A bit of tourism away from the river. To the north of Celle is Bergen-Belsen

Just a few photos of the memorials at Bergen-Belsen.

Sunday 14th July 2013 Abv Hademstorf lock to Verden WSA haven. 63.4 kms 1 lock

Hademstorf lock full - almost full length of lock, huge!

Grey clouds and light drizzle to start, heavy shower later, sun out after we’d tied up. Windy, cold from North. The keeper started filling the lock before nine. We went into the chamber and put a centre line on the inset bollard in the wall then dropped down 2.2m. It was 9.25 am when we left the bottom. 

Hademstorf lock empty, even huge-er

The keeper said he’d phoned to warn the ferryman at Eickeloh that we were coming downriver as he was working today. We thanked him as we left, following the Snail. A tiny cruiser was waiting to go up the lock as we left. Still plenty of water flowing out of the river Leine. We’d got engine revs for 7kph and were doing 10kph, a 3kph flow assistance. Oll was slowing down when we got to the ferry – the cable was still up! We slowed down and Mike gave a blast on the hooter. 

The view behind of the top end gates

The ferryman at Eickeloh looked surprised, so the lock keeper hadn’t phoned him! While we waited for the steel cable to be lowered both boats were slowly taken towards the bank by the current, the river wasn’t wide enough for the boats to turn to stem the flow. Snail’s stern caught on the sand at the edge of the river and we touched a pile of rocks as we set off again. 

The ferryman asked if there were any more boats coming. I just had time to say no, just us two, as we whizzed past. 

River Leine - still lots of water entering the Aller

The river was flowing very well considering it had gone down another 4cms overnight (Mike had looked at the pegel for Rethem online before we set off, it had dropped 17cms since we went up to Celle, 5 days earlier). I made a cuppa. Mike hadn’t had any breakfast as he couldn’t eat anything. We were still doing 10 kph but the Snail was gaining on us and getting further in front. Past the stagings with a fixed seat at Hoden Hagen, where a gang of kids had been trying to turn it over and destroy it when we went upriver. 

Ferry at Eickeloh - cable still up!!

Roofs in the village were covered with solar panels. I made some toast so Mike could have his tablets. Took photos of a sandbank now appearing out of the water and growing weeds at KP61. At Eilte, 5kms further downriver, a small speedboat was towing a youth on a doughnut and was so surprised to see us he slowed down (why? He’d just seen the Snail?) and nearly lost his passenger who shrieked as they set off again. 

Staging at Hoden Hagen

More photos of sandbanks at KP67. Our speed had gone up to 11.3kph going round the last bit of the big bend at Bosse where the river does almost a complete circle. An oystercatcher was flying round with a large mollusc in its beak being pursued by another who was screeching at it, nope not sharing, it’s mine I found it! At KP77 a group of around a dozen people were seated at a long table under some trees having lunch, a very civilised picnic. 

Keeping close to the outsides of bends
where the deeper water is

We had an almost straight section of about 2kms. I made us a cup of soup and put some part-baked bread buns in the oven to cook for lunch, as we flew through. At KP89.5 we came across a group of ten canoeists, three were on the bank having lunch and the other seven paddling slowly and going with the flow. Mike had to hoot to let them know we were coming and clear the navigation channel. Our speed was creeping up again, 10.7kph. It was averaging 10kph. Two kayaks left the beach at KP91 and paddled off downriver as we came round he bend and we slowly overtook them.

Sandbanks that weren't showing when we went upriver

It started to rain as we went past KP95 and did so for the next twenty minutes or so. Took photos of two little storks in a nest on a high pole at KP107.5 Eitze. Approaching Verden we went under the railway bridge at the same time as a goods train went over, it was loud enough to make your teeth rattle! No sign of the trip boat moored in Verden, must be out with passengers on the Weser. 

Ferry boat with outboard motor

Oll called on VHF to say that the flow had eased up and he’d been able to turn straight into the haven.

Church at Westen

We did likewise and moored alongside the Snail in the corner of the basin as there was a WSA tug on the pontoon where we were moored before. It was 3.50 pm and we reckoned we’d done well to do the trip in just over 6.5 hours. 

