Waking up this morning we were soon heading upstream towards the Strepy-Thieu lift …… and what an incredible sight that is.
“The structure consists of two independent counterweighted caissons which travel vertically between the upstream and downstream sections. Due to Archimedes’ Principle, the caissons weigh the same whether they are laden with a boat or simply contain water.  In practice, variations in the water level mean that the mass of each caisson varies between 7200 and 8400 tonnes. The caissons have useful dimensions of 112 m by 12 m and a water depth of between 3.35 and 4.15 m.”  Well that is the official blurb but it is fair to say that it was a truly awesome experience and absolutely effortless from our perspective.
     With a height difference of 73.15 metres (240.0 ft) between the up and downstream reaches, this is the tallest boat lift in the world.
We contacted the lock keeper as we approached and were advised to go straight in as there were already two other boats just loading up.
We decided that on arrival at the other side of the lock we would moor up and take time to visit the exhibition, etc. but true to form, that did not go quite to plan.
After the smooth, spectacular ride up in the lift, and having moored up, we discovered that the only way down to the tower entrance was by having to trek down a very steep slope avoiding drainage ditches and nettles. But still, it was good for the dogs if not for us and they loved it.
Eventually we got to the bottom of the hill/lift and walked along to the entrance …. and here the receptionist advised us that the exhibition was closed in preparation for a new one in due to open in April 2019 – great! Still there was a sign for a cafe so the journey wasn’t wasted …. but that turned out to be just a vending machine! So, slightly disappointed, off we went back up that very steep slope.
Having said all that though, the day was beautiful and we did actually enjoy the walk down (maybe not the walk up so much).
Undaunted, and after a quick lunch we carried on in the direction of Namur, stopping overnight at the SNEF Yacht Haven. There was a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing trying to get the boat into the allocated space, but once we’d asked the person moored up behind us to move forward a little we were in for the night. To Nicki’s delight, there was a Newfoundland puppy training session going on at the boat ramp, where these beautiful pups were being taught how to swim.  There must have been at least twenty dogs there, so she was more than happy with that aspect of the mooring. And there were some fabulous walks for the dogs just along by the yacht haven, meaning that our dogs were happy too.
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