St Quentin Canal weed

Just about to return north on the St Q and pleased to see positive comments above.
On the town itself, it has a particularly good Saturday morning market.

Weed patrol update.
But first an apology to any who took umbrage at my disparaging remarks about St Quinten. They were based purely on passing ignorance…
The summit levels of the canal are completely free of the invasive dark green bottle brush weed, but does have quite a lot of the regular long-strand light green variety. Having gone through both of the tunnels, The Riqueval at 07:30 this morning, we noticed the alien weed in the second pound after the summit, but as before, this did not impede navigation.
Colin. Getting through the Tronquoy Tunnel and up to the start of The Riqueval, a visit to the excellent museum and a visit to the bridge, to compare and contrast with the famous photograph taken in September 1918 encroached on our time. So alas we were unable to visit the source of the Somme River.
My conclusions: This is our first time on the St Quentin Canal and have found it to be the most relaxing, peaceful and a delightful route. If anyone has a few extra days to lose going north I would encourage and recommend people to use it. The Canal du Nord is useful, but it is like comparing a motorway to a country lane.
Yes, there is weed, which is unsightly and a minor inconvenience. Those with raw water cooling will have to be vigilant with their filters and a long boat-hook may have to be occasionally employed to clear stubborn bits from your prop-shaft, but it is well worth all that. As someone so succinctly put it, use it or lose it.

I stopped in St Quentin for a week a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The town centre has lots of interesting places and things to do.

Martin Nunan wrote: Only reason to stop in St Quintain is the supermarket which is an easy walking distance from the VNF offices. Unfortunately the boulangerie at Lesdins is permanently closed but there is (or used to be) a good boucherie in the village.

Interesting how we have different takes on the same subject (town of St Quentin) out of curiosity can I ask why you dislike it?
Perhaps people should stop there and make their own mind up?
We found out today baker in Rues des Vignes is shut until 5 September.

Only reason to stop in St Quintain is the supermarket which is an easy walking distance from the VNF offices. Unfortunately the boulangerie at Lesdins is permanently closed but there is (or used to be) a good boucherie in the village.

It's good to know that thare are still automoteurs backing up into the arm at Vendhuile. Happily there are still sufficient 38m boats trading for the St Quentin to be kept as an alternative route for when the Canal du Nord is closed for maintenance. Many owners prefer the C. du Nord as they are put off by the number of locks and more particularly Riqueval tunnel, but it's always been one our favourite canals.

Tam

Chris Hanley wrote: St Quinten Weed report.
From Tergnier to St Simon there is weed, but it does not in any way affect passage. It is more noticeable after St Simon with an increase in density, but still not a problem to navigation. Around St Quenten, especially by the railway station there are rafts of weed with heads sticking up from the surface, all looking very unsightly. We moored about a kilometre south of the town by an old disused industrial wharf which was relatively weed free. However, the regular moorings are quite bad with the Port looking very uninviting and the lay-by immediately after ecluse 22 completely choked with a thick carpet of weed.
With apologies for anyone who holds St Quinten dear to their heart, I could see little, apart from an excellent pizza at Le Scampi, to recommend a potential visitor to the town and my recommendation is to pass-on by.
Moving further north the density of the weed noticeably decreased and although still visible under the water was much less than the area around the town. After lunch we moved onto a mooring just south of Ecluse 19, a little road noise due to the nearby bridge, but a welcome stop for the night. The other concern is the boulangerie in Le Petit Lesdins was fermer. This was a Monday and so might be open for business on other days, I cannot say.

We concur over the weed, a nusance on some sections - note speed slowing, engage reverse, carry on - but nothing to put you off this delightful and underused canal. We are keel cooled - may be more issues if raw water cooled but it is the thick rope sort of weed so hopefully not. There is still some peniche traffic ( 2 grain barges from Vendhuile went past us yesterday) and they were cutting weed earlier in the year which has helped but of course the weed is thicker off the centre channel.
Where I do take issue is St Quentin - the town. They do have problems with vandalism and worse on the northern side, but if you leave lock cottages empty and locks looking abandoned for years on end what to expect? The town itself is as good or as bad as any similarly sized Northern French town well worth the walk up the hill to the centre . Lots of shops, bars, restaurants, swimming pool, cinema, museum.
As to mooring, the marina was cleared of weed in June and is accesible we also stopped in Port Gayant, there are rings all along this section on the North bank but some of the concrete edge is collapsing. There is a a good section in front of the respectable looking flats between the campervan park and Mcdonalds about 50 m long with pairs of rings 10m apart at each end, beware of holes in the turf behind though. It was quiet and peaceful.
The baker in Lesdins is definitely closed, maybe just for the August vacations, but no sign of life on days other than Monday.

There appears to be a baker in Honnecourt but we have not investigated, there is certainly a small general shop.

At the Southern end of the canal we recommend Seracourt Le Grand, good restaurant (shut Thurs) and small shop, lovely park mooring.

We hope more will visit this lovely canal it does appear to be neglected. There appears to be plenty of water being fed from the Somme and the Escaut.

St Quinten Weed report.
From Tergnier to St Simon there is weed, but it does not in any way affect passage. It is more noticeable after St Simon with an increase in density, but still not a problem to navigation. Around St Quinten, especially by the railway station there are rafts of weed with heads sticking up from the surface, all looking very unsightly. We moored about a kilometre south of the town by an old disused industrial wharf which was relatively weed free. However, the regular moorings are quite bad with the Port looking very uninviting and the lay-by immediately after ecluse 22 completely choked with a thick carpet of weed.
With apologies for anyone who holds St Quinten dear to their heart, I could see little, apart from an excellent pizza at Le Scampi, to recommend a potential visitor to the town and my recommendation is to pass-on by.
Moving further north the density of the weed noticeably decreased and although still visible under the water was much less than the area around the town. After lunch we moved onto a mooring just south of Ecluse 19, a little road noise due to the nearby bridge, but a welcome stop for the night. The other concern is the boulangerie in Le Petit Lesdins was fermer. This was a Monday and so might be open for business on other days, I cannot say.

Chris,
If you have time, it might be valuable information/water intelligence to visit the source of the river Somme at Fonsomme. It is a short cycle from the moorings at Ecluse Lesdin south of the tunnel. All pics late September 2019.






Also, the source of the Escaut at Gouy, short cycle ride from the Le Bosquet mooring north of the tunnel.

Thank you

We are on the St Quentin going north right now. last night in Tergnier and currently on the way to St Quentin.
Very quiet and little weed. A few patches but nothing to worry about and so far, much less weed than on some parts of the Somme River. I will update this if the situation changes as we move north, but at the moment, all is clear.

Would like to travel north on Canal St Quentin. What is the weed state at this time? Better or worse than earlier this summer? Thanks