Storks in nest at Eitze

That makes a total of 13 hours travelling time to come back from Celle and 25 hours to get there going upriver.

Saturday 13th July 2013 Celle to abv Hademstorf lock. R.Aller. 46.7kms 3 locks.

Water from river Fuhse joins the Aller

Warm and sunny, but cold North wind, very breezy. Set off at 9.15 am following the young German couple with their little Bayliner boat called Calon back down the river Aller. Snail followed on behind us. It was deceptively calm as we left the basin, there appeared to be no current as we were going downstream with it. We had engine revs set to do 5kph but we were doing 7kph, therefore there was a flow of 2kph as we went past the prison. There was one small cruiser on the Yacht Club moorings below the railway bridge.

Power station at Oldau lock

 I took photos of the flow coming out of the old river at KP2 and the sandspits. Three inflatable dinghies with big outboard motors that must have been launched in Celle overtook us; they chose their time to overtake us and did it slowly before zipping off downriver. A couple in a canoe were drifting in mid-channel and didn’t hear us coming, so Mike gave them a beep on the hooter to get them to move, which they did and we said thanks as we went past them. Mike increased speed to 6.5kph but we were doing 8kph according to the GPS, 

Ferry at Oldau

so the current was flowing at 1.5kph, not too bad yet. Another speedboat overtook us, again slowly so the steerer could get a good look at the boat before he upped the power and raced off downriver. The biting flies were out – I felt one bite (middle of my bare back) and smacked it with my hand and killed it. On went the insect repellent. When we arrived at Oldau the boats from Celle were organising some sort of slalom course above the lock. Calon was in the lock with the gates closed. 

WSA workshop above Oldau lock

We tied to the waiting area and Snail came alongside. Marlon, the young man with the little cruiser, said that the old man on sticks had come along and told him to close the gates so that people could cross the lock. Then someone else came and pressed the buttons and he couldn’t get it to open the gates again. We waited and eventually he managed to reset the controls and got the gates open so we could go in. Quite a crowd had gathered to watch and the Havenmeister from Celle, Herr Bornemann, came to ask how the trip down the river had been. 

Boat club house in a boat on land

Above Bannetze lock

Marlon had said that his boat’s propeller had hit the bottom once, but we’d been OK. We thanked him and he went back to the boat club festivities above Oldau lock. The youngsters worked the lock again, but there was another speedboat coming uphill so they left the gates open and went out first, followed by Snail and us last this time. It was very narrow and bendy below Oldau and we upped the speed to 7.5kph to do 9kph downriver and keep up with the Snail. 

At KP16.5 a couple in their thirties, paddling an Indian canoe came upriver. We were skimming past trees at what seemed an enormous rate of knots after the way we’d crawled upriver. Took photos of the clubhouse (a boat on land) at the WMCA at KP21. The people on the boats on their moorings waved as we sped past. There was a waterskiing zone about a kilometre above the next lock, three speedboats with big outboards were moored, crews having lunch, and one was zipping up and down towing a skier. The water got a bit excited for a while as we went round the wider bends above Bannetze lock. The cruiser was in the lock, tied to the pontoon. As we followed Snail in, Marlon closed the gates, then his girlfriend at the far end of the lock opened the paddles and he rejoined his boat. 

Below Bannetze lock

She opened the gates when the lock had emptied, we left and Marlon brought Calon out and moored below the lock while she closed the gates. Glad that they worked the lock as there was still a WSA workboat tied on the one end of the pontoon for working the lock, so we couldn’t have tied to that, we’d have had to tie to the workboat. We dodged around the sandbanks below the lock where the river came in from our left and followed Snail downriver. We overtook three canoes full of camping gear whose crews were paddling gently downstream. Marlon caught us up and asked if we were using VHF Marine radio and we said yes, he asked which channel – we were on channel six. He said he could only listen as he hadn’t passed his test yet. We said he could try his handheld radio to see that it worked OK. It didn’t. 

