Seilles lock and Huy
Posted by contentedsouls on 04/06/2017
Travelling on to moor at Seilles lock (the previous blog pics were taken at and around the lock) then Huy, we encountered a number of different locks and weirs and had been caught up with by Lisa and Geoff on tjalk Jantina; we travelled together to Huy, but they didn’t fancy the moorings so carried on and we managed to moor with a means of getting the dogs off onto the quay and a TV signal on our 3rd attempt (finals of a TV series we were following was on that night, so we wanted a sat signal). I liked Huy a lot although was disappointed that the aerial cable car to the old fortifications has been closed down. My understanding is that it was closed in 2015 after a fatality but then re-opened. It’s not open now, so maybe they killed someone else and closed it again – who knows, perhaps one of my esteemed followers could find out and let me know; although I guess it will be awhile before you get to read this!
Jantina’s crew also consists of a massive (and I mean massive) gorgeous Welsh Foxhound – or is it a Foxterrier – called Bilbao and their sloppy three legged cat called Matilda so, they too, have specific mooring requirements. Belgium is living up to my memories of ‘difficult’ moorings for low level boats – particularly those with four legged crews but, other than that, we were still (much to my relief) well within our comfort zones. If you are only a baby size boat you are expected to move to the front of the locks so that they can raise a lock gate up from below water behind you and, rightly, save reservoirs full of water. I don’t know how you are meant to know this though – you just sort of do
Round and about town I did a bit of food shopping, a bit of dog walking and even managed to drag G away from his maps and get him out for a beer to see the old town square.
contentedsouls 
andywindy said
The Tourism site indicates that the Cable car is open July and August only!
What was I saying about local authorities and tourism the other day?
If you do get to go on it in the future you may want to keep an eye out for low flying aircraft!
http://www.wallonia-mipim.be/projects/cable-car-huy-development-low-station
http://www.belgium-tourism.be/informations/tourist-attractions-huy-huy-fortress-national-resistance-memorial/en/V/17480.html
The part length locks look such a good, simple idea that I wonder they ever got built! a bit too logical that.
I don’t envy you Navigation Officer his task for the near future, looks like a lot od direction changes to me.
Beautiful photos of the town, I do like that Square though it does look like “Pierre Martin” (In France, Postman Pat is called “Pierre Martin”.(Wikipedia)) needs to use a bit of paint!
Now, I REALLY do like that group statue of the girl and her friend watching that Lad playing with his marbles! I do hope his marbles are secured correctly, it would be a shame for him to lose them like so many of us do?
And thank you for the pic of the multi Barrel Vaulted Parquet brickwork arch way, a reminder that some poor sod had to work out how to support a considerable floor above a passage.
Look, these posts may be backdated, but they are here, and we appreciate them, ok?
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contentedsouls said
Tee hee; lost my marbles a long while ago! You ended up in my pending file with this comment.
I’m amazed that you haven’t proffered an opinion on the last photo in the previous blog!
I’m glad you do enjoy them as I have spent the whole of today getting all the blogs written up until 25th; which was when I started a new admin system – which I HOPE will make it easier in future. I can’t jot notes directly onto the computer blog in quiet moments as we travel now as we are using PC Navigo on the computer in the wheelhouse now to assist our navigation which, as you have spotted, has become quite ‘interesting’
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contentedsouls said
I could have been out on the kayak instead, but I knew that if I didn’t put in the time needed to sort out the muddle it would have been the end of the blog and, therefore, my memories!
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andywindy said
But that last photo of the previous Blog was obviously taken outside a tower block of Flats, confirming Kevin TOO’s though of a bunch of stopcocks…
However my thought was if it was next to a lock or complex of Locks then it may be a similar thing but for manual operation of the gates and paddles?
Never heard of this but with the drop in water level at a lock the hydraulic force would be more than adequate. (With a 2M drop you can easily generate over 6kWh of electric at about 70% efficiency, so direct force is easy.) Don’t forget, the French and Belgians are excellent innovation Engineers.
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contentedsouls said
No tower block of flats but didn’t understand a word after that!!!!!!!
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vallypee said
Huy is lovely, isn’t it? I’ve never been there by boat and now I wish we were going that way this year, but not…well, you know we are heading north and east. That said, it’s definitely on my wish list in future. Those locks are good aren’t they? There’s one on the Gent ring and it seems such a good idea. Where are you now, though?
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contentedsouls said
well into Holland – just south of Utrecht
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