VLAANDEREN

Vlaanderen or as we know it Flanders, the north and western section of Belgium, has presented us with many varied canal structures. People said Belgium was easy cruising with very few locks. They were correct but failed to mentioned the multitude of lifting bridges. They lift in every conceivable way, right handed, left handed, vertical, swung to one side, pivoted up over the canal, turning to one side, turning centrally ...... you get the idea. Each one has to be negotiated. Some are very easy. A telephone or VHF call and up goes the bridge. Others involve a call followed by agreeing a time usually to reduce town centre road traffic impacts.

Twin lifting bridges in Bruges.

A first for us, and we don't think there are many of them, was a lifting railway bridge. What fun stopping the trains. This one certainly had to be agreed and programmed.

Lifting railway bridge in Veurne.

In Nieuwport there is a confluence of three canals, three rivers and an opening to the sea. It's appropriately called The Goose Foot. In plan it does have a similar appearance. Here we had to arrive at the correct time for the tide. The levels between the canal and the sea have to be within certain limits for the locks to operate. As there is a main road around the whole structure there are also lifting bridges, so lots of negotiating and waiting.

Going into Gravensluis sea lock in The Goose Foot.

Once in the lock, waters moved and we exited into the middle of The Goose Foot which is tidal and hence the sea. Soraya was not amused, salt water! Very quickly we entered another lock and transferred back to another canal system. The locks have four gates, depending whether you are going up or down. The canal stays at the same height but the sea end of the lock can be at very different heights. The lock gates have to take the water pressures whatever height the water is outside. All very complex.

A pair of sea lock gates in Ostend with opposing gates.

On the Lo Canal we went through a section that was more akin to ditch crawling. Thank goodness we did not meet any oncoming traffic.

The exceedingly narrow Lo Canal.

I'm sure we'll find many more interesting structures of fascinating engineering ingenuity. For now it's back to Bath and Brittany for us, so no more blog posts until September. Soraya is all tucked up in Diksmuide, her solar power station keeping all systems fully functioning, I hope.

A BRIDGE/LOCK TOO FAR

Upon arrival at Veurne there is perhaps a unique lock. Whilst the lock does not do very much as the levels on either side are often the same, it stops surges, floods etc. The unique part is that in the 'centre' of the lock is a horizontal swing bridge as in the photograph. This is normally across the lock for pedestrians and cyclists. Many locks have this but NOT across the centre of the lock. They are normally outside the lock gates. We entered the lock. The gates closed behind us. We waited and waited. The forward gates did not open. The level change was virtually zero. Eventually things started to move.

The lock gates open with the bridge across the lock.

Unfortunately what moved was not the forward gates opening but the swing bridge opening onto Soraya. Margaret was close to the opening bridge. I screamed 'the bridge is opening'.... 'what'....'look out the bridge is opening'.... Suddenly Margaret saw the bridge!!!!!! By that time I was in full reverse and with 75 tons there is a time delay. The lock keeper saw the problem and manually put the bridge into a backward motion. Again there is a time delay. Unfortunately Margaret on reflex tried to push the bridge off Soraya's crane and got 'involved' in the action. She trapped her hand between the bridge and Soraya! With the opposing structures reversed Margaret was released. We instantly moored and the lock keeper arrived. No question, straight to hospital.

Margaret, Benedict (lock keeper) and the consultant examining the X-rays.

Into A&E, forms were filled, X-rays were done and consultants were consulted. The bottom line Margaret was very, very lucky only having severe bruising and nothing broken. It could have been a lot worse. Crushed bones? In discussion the situation was probably caused by the fact that Belgium Waterways Authority is centralising the control of various lesser used locks and moving bridges. This means automisation and the use of video cameras from a centralised location. This particular installation is currently being changed and the lock keeper was of the opinion that there was a software problem. When he instigated the opening of the forward lock gate there was a long pause then the bridge started to move. Huge trauma. It could have been a lot worse. Benedict was excellent. He drove Margaret and me to hospital, sorted out all the medical access with the staff, in Flemish and took full responsibility. Margaret was X-rayed, examined and is fine if not a bit crushed.

Have you heard of the curative powers of a glass or two of Rosé?

Well it was hot and she did have a bandage on.

PALINGBEEK

Outside Ieper is a park called Palingbeek. An interesting landscape as it was the front line between the Belgian/British lines and the German lines. They have maintained the devastated landscape with all the craters and scars as it was, allbeit overgrown in places. It was one of the most fiercely contested battlegrounds of WW1 so it's well rearranged from the natural state. A stunning and beautiful land art installation has been created and installed over 3 hectares, on what was once no-man's land, that tries to illustrate the magnitude of the loss of life.

The approach to 'ComingWorldRememberMe'.

The installation which is breathtaking with 600,000 small clay statues of a crouching figure. The installation was designed by Koen Vanmechelen who worked with different people from different nationalities to handmake the figures. Very much a communal project that took over 4 years to complete. The number of figures is the official number of victims of WW1 in Belgium alone, irrespective of nationalities! Mind boggling. 

Margaret at the installation.

The egg at the heart of the piece represents 'rebirth' with smaller figures made by children flowing out of the egg. The statues aim to tell us that war never solves anything. Whilst it's very moving it's also uplifting as it seems to indicate a new future. It certainly is visually stunning whilst coming out of devastation.

It's difficult to write blog posts about war. Not a subject that I am familiar with or really want to address but you have to respect what the parents and families of the people have been through. They however do possess a very positive forward looking attitude. Not dwelling on the past, which is amazing. Here's to Belgium!