lock

Choppy, windy waters

Gent side street

First mooring in Gent

The skipper