Other canals in FranceNederlandse versieCanal des Ardennes
On our way through to the south of France we pass the French Ardennes. I don't have much time to survey the Canal des Ardennes. My findings are therefore not more than a first impression. We stay for one night at a camping at the Lac de Bairon. This is an artificial lake, which is built to take care of the water-supply of the canal. There is a dike in the middle of the lake to get a better control over the water-volume.
The Canal des Ardennes connects the rivers Meuse and Aisne. The canal has been constructed between 1823 and 1831 and has a artificial part which connects the Meuse at Pont-à-Bar with the Aisne at Semuy and a part that runs parallel to the Aisne from Semuy to Berry-au-Bac. At that point you can choose whether you follow the Aisne further in the direction of Compiègne or navigate through the Canal de l'Aisne à Marne in the direction of Reims.

My survey of the canal starts at the watershed which has a length of about 10 kilometers. I cycle on the towpath. I start at a rough section: I can barely see the towpath cycling through high grass. Then I come at a place called Le Chesne. From there I cycle on a asphalted towpath further on to the south. I pass by a place where the boats can turn and arrive at the first lock going down. A series of 26 lock leads the canal 79 meter down to the Aisne.
I cycle from one lock to another trough a hilly landscape. At some places in the higher parts the canal widens significantly. The towpath curls around it. The widening serves to hold the water as high as possible. The water-supply of the French canals has never been easely.
The valley of Montgon gives me a desolate impression. Most of the houses of the lockkeepers are no longer occupied. A lot of them are vanished, others have been deteriorated to misery and poverty. The lockkeepers don't live here any more. At every lock is a shed for temporary use but they are also empty. The locks have been converted to automatic operation and so the sheds are superfluous too. On my trip along twenty locks I only see one boat. Some English celebrating their holiday, are locking down. The only other activity at the locks is made by some workmen repairing  the locks.
Also in the village Montgon there isn't any activity. Nevertheless the landscape compensates for it. It is wonderful to see how the canal meanders as a silver ribbon through the hills, leaving behind lock after lock.