Calon and a passing party boat

We could hear him as he was close behind us, but Oll who was in front couldn’t hear him. Transmit needs checking out. He said he’d do the test and buy a new radio, someone had given him that one. A party boat that looked like a double-decker raft with an outboard motor came past us heading upriver with a group of about a dozen young men on board, drinking beer and singing loudly – glad we won’t be mooring anywhere near them tonight. Marlon had phoned the lock keeper so that Marklendorf lock was ready when we got there; the keeper opened the gates as we arrived. It was 2.50 pm. The keeper said he had another boat due at that lock before he closed at five pm and that meant we wouldn’t get through the next one before he had to drive back up to this one, so Mike booked him for 9 am next day and said we’d moor overnight above Hademstorf. 

Moored above Hademstorf lock

However, Calon wound up the speed so he was down at Hademstorf within the hour so he could get through the lock and carry on down to Rethem as he, like Mike, was getting a bit concerned about the dropping water levels in the river. It was 3.20 pm when we left the bottom of Marklendorf, there was no chance that we could get to Hademstorf in an hour as it was getting on for 12kms. Two small open speedboats were moored on the little staging not far beyond the lock. Their crews all waved. On under the A7 motorway bridge. Road traffic was busy as it was Saturday. Made a cuppa and we wound our way round the bends down to the lock. Arrived at 4.35 pm and moored next to Snail on the waiting area above Hademstorf lock.

Thursday 11th July 2013 Oldau to Celle. R.Aller. 13.1kms no locks.

Prison walls, outskirts of Celle

Cloudy start, sunny spells but a cold breeze. We set off first at 9.10 am and Snail followed as we were moored on the outside. The final navigable reach of the Aller was pleasant but scary. Scenery bucolic, meadows with horses and cows backed by forests – but in actual fact, looking at the road map, roads and houses were never very far away from the river – just out of reach of the floods. As before, the flow started off gently just above a lock, between 1 to 1.5kph, but the depth was alarming on the echo sounder as more and more often the depth dropped below a metre beneath the bottom of the boat – which would be fantastic on UK shallow canals, but on a fast flowing narrow river with bends and sandbanks it was a bit nerve-wracking to say the least. At KP8 there was a buzzard sitting nonchalantly on the sign, but as always, as soon as the button was pressed on the camera, it flew off. I was steering when suddenly faced with a pair of no entry signs on either bank of what appeared to be the navigation, ie straight on at KP5.5, with a narrower stream flowing in from the right, I was undecided which way to go. 

Road and rail bridges. Celle. R. Aller

I buzzed Mike to come out quick. Slowed down to take stock of the situation as nothing was marked on the “chart” in the Weser-Handbuch and nothing showed on the road map either (which shows every little tributary). More of the flow seemed to be coming in from the right hand side, so we turned right and kept our fingers crossed. With a sigh of relief, we picked up the speed to cruising normal for this river as we passed a kilometre post and knew we were going the right way. The river became narrower and narrower as we passed the first boat club moorings where there were plenty of spaces, which we noted for later - just in case. Under a road bridge and round a couple more bends. We passed the yacht club moorings before the railway bridge and found there were no boats at all moored there. Under the railway bridge with the river flowing faster as we spied a building with bikes parked in front of it and barbed wire round the tops of its walls, and quickly deduced that it was a prison! The river got narrower and bendier as well as faster, we were starting to worry about turning round, there’s not enough width for us to wind, never mind about the Snail who’s three metres longer. 

Moored in the haven at Celle. R. Aller 

A tributary flowed in from the left and the banks were lined with wooden piling. Then we could see a trip boat in front of us! What! How did that get up here?? The river went right and looked even narrower, shallower and faster, so we went on towards the tripper and found ourselves in a lovely deep wide basin, with pontoon moorings for small boats to our left, the tripper straight in front and a long floating staging at the foot of a high wall (about 4m) with a ramp to the top on our right. Whew! That was a relief to find somewhere out of the flow that was wide enough to wind in. Said hello to the couple with the wedge-shaped cruiser that was tied in among the other small boats as a man at the top of the wall shouted OK and indicated the long pontoon. Great. It was just before midday. Oll turned the Snail and moored nearest the ramp, we came in behind and tied to the edging bars along the wooden decking. The old guy came down the ramp to welcome us and wanted to take ropes (but didn’t get them as people always, always have to pull them!). I got off to tie up as Mike brought the stern level with the pontoon. The old man didn’t speak any English but seemed to understand a bit. Once we were secured Mike and Oll went to the clubhouse with him, where he gave them keys to the club for toilets and showers and a key to the gate to get out. Price for two nights including water and electric was 18€ each boat.

