L'Avenir - cruising Europe's inland waterways

We are now basking in beautiful autumn sunshine in the town of Moissac (yet another town on the Compostelle Trail-have just been asked if we are pilgrims!!) on the Garonne. Well, to be precise, Moissac is on the River Tarn but, since Toulouse, the canal has been following the River Garonne and the two rivers meet here. The Canal du Midi became much quieter after we left Castelnaudary as the bulk of the hire boats cruise between there, Carcassonne and Buziers. That is the most picturesque section of the Midi but also the most hard work, particularly climbing upwards towards the summit as we were. What a relief to get there - I need new gloves for next year; the ones I've been wearing are now full of holes from hauling on ropes. We spent one night on the summit pound where there is a lovely, shady park with a magnificent avenue of plane trees and an obelisk to commemorate engineer Pierre-Paul Riquet who conceived the idea of a canal linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean a...

Carcassonne Just watched a couple on a hire boat almost swept off the top of their boat as they attempted to negotiate one of the low, awkwardly angled bridges on the Canal du Midi. This canal is probably the most well known of France's waterways and is easily the most popular. A word of advice - if you are new to boating perhaps choose a different canal. The Midi is a marvel of engineering which means, amongst other things, there are lots of locks. Not only single ones, but doubles, triples, quadruples and even a staircase of 6 at Beziers. This staircase is a tourist attraction and is lined by crowds of onlookers watching the fun (on the UK canals they are called 'gongoozlers'). Beziers staircase locks with 'gongoozlers' Hire boats in the staircase locks with us- Beziers Looking back from the top lock - Beziers The sheer number of hire boats means that the lock keepers pack as many boats as possible into each lock but even so, during the holida...

Capestang As I write I am looking through the bridge hole of the famous Capestang Bridge. And an exceedingly small bridge hole it is too. I say 'famous' but really only to canal travellers. The dimensions of this bridge have caused thousands of words to be written on forums and blogs (and yes, I'm aware I'm adding to them), diagrams drawn and boats measured and modified. The burning question being 'will we fit through?' Judging by the gouges and scrapes on the underside of the arch the answer to that in some cases was, 'not quite.' Anyway we shall see how we go later today. We've given l'Avenir as low a profile as we can by taking off the windscreen and lowering the navigation frame, canopy and mast. The only thing left we can do is duck. (Speaking of ducks the ones around here must be the noisiest in France. Perhaps it's not hunting season here as yet.) La Maguellonne Since my last post we have travelled through yet another co...

This year's dawdling pace (we're attempting to time our arrival on the Canal du Midi with the departure of most of the hire boats) has meant that we have spent more time sightseeing and generally relaxing than in previous years. We have also discovered that local public transport is often incredibly cheap and comfortable and so we have made a few side trips. For instance, a trip to Nimes from Aigues Mortes by air conditioned coach (about an hour) cost us just over a euro. If we'd caught the train it would have been a euro. The train to the beach at Le Grau du Roi similarly cost a euro although we decided to cycle along the canal instead. The canal from Aigues Mortes  runs right down into the sea at Le Grau du Roi passing on its way through the pink tinged salins (salt pans). There has been salt harvested here since 400 BC and there are large gleaming white hills of salt outside the city walls. Le Grau du Roi. End of the canal and the beginning of the sea. Le ...