lock keepers' houses, a tourist asset in development along the towpaths

Ten years ago, the Somme department launched the Somme Valley, Ideal Valley program. A program aimed at developing seven lock houses along the Somme and developing an attractive tourist offer. While some are now well anchored in the local economic and cultural landscape, others are struggling to emerge.

At the bottom of the Bay of Somme, it is between the lock and the railway line that we find Christophe Marie, a nature lover busy painting. Owner of the lock keeper's house and the La Canoterie estate, he has lived in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme for around ten years. “We are in the process of redoing a whole gable, he explains to us as he repaints a wooden shutter white. It was painted seven years ago so everything has to be redone. Takes a little courage. We have just closed the restaurant for the season. We are taking the opportunity to do a little renovation and expansion.“

We met him when he started in 2018. He had just rented this small lock house from the Department. A site that he wanted to develop by building a restaurant next to it. From now on, the establishment is open during the tourist season and Christophe has become the owner. He is now working on creating a lodge. And don't run out of projects or ideas. “The lodge will be completed this winter. So there will be the lodge, the restaurant, a brazier area outside and soon, there will certainly be a natural swimming pool. It is a space that can be privatized. We have some work to do for the years to come!“, he smiles.

Expand the area but also extend onto the water. The business leader thinks bigger. This summer, he completed the construction of a wooden boat. It offers guided walks between the estuary and the Picardy coast. “We will find ourselves against the tide for 45 minutes then find ourselves at the stall in the middle of the bay“, he explains to the tourists seated in the motorboat.

For 1h30, passengers admire the local fauna. Birds fly over the boats fishing for shrimp while the seals play hide and seek with the boat. A wonder for visitors of the day. “We went to the sea. We breathed the sea air. The seals came to say hello to us, says Jacques. It was a mother with her babies. Little gray seals. It was splendid. We were really in the middle of nature, disconnected.”

“It's super nice and pleasant and it allows you to see Saint-Valery-sur-Somme differently, from another angle and I find that great“, adds Valentine sitting next to Jacques in the boat. Beautiful compliments which reinforce the idea of ​​extension of Christophe Marie who does not refrain from installing houses or floating lodges in a few years. In Saint -Valery-sur-Somme, the lock keeper's house seems to be on the right track. But elsewhere in the department, other buildings along the river are encountering more difficulties.

Because although these old buildings have a certain charm, they are sometimes a little cramped. Even if it means weighing on activity. This is the case of the lock keeper's house in Ailly-sur-Somme where Jérôme Deliens set up his cycle sales and repair business last June.

This bicycle and scooter professional chose to rent this lock keeper's house for its location on the towpath. But after a few months of activity, it is clear that this is not enough. “As soon as you enter the store, you can see that the space is limited, he explains. We organized things as much as possible. But being able to offer bikes for sale is complicated. I put some outside. But when it rains, everything has to be brought in and the space is no longer accessible.“
The room measures exactly 14 m². Despite an attractive rent of €100 per month, Jérôme made the decision to leave. “My sales have declined and so have my turnover. So I had to find a bigger place.“

This manager is not the first to make this choice. Two years ago, the Nièvre Somme community of communes which occupied the premises moved a few kilometers away, to Picquigny.

The site is also a former lock keeper's house which is now owned by the com de com. Forgotten the 14 m² of Ailly-sur-Somme. The new tourist office is four times larger. “It is absolutely not comparable, shows us Gwendoline Brazier-Duval, the director of the Nièvre Somme tourism center. There, we really have space to be able to put furniture and welcome the public and offer them a break with a little snack. We often welcome completely soaked cyclists who stop here for a coffee before hitting the road again.“

Since the installation in Picquigny in 2022, attendance at the Nièvre Somme tourism center has doubled. Last year, 4,500 people stopped here, the majority of them cyclists. Bringing local heritage back to life was also the objective of elected officials. “Moving to Picquigny allowed us to develop activities such as sculpture workshops for often local families and to set up concerts during the summer period which take place under the large lime tree.“, lists Annick Lemaire, vice-president of the Nièvre Somme community of communes. Next project: the development of unusual accommodation on the ground.

There doesn't seem to be a shortage of ideas in Lamotte-Brebière either, a stone's throw from the city center of Amiens. The lock house, unoccupied for two years, has just found new tenants. Two restaurateur friends who, in mid-November, returned to their future workplace for the first time since signing the lease.

“We could put the tables there, shows Céline Gayant. And chairs here. The fridges will go in this corner“. Both know what they are talking about. Hervé Novak did fast food in Doullens. Céline Gayant managed a bar in the Saint-Leu district of Amiens for years.

So for this new investment, the project is already well put together. “There will be waffles and pancakes in the afternoonsays Céline. People can come and have a little coffee. Fishermen for example. And in the evening, we plan to organize small concerts for the weekends. And inside, there will be exhibitions that we will organize.”

If they chose this establishment, it is also and above all for the exterior. Hervé, who will be in the kitchen, already has his food truck which will be parked on the grounds of the lock keeper's house. He planned to develop an unpretentious menu, using local products. But above all, he wants to create a warm atmosphere here. “We are in an age group, after 35, where we no longer find a place in the area where we can come and have funhe notes. There, we are eight minutes from Amiens. We are relocating. We have a tavern. People can come by bike. They can come on foot. I find it a magical place. And then we don't bother anyone if there is a little noise. We don't have any neighbors.“It’s also what attracted his partner, a regular visitor to the place.”I knew the lock keeper's house in operation. For years, I have had a crush on this place. And every day, I come here to walk my dog!“

With the reopening of Lamotte-Brebière in the spring, the six houses in the valley managed by the department should be occupied. Ten years after the launch of the redevelopment program, the public authorities say they are satisfied. “The primary objective is to pace and sequence the route of the towpath, explains Cédric Berquez, director of the energy transition mission in the Somme department. And to allow the user and in particular the cyclists who use the Véloroute Vallée de Somme to very regularly find a range of services that is as homogeneous as possible. And to be able to access sanitary facilities, catering, accommodation, bicycle repairs, cultural activities, tourist information.“

A service offering that the Somme department wants to highlight in its tourist offering. Ten years ago, the first calls for tenders for the Somme Valley, Ideal Valley program launched in 2016 were issued. While around fifteen lock houses dot the banks of the river, eight are part of this program. Apart from those of Saint-Valery and Picquigny which have been bought by the current occupants, the six are rented for six to eight years: €100 the first year to reach a full rate rent from the fourth year.

And it is in this logic of promoting the ideal Valley that for several weeks, signs have been popping up along the Véloroute.

Two signs were installed in front of the Picquigny lock house, renamed, like the other lock houses, the Ideal Valley relay house. “The interest is that there is visual coherence between all the lock houses along the Somme, explains Gwendoline Brazier-Duval, the director of the Nièvre Somme tourism center. We find the Department logo on one panel and on the other, the list of all the services offered by the lock keeper.“

In Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme, Christophe Marie received his two plaques from the President of the Department. “It is a communication tool for the Department, recognizes Stéphane Haussoulier, but it is also a tool which makes it possible to make the project leader known so that those who would like to do something of this type elsewhere know that it is the Department that they should contact. Today, with our administrative complexity, people no longer know who they should contact.“

Ten years after the start of the program to renovate lock houses along the Somme, these places have become or are about to become centers of activity. The department does not intend to stop there. Soon, a small lock house in Corbie will also be rehabilitated and transformed into a tourist office.

Edited by Jennifer Alberts/FTV