Wednesday 10th July 2013 Hademstorf lk to abv Oldau lock KP15 R. Aller. 33.3kms 4 locks

Coming up in Hademstorf lock. R. Aller

Grey overcast and drizzling when we set off. Brief sunny spells, windy with dark clouds for the rest of the day. The lock was supposed to be open at nine, but the keeper was late arriving. Around 9.25 am he turned up, emptied the lock and opened one gate to let us into the mammoth sized lock chamber (159m x 10m) with curving, sloping concrete walls (his two locks were manually operated). The cruiser went up towards the front of the chamber and clung to a ladder with a pole, we stayed at the back of the chamber, Snail on the left and us on the right, 

Abv Marklendorf lock R. Aller

putting ropes round inset bollards halfway up the wall (lower ones were missing). We used our centre line from the roof and Snails used their bow rope round a side bollard. The keeper wound ground paddles by the top end gates, which slowly filled the massive chamber by 2.2m (the Weser–Handbuch says it should be 1.2m, so that doesn’t bode well for going back downstream!). We’d dropped tyres on cords so they sat just across the bottom chine of the boat and stopped the corner catching on the wall (we’d done this many times before in sloping sided locks). The crew off the cruiser said that we were lucky as the keeper had told them that the WSA were due to start a three-day strike as of tomorrow. 

Below 1st DIY lock Bannetze - glad the crew of cruiser
is working the lock, nowhere for us to get off.

They said they would have to wait for us at the next lock as the keeper would only work the manual lock once. It was nearly 12 kms to the next lock. We followed the cruiser and Snail up the meandering reach. The flow was slow to start with, around 0.75kph but picked up to nearly 5kph as we went further upstream. Under a railway bridge and there were houses all along the left bank, tucked away in the trees, most had small boats moored along the river and canoes in their gardens. 

Entering Bannetze lock

We went under the A7 motorway bridge at 11.35 am and into the lock cut to Marklendorf lock ten minutes later. Both the cruiser and Snail were waiting below the lock, so we tied alongside for a short wait. Again the keeper opened one of the 5m wide gates and we all went in. This time there were no bollards in the walls and the keeper climbed down a ladder to take Anne’s bow line and place it round the top of the ladder for her. Mike went up the ladder our side and put our rope round the top of the ladder. A deeper chamber, so this time we rose 3.20m. As we left we said tschus to the keeper and wished him a good strike. 

Bannetze lock chamber from top end gates

The other two locks were press button electric DIY. Followed the other two up the 11 kms reach to Bannetze lock. A small speedboat came past us at KP 30, but turned round and followed us back upriver, overtaking us five minutes later. When we arrived at the lock the cruiser and the speedboat were already in the lock, one tied to a short floating pontoon the other hanging on to a ladder with a short boat shaft, and Snail was just going through the gates. Oll called Mike on the radio to say that there were two sandbanks below the lock, 

Bannetze lock, full from the bottom end gates

he knew as he’d been sat on both of them and managed to wriggle his way off again! Mike knew where they’d be, on the point where the river flowed across the lock cut and on the opposite side of the lock cut. Knowing this we zigzagged through and into the lock. No bollards, so Mike went up the ladder with our centre rope and put it through the loop at the top of the ladder and he went to take photos while I held the string. We rose 2.2m fairly gently. The speedboat left first and we followed him. The cruiser stayed to close the gates and Snail followed us up the 11kms reach to Oldau, the last lock.

