Long, July 28-30

Thursday morning we set off at the usual time headed for our next stop, the village of Long. Nigel and Margaret (who had preceded us to the river because of our stop in the boatyard and were there)  told us it was a beautiful village and well worth a stop. The only problem was mooring space was very limited and it was a popular spot. We found a nice wild mooring about 5 k from town, parked the boat and unloaded the bicycles for a trip down the towpath into town. Sure enough, along with Me and ‘Er, the Cromptons boat, the moorings were full, but two of the boats were leaving in the morning so there would just be room for us. Perfect!

Friday morning we proceeded very slowly downstream and, sure enough, both boats passed us coming up so when we arrived at 9:30 we were able to secure a coveted spot. Soon enough, the laundry flag was flying.

To the left the city hall, in the center the village church and just below the church, Friday night’s restaurant with it’s great view of the moorings just to the right of the lock gates.

Archeological digs have found evidence of habitation in the area since paleolithic times and a Roman amphora filled with bronze coins showed that Lungam was an important town. Charles the Bald gave the town a charter in 844. The sale of peat, harvested with a long handled spade called a grand louchet, made Long one of the richest village of France in the 19th century.

Early in the 18th century the mayor of the town built a large chateau, The Folie de Buissy, with it’s huge manicured gardens and orangerie.  

Between 1900 and 1903 the town also built a hydroelectric plant on the river, supplying power to the town until 1968, although at 110 volts, not the European standard 220.

Friday night Nigel and Margaret invited us to dinner at the local restaurant. Their son and daughter-in-law and her mother were visiting for a couple of days and we made a very lively table of seven.

We took the day Saturday to do a little bike riding around the area, checking out the lakes and marshes created by the peat mining and the meandering river. Walking on the trails is almost like walking on foam rubber, the ground is very soft and the soil very dark and fertile.

Sunday morning we set of on the final leg of our downstream trip. We would turn around in Abbeville, about 16 k down the river. Although still 15 k from the mouth of the Somme, it was as close to salt water as we wanted to take Oldtimer. We would make the trip to St-Valery-sur-Somme by bicycle.