7. Dunkirk to Nieuwpoort 4th Jun to 27th June 2025

14th June Dunkirk (Pk 21 Jeu de Mail Lock) France to Veurne in Belgium (2 locks and 3 lifting/swing bridges. 23km in 4hrs 25mins) Canal de Bourbourg - Canal du Jonction - Canal de Furness - Nieuwpoort-Dunkirk Canal.

Getting through the Dunkirk canal system was quite the challenge. We were moored just before the lock and there was a bit of rope hanging over the canal to be pulled to activate the lock, so with the aid of the boat-hook I managed to get hold of it and pull it. Thankfully it worked. Ayhan then had to navigate a very narrow & bendy route through the Dunkirk labyrinth waterway to another lock. The lights were red at this lock so we didn't want to enter it even though the lock gates were open. There was no-where to tie up, and we waited a while but nothing with no-where safe to stay. I phone the VNF, but they told me that they don't manage the Dunkirk locks. Eventually with a lot of phoning around, I found out that the Dunkirk Port authorities were in charge and they told us to enter the lock and some-one would come and activate the lock for us. They did eventually, but what a faff! I had to contact the VNF again to let the chap know that we were running late for the lifting bridges. All was good in the end. The Furness Canal on the French side was quite shallow and narrow in places, it didn't look well maintained at all. As soon as we arrived in Belgium, the canal seemd to be better maintained and the scenery suddenly seemed so much nicer too.

Getting through Veurne was also quite bendy with a lifting bridge. They have a different system here, I phone the lock-keeper at Veurne and he opened the bridge remotely. He advised us that there was a festival on today and we couldn't moor in the marina there, but there was room on the side of the canal. It was a nice spot, so all good.

Once all moored up, we walked into the lovely town of Vuerne. It had felt like we had done so much travelling lately just to get from A to B, and now we could stop for a few days, relax and explore. The weather was hot and the town had a festival going on, it was glorious and we found somewhere to eat and drink and watch all the activities going on around us. Perfect!

15th June - 19th June 15th June is Ayhan's birthday, so we wanted to find a nice restaurant for dinner to celebrate. We found one that had a good reputation for its hearty steaks! We got all dressed up and had a lovely evening.

We spent the next few days exploring the town and doing quite a bit of grocery shopping as well as the usual cleaning and laundry. It is always wise to keep on-top of the laundry when you know you have water and electricity. We always like to visit the local markets too when possible. Being in Belgium is easier for us as most people speak English here. The only thing that I didn't like here in Belgium, was the rubbish system. All the bins are locked up. If you live here you are given a card to open the rubbish bins. The lock keepers were helpful and I was able to give them my rubbish.

19th - 20th June Veurne to Fintele. (14.7km,2 locks, 6 lifting bridges in 2hrs 50mins) Nieuwpoort -Dunkirk Canal - Lo Canal - Yser.

We had got to know the lock-keepers here, who are all so helpful and friendly. We had told them that we wanted to go to Fintele, which meant once out through the lock we then needed to do a 180° right turn onto the Lo Canal. The lock keeper would then have to follow us to the first three lifting bridges to open them and then the last three were opened by the Fintele lock keeper. It all went like clockwork. It was a very hot day today and this canal is quite challenging, very shallow in places and narrow with a lot of floating debris plus we had a boat coming the other way, with very little passing room. The scenery was lovely and Fintele is really rural. We moored up by a restaurant, although the pontoon was in need of some TLC. Most of the cleats were hanging off, so we had to do a bit of careful tying up of mooring lines. A friend of ours had recommended the restaurant, so we booked a table for dinner and spent the rest of the day having a walk and a rest. We had a lovely dinner and it was really a bit too hot for sleeping especially after a big meal. The cows were even taking a dip into the canal to cool off.

20th June - 24th June Fintele to Diksmuide (13.5km, 1 lifting bridge in 2hrs) River Yser.

The temperature was rising. We got to Diksmuide and were greeted by the friendly harbour master who showed us to our mooring spot and got us all set up with water and electricity. Quite a different system to get water and electricity. We needed Euro coins, and they don't last long and you don't get a refund if you put too many in at a time. I soon got the hang of it although the Bourne wasn't near to the boat, so had to do some walking back & forth. They also have a different rubbish system here. You are given a couple of free plastic rubbish sacks with the name of the marina on it and one is for general rubbish and the other for recycling which you have to leave outside their locked rubbish section. Once you have used these sacs you have to pay for more sacs.

Diksmuide is another great place to visit. The architecture is so nice and there is just a lovely feel to it here. We went to the tourist office and got some information and a map and found out where the supermarket and bakery was. We had some lovely walks around the town. We also made friends with the couple on the boat in front of us, David and Cathy. David is from Canada and Cathy is French. Such a helpful and sweet couple. Cathy took me to the supermarket in her car. They came to us for drinks one evening and they invited us for dinner one night.

On one of the very hot days we decided to visit the amazing War Memorial museum at the Yser Tower. A very impressive museum of 22 floors, amazing views from the top and each floor being dedicated to the various accounts of the terrible times throughout the war. Very moving and very well done. When we returned to the boat, It was so hot that we put the air-con on in our cabin and retreated there, just needed to get cool.

Whilst we were at Diksmuide, there was some very strong winds, so we stayed until we felt it was safe to get back out onto the water. I took the opportunity to walk to the Death Trenches, which were 2½ kms away, it was quite fascinating to see.

24th June - 27th June Diksmuide to Nieuwpoort (16.7km, 1 lifting bridge in 2hrs 35mins) River Yser.

Due to the continued strong winds forecasted, we decided to get up early to travel. We left at 7.30 am. The mornings are generally less windy. All was going well, until the lifting bridge and I couldn't get any answer on the phone number given, so the harbourmaster at Diksmuide was able to help make contact. We arrived at Nieuwpoort just as the wind was picking up and we managed to get moored up before the heavens opened up. They are not so friendly in this marina, and we felt quite intimidated by them.

The next day we decided to head into town, about a 15min walk. There is a tramway that then takes you to the seafront and we had a nice stroll and eventually found somewhere overlooking the sea to have a pizza and cold beer. On the way back we saw the war memorial here and went to have a look at the tidal lock system in Nieuwpoort as it looked like it was a bit complicated with four locks, but not all are in use now. We know that we will probably be coming back this way, so good to see it with our own eyes. That evening we went to the Arc restaurant in the marina, and had a nice evening. It had been a lovely day.

The next day was also forecast to be wet and windy so we stayed put and had a day catching up with e-mails, laundry, ironing and all those jobs that need to be done at some stage. We had made contact with another Piper boat owner in the marina - Chris. He came to see us for a drink and ended up staying for supper. A nice evening.