Moored on WSA quay abv Oldau lock

The sun was out and it was warmer for a short while. The cruiser was catching up at a vast rate of knots as it was up on the plane. It slowed down to go past Snail just after I’d taken a photo of it, then it sped off again as it reached our stern and made a huge wash! Kids! The speedboat had tied up at the WMCA moorings at KP21 and the skipper waved as we went past. They had a clubhouse in an old boat on the bank – the biggest boat we’d seen up here apart from the WSA workboats. A canoe went past, then another at KP19.5. The lock was at KP15 and the cruiser’s crew had it ready for us. Again there were no bollards in the sloping walls so Mike went up the ladder and threaded the rope through the loop for me. The cruiser continued on upriver. We moored above the lock next to the Snail on the WSA moorings – Anne asked one of the WSA staff if it was OK to moor there, the initial response was “No” but relented when he was told it was only for one night. An elderly gentleman with two walking sticks pressed the buttons to close the paddles and gates. Perhaps we will get to play with the buttons on our return. It was 5.45 pm.

Tuesday 9th July 2013 Rethem KP82 to below Hademstorf lk R. Aller. 31.9 kms - locks

Sandbanks KP68 R. Aller

Hot and sunny with nice cooling breeze. We backed out of the haven, as there was not enough room to wind, out into the flow again and drifted downstream until Snail had backed out too. Set off again at 10.10 am. The first lock on the river was 18kms away in a straight line, but around 32kms by river. Sandpipers were flying low across the river and we noted that the wind farm wasn’t working today although there seemed to be enough breeze. Seven Canada geese were grazing in a meadow with a herd of cows as we were passing Kirchwahlingen, which was almost hidden by trees on the far side of the meadow, it’s red roofs were covered with solar panels. 

Groynes. R.Aller

A dozen Egyptian geese stopped grazing to watch us creep past and a large flock of oystercatchers flew overhead. All day long the boat was a perch for passing dragonflies, large green and black ones. A big flock of lapwings went past flying downriver and the air was filled with the song of warblers and yellowhammers. A few boats were moored by a caravan site at Frankenfeld.  A couple paddling a canoe gently downstream with the flow looked stunned to see two narrowboats. The bloodsucking flies were out, so on went the insect repellent with deet. Sticky but effective. As we passed the village of Bosse at KP75 where there was a large maroon coloured inflatable storage dome on the right hand side and a man was tending to a small herd of black cows. 

Cable ferry at Eickeloh

Another canoe went past with a young couple paddling. Round a big bend and as we left Bosse behind another canoe went past, an inflatable with an older couple on board. At KP74 there was a big sandbank just under the water, noticeable by the fact that the water was flat, no ripples, until the downstream edge where the water flowed over the edge. At the start of a long right hand bend (KP72.5) big slow turning whirlpools in the spaces between two of the groynes were visible due to floating dust and debris on the surface from hay turning. Our speed shot up to nearly 5 kph as we went on to the next bend, passing the other side of the village of Bosse at KP72. Only about 300 metres from where we were on the river on the other side of Bosse at KP75. A young couple in a canoe with four small children in lifejackets went paddling past. At KP71 a big W series of bends started before Eilte. 

Moored below Hademstorf lock

I made some lunch. A couple in an inflatable boat with an outboard motor went past heading downriver, indicating to Mike that there was another big sandbank. Yes, thanks, we could see it and as we carried on round the bend the WSA had marked it with a series of red cones. We passed under the second river bridge since Verden at Eilte, where there was a little landing stage and a welcome sign. The three metre wooden staging would not have held the weight of one narrowboat let alone two, OK for canoes. Further upstream there were fishermen with tents and big stacks of beer crates, fishing German style. At KP66 the river stopped its big meanders and the flow reduced to 3.7 kph. There were groynes all along the right bank as we did a long right hand bend. Yet another canoe went past. At KP59 we were overtaken by a small wedge shaped cruiser and not long after that two more cruisers went past heading downriver. It was getting very hot again. At KP58 we passed a tall stork’s nest atop a big pole with three young ones stood on the top. Below them was a small bird of prey, which looked like a merlin, that was poking about in the twigs of the nest and several other small birds were flying round. Did the merlin also have a nest in the ground floor of the stork’s nest or was it robbing the nests of other residents? Two more canoes came downriver and stopped in the calm between the groynes - for a fag break! Took photos of the cable ferry at Eickeloh, which had a bell to summon the ferryman, where he would have come from wasn’t at all clear. It seemed to have just a track either side of the river, so maybe it was for the farmer’s cows? The river Aller was off to our left and we kept on towards the lock on what was once the river Leine and was now the lock cut, except the flow was still in excess of 3.8kph until we reached the lock. The wedge shaped cruiser was moored in the middle of an old flat-decked barge that formed the waiting area below Hademstorf lock and the Snail just had room for bows on the barge and big metal posts driven into the riverbed for tying the stern to. We moored alongside. It was 6.10 pm.

