Harbour

Armentieres

Name: Armentieres
Address: Bois-Grenier, FR
Telephone: +33 6 08 76 53 47

Bois-Grenier, France

Maximum length: 15 m
Maximum draught: 1.2 m

Small Lys river halt near Armentières in Hauts-de-France, ten berths with 1.2 m of water, used by canal cruisers on the cross-border route between France and Belgium.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach along the canalised Lys. Maximum draught 1.2 m, so keep a close eye on the echo sounder in low-water periods. No lock in the immediate vicinity of the halt, but upstream and downstream reaches are regulated by VNF. Banks are low and grassed, with mooring bollards. No tidal constraint this far inland.

Practical

Ten berths alongside a pontoon. Water and electricity on the quay when the halt is staffed in season. Shops, bakery and supermarket in the centre of Armentières, roughly 3 km away. Train station on the Lille to Hazebrouck line for crew changes.

Ashore

Town centre of Armentières at about 3 km, with the Église Saint-Vaast rebuilt after 1918 and the belfry listed as UNESCO world heritage. Forêt de Nieppe starts 8 km west for walking. Deûlémont junction of the Lys and the Deûle at 3.1 nm NE for a short day cruise.

History

Armentières was a linen and textile town destroyed during the First World War and rebuilt in the 1920s. The Lys became a front line in 1914 to 1918 and the song Mademoiselle from Armentières made the town familiar to British soldiers.