Écluse 12 West - Pargny - Canal des Ardennes - Château-Porcien - France - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

This is lock number 12 on the western end of the canal des Ardennes and is called Pargny and is situated two kilometres south west of the village of Château-Porcien.

There are 48 locks on this canal with a complicated numbering system as follows:

- On the Meuse slope at the canal's eastern end are locks 1 to 7 leading up to the summit at le Chesne.
- On the Aisne slope from le Chesne is a long flight of locks numbered 1 to 27 down to the junction with the Vouziers branch at Semuy.
- The locks from Vouziers on the branch down to Semuy are numbered 1 to 4 and continue from 5 to 14 to the western end of the canal at Vieux-lès-Asfeld.

All the locks are Fréycinet size (38.5m x 5.1m) taking commercial péniches of which there are still a few seen plying their trade other than along the branch to Vouziers which is now closed. The locks are operated by the boater using a télécommande which sets the locks in motion. Once in the lock the boater pulls on a blue pole set inside the lock to complete the operation.

Many of the locks still have their original lock cottages even on the le Chesne flight where the locks are quite close together.


The following information is taken from frenchwaterways.com:

The Canal des Ardennes branches off from the canalised river Meuse (formerly the ‘northern branch of the Canal de l’Est’) at Pont-à-Bar, a short distance upstream from Charleville-Mézières. After crossing the watershed between the rivers Meuse and Aisne it drops down the Aisne valley to connect with the Canal latéral à l’Aisne at Vieux-lès-Asfeld. The distance from the Meuse to the Canal latéral à l’Aisne is 88km. Originally it was 5.5km longer, entering the Aisne further downstream, but this section was bypassed by the lateral canal in 1841. A 12km long branch leads from Semuy to the small town of Vouziers, further up the Aisne valley. Officially the canal is divided into two lengths, with distances counted separately on the watershed link, from Pont-à-Bar to Semuy, and on the canal following the Aisne valley, from Vouziers to Vieux-lès-Asfeld. It is thought more convenient here to carry the distance through from one end to the other, and to treat the section from Semuy to Vouziers as a branch.

At Saint-Aignan there is a tunnel, 197m in length, allowing one-way traffic only controlled by traffic lights.

History – The canal was designed under the Revolution in the period 1793-1801 by the engineer Claude Deschamps, as a strategic connection between the rivers Aisne and Meuse. The designs were taken up in 1823 by the same engineer, and the canal opened in 1831. It was enlarged for 38m barges in 1846. Although it carries little commercial traffic, it remains in the national priority network. This designation does not apply to the Vouziers Branch, which is unfortunately threatened with closure. Boaters are encouraged to use this branch, also to help reduce weed growth during the summer months. The canal has a hire base at the Meuse end, but most clients stay on the Meuse. It is therefore mainly used by private boats in transit.

Waterway Name: Canal des Ardennes Connected Points: At its eastern end the canal joins the river Meuse and runs to Vieux-lès-Asfeld at the western end where it joins the canal latéral à l'Aisne. It has a junction at Semuy with the Vouziers branch which is now closed. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1831 Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Logs marked as “visits” should be made after physically visiting the waymark location. Include a picture taken during the visit. Notes may be logged by individuals who have visited the web site or looked at the online information and would like to provide comments or feedback on the waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.