wintering on the canal in Northern France.

[lilianroyle]

We are thinking that we might leave our boat in France at the end of the summer, and take it through the canal system to the med via Paris in the early new year (we did this before but via the Seine). This time our plan is to leave it somewhere in Northern France on the canal system accessible by train from London. The canal marinas are generally cheaper, so we are wondering if any of you can recommend anywhere on the canal system within easy reach of Calais/Lille, that is reasonably secure (ours is not a boat obviously worth breaking into) and which would be a pleasant enough place to spend the occasional autumn weekend. I had thought about maybe Lille itself or Amiens. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
best
Pete

 

[Grehan]

Two suggestions, both on the Oise river/canal, although they're quite a bit south of Calais/Lille
http://www.french-waterways.com/waterways/oise.html
PK18 Pont l'Eveque
PK10 Cergy

Back north, there are a number of smaller possibilities on or just off the Escaut Liaison
http://www.french-waterways.com/waterways/liason-grand-gabarit.html

The Guide du Plaisancier is updated annually and has details, telephone numbers, etc.
http://www.french-waterways.com/resources/guides-pilot-fluviacarte.html