Day 10 Belgium Canals 8th November

We started the day in Sombre parked under a railway bridge and conveniently next to a supermarket. Em took the opportunity to stock up on groceries while Rich and the kids got ready for a big day ahead of 7 locks and 50km of canals.

We departed at 0930 snd turned north along Charleroi Brussels canal. It was slow going as the commercial boats ahead were taking their time.

The locks in this part of the river had large rises of 7-10m and were quite rough and built for commercial boats, so bollards were spaced a long way apart. The lock masters did not hesitate in filling them fast, creating lots of turbulent water do we needed to stay focused at all times.

After a very slow passage we arrived at our final lock Viesville where we had to tie up before entering the lock. Issy was delighted to find fairy houses (mushrooms) along the jetty so we wrote notes to them and pinned them to the dock.

Once through the dock we had about an hour of motoring. Rich took the opportunity to investigate the water heater wiring again, before it began to get dark. We arrived at Adeps Haven and turned into a narrow, shallow and dark inlet to tie up for the night.

Tomorrow we should start to finally head West, and we have a big surprise awaiting us!