Monday 8th July 2013 Verden KP113.5 to Rethem KP82 R. Aller. 30.9 kms, no locks

Mooring for passing boats on R.Aller at Verden

Hot and sunny with a light breeze. Mike went on foot to the supermarket to get some bread and lemonade, then he took the key for the water back to the guy in the workshop and asked him if he could dispose of some used engine oil, which he did. We set off at 10.05 am following Snail back out into the flow, heading upriver on the Aller. 

Sunbathing cows. Westen

We passed a medium sized cruiser going the opposite way (but decided that he must have set out from the yacht club, gone upriver then turned round and we’d seen him on his way back to the club). I made tea and toast then mended two tears in the canopy of our sunshade. Mike was glad when I’d finished as his arms had started to burn and he’d had to roll his shirtsleeves down. He put the sunshade up and the echo sounder out on the roof so we could see how deep it was – or wasn’t! And he set the GPS to give us our speed. When I sat out there was 1.7m of water under our bows (where the echo sounder’s transponder is) and we were travelling with engine revs set for 8 kph in still water and were doing around 

Muddy marks indicate flood height.

4 kph against the flow of the river. Lots of bends and lots of birds. A stork flapped lazily over the river behind us. A couple paddling a canoe downriver looked amazed to see us. As the numbers dropped below 100 (KP99) just before the town of Westen, there was a herd of cows sunbathing on a sandy beach. In the town there was a little offline harbour with several small boats moored and a little further on there was a ferry, which was either used rarely or out of use. Just around the next bend was an old wagon on the bank with a high water muddy mark halfway up it, which indicated that they have some serious floods here of between two and three metres over the current levels. I made some lunch. 

Oystercatcher searching the sand between groynes

Mike killed a picture-winged bloodsucker, so out came the heavy duty insect repellent with deet. I’d already got two bites on my arm and Mike had one on his back. Oll called on the radio to get Mike to take a look at some large grey animals in a field with his super binos, as he couldn’t make out what they were. They looked like large sheep with curly horns, white with black legs (some were entirely black) and they had been recently shorn. Egyptian geese were grazing the edge of a meadow and then a few Canada geese (we hadn’t seen any before in Germany) as we came into the town of Hülsen. Around the big bend the speed dropped to 2.7 kph – the river was flowing at 5.3 kph.

Two storks in a nest at Donnerhorst

 There were chalets on top of a high tree-covered bank on our right before we came into the middle of the town and there were stone groynes sticking out into the river from the left hand bank. An oystercatcher was busily feeding along the sandy beach between two groynes around KP92. A big flock of Egyptian geese were grazing with a herd of cows at KP91 and one goose had a new brood of about half a dozen little goslings. Around the bend we met five young lads with three inflatable boats tied together, paddling gently downriver. Between KP91 and KP85 the river flows around bends that resemble a letter N on the map. Travelling West then East the first 180° bend really knocked the speed down and we kept seeing a distant wind farm from different angles. Not long before the next 180° bend and we were travelling West again. Two youths were fishing on the apex of the bend, sheltered from the sun by a huge tree. 

Moored in the WSA haven at Rethem

Our first exposed sandbank came into view around KP 85.5, at first we thought it was wind blown debris then we could see where the wind had formed little ridges in the sand. It extended out halfway across the river! Note that one on the map, to avoid when coming back downstream. A tractor towing a hay turner was kicking up clouds of dust that drifted across the river like fog. The first road bridge across the river since Verden came into view. Snail had already turned into the WSA haven at Rethem and moored to some vertical posts along the bank edge and we turned right into the basin and moored alongside them. There was one small WSA inspection launch called Aue moored in the haven – and us. It was 5.55 pm.