Monday 7^th September

We left Frontignan at 7.10am just before sunrise. There was no wind and visibility was excellent, just the morning to cross the Etang de Thau. Even with no waves and clear vision we had some difficult spotting the marker post that indicate the route to the other end. We knew we must avoid the oyster beds and we kept them to our right as we headed south. By 9.40am we had reached the other side of the Etang and the entrance of the Canal du Midi. We spotted a hotel boat leave Marseillan and enter the canal ahead of us. Unlike the Rhone hotel boats that we can never keep up with, the hotel boats on the small canals move very slowly. Progress was slow and after waiting an hour at the 3 way round lock at Agde we decided to stop at Vias. In the afternoon we walked down Vias plage which is full of holiday camps and fast food restaurants.

 

Entering the Etang de Thau at sunrise

Half way

Oyster beds

Entrance to the Canal du Midi

Off the Etang and its still calm

The start of the canal du Midi
Hotel boat ahead

Motorised bath tub for hire

Moored at Vias

Vias Plage

Wednesday 9^th September

We stayed at Vias yesterday and walked into the main town. Not exactly a hive of activity but it did have a supermarket. Today we moved 7.5km to Villeneuve les Beziers. We planned to take the bus from Villeneuve to Beziers tomorrow. We got a timetable from the tourist office but no one seemed to know where the bus stopped. We eventually found the bus stop after ½ hr walking round town. In the evening D. goes and helped a hire boat moor up after it had hit the tourist office boat twice and a private cruiser once. It was an English group on board the men seem offended that they needed any help the women were just glad they were safely moored up after going round in circles several times.

 

Passage du Libron built in 1857 allows the river Liberian to cross the canal

Canal du Midi with trees

Villeneuve les Beziers

Thursday 10^th September

Change of plan. We thought we would ascend Fonserannes staircase on Saturday when hire boats will be back at base, but storms are predicted for that day and we don’t want to tackle it in wind and rain. So we headed off early this morning for Beziers. We thought about stopping at the port in Beziers but it looked a bit rough and we continue through the last lock before the staircase. The lockkeeper started the lock sequence before we had moored up. We did get one rope attached but had difficulty keeping the boat stable as we went up 6 meters. We arrived at the staircase in time for the last morning ascent but because of the trouble at the last lock we needed a rest and decided to go up in the next session at 4pm when we will be first in the queue.

At 3.45pm, 15min ahead of schedule, the staircase lights go green.  We are not ready to move and the hire boat behind tries to jump ahead of us. We tell him to wait as we need to enter the lock first. He followed in behind us and we went up the 7 locks together. The French group on board the hire boat are in fine form entertaining the large crowd and hooting the horn frequently. The ascent is well organised and it only takes just over ½ hr to reach the top. We moor for the night in the same place we moored 5 years ago in a hire boat.

 

Lift bridge before Beziers

The Fonserannes Staircase

A few people to watch you make a mistake

Filling the lock ahead

Safely moored at the top 

Friday 11^th September

We had planned to take the tourist train into Beziers but D got the time wrong, we were an hour early so walked instead. As we were having coffee in one of the main squares a fire engine and several emergency vehicles arrived. We could not see what the emergency was but they manage to snarl up the traffic in the centre of Beziers for at least 45minutes.  After a walk round town we had an excellent lunch, 4 course including coffee for 17 euro. The whole meal came together on one plate. Just like on an airplane you might think but it was a thing of beauty and tasted delicious so not at all like an airplane meal.  

Pont Vieux Béziers

Cathedral St Nazaire

Flower market in Beziers

Orb valley

St Nazaire

The first Fonserannes lock is broken 

School trip boats arrive. 

Sunday 13^th September

Saturday was very windy with gusts up to 75km/hr and we stayed put. Black clouds swirled around us and there was thunder and lightning but no rain. There was heavy rain in the Herault valley and canal du midi closed at Agde because of flooding. We also hear that the canal de Garronne has been closed since the 1^st September because 400 trees blew down in a storm. This is where we are heading.

Today we moved to Capestang and at first had to moor well before the port as it was full of hire boats, many stopped for lunch. We walked down the quay to see if anyone was moving soon and a friendly New Zealand group on a hire boat were happy to wait for us to bring Tesserae up before leaving so we could have their space. In the afternoon we walked around the town to find a festival in progress. A trad jazz band and a comic acrobatic duo on a trapeze were very entertaining; unfortunately we had not taken our camera.

 

We could do with one of these to repel hire boats

Moored at Capestang

Capestang 5 yrs ago
The trees have gone so has D's youth!

Puddle stone making it through Capestang bridge

A hotel boat just making it through the bridge

Why haven't we got a jazz band on our back deck?

Wednesday 16^th September

We stayed three nights in Capestang and were entertained by the hire boats and hotel boats negotiating Capestang bridge (and each other!). It is one of the lowest and narrowest bridges on the French canals and it is at an odd angle. Today it is our turn to go through the bridge. D worked out there would be a foot space between the top and either side of our wheelhouse