Harbour

Base Nautique Arques Plaisance

Name: Base Nautique Arques Plaisance
Address: Arques, FR

4.6Arques, FranceOpal Coast and Bay of Somme

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Type: Harbour

Inland waterway halt at Arques, Pas-de-Calais, on the canal network near Saint-Omer and the Audomarois marshes.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Access by canal only. The ascenseur à bateaux des Fontinettes, a disused boat lift, stands at Arques alongside the current lock that replaced it in 1967. Air draught and lock dimensions typical of the Freycinet gauge.

Practical

Eight berths on pontoon. Basic services, around 11 euros a night. Arques town centre is about 1.5 km away for shops. Saint-Omer and its full services within a few kilometres.

Ashore

Marais audomarois, a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere reserve, extends just north of Arques with waterways open to small craft. La Coupole, a former V2 launch site turned history and space museum, stands 5 km south.

History

The Fontinettes boat lift was inaugurated in 1888 to raise vessels more than 13 metres between two canal reaches. It stayed in service until 1967, when a single large lock replaced it. The hydraulic lift building is preserved as a technical heritage site.