July 2021 – part 1
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On Friday 2nd we left Veendam at 8:45 in a small convoy heading for Stadskanaal. With 40+ lifting bridges plus 4 locks to get through, it was definitely a bit ambitious for us, and a little stressful at the time, but it was also really quite enjoyable and we ended the journey feeling a huge sense of achievement.
The first 31 bridges and 2 locks were handled by a team of four operators, a very slick operation indeed. The waterway was quite narrow and the bridges even narrower and we picked up a little damage from the first two (until I discovered that keeping my eyes closed helped a lot).
At the end of the first stretch, the Veendam team handed over their responsibility to a second team to see us on to Stadskanaal. Almost immediately we meet our first obstacle, a railway bridge that the rest of the convoy sailed under – had were taken down the bimini we could probably have passed through too, but we hadn’t, so the rail bridge needed to be moved out of our way. We were both really surprised to spot a man on the bridge span furiously turning a handle until after a while the bridge started to pivot and we were through. And as if that wasn’t tricky enough, there were a couple of large boats moored up that we also had to negotiate our way past.
Arriving at the second lock on this stretch we were all positioned for exit, and waited patiently for the sluices to be opened and for the lock to fill but after a while we all realised that the lock operator had disappeared – he’d just taken himself off for his lunch break without saying anything to any of us! Still, an hour later he was back to operate the lock and to open the gates for our exit. Surprisingly he has to use a long pole to push and pull each of the gates – it seemed there was little automation along this stretch, and these guys certainly earned their money.
Finally we arrived in Stadskanaal to be greeted with plenty of available mooring spaces, although the section we chose was the last one with water and electric available. The mooring had lots of tree cover so we really needed the electric and whilst it was not free, there was no mooring fee to pay so it was difficult to complain.
After a week in Stadskanaal just relaxing and trying to sort out the wi-fi after Vodafone let us down badly, it was time to leave and make the return journey to Vaandam, slightly less anxious this time round. Back in Veendam we quickly settled in for a couple more days before heading back to Groningen.
We had heard that there was a steam train that ran from Veendam to Stadskanaal on Sundays, and as we were moored right next to the station in Veendam it seemed a shame not to try and have an outing on it. Unfortunately it seemed that because of covid restrictions you could only start your return journey from Stadskanaal. Despite this knowledge we tried to reach out to the booking team to see if there was any chance of getting on at Veendam, but as at Saturday evening had had no response soon were faced up on that idea. But then early on Sunday morning we had a call to say it was possible, so we quickly sorted ourselves out and within two hours we were on the train bound once again for Stadskanaal, having arranged to pay for the tickets when we arrived there.
Arriving at Veendam station we met the team of guys running the service who couldn’t have been more helpful once we’d explained that we had ‘special’ permission to ride. We were lucky enough to travel in a second class carriage – the other option was third class but we rode in style on padded seating, no bench seats for us.
An eighteen year old volunteer guard spent most of the outbound journey giving us a comprehensive background to rail history in the Netherlands as well as detailed comparisons to other countries. He also explained the roles and training involved for each of the team. (Apparently this steam railway is only supported by about fifty volunteers whereas in the UK there would be ten or twenty times that number.) He was so knowledgeable that it was intimidating! Arriving in Stadskanaal we spent time looking around the station and visiting the museum dedicated to the stream trains, and after a while it was time to go back on the train for the return journey. All in all, an excellent day out.
The following day we set off towards Groningen, and after about four hours of cruising we tried a couple of documented moorings to spend the night but neither of them were particularly pleasant so we returned to the main canal and moored up in an old commercial quay. Just after we had tied up, a passing police boat stopped to discuss our intentions but seemed happy for us to stay once we told them that we were only there for one night.
It was a reasonable stop but next morning we were up and off to Groningen where we intended to spend a week whilst waiting for our second covid jab appointments, and where we were fortunate to find a good mooring in the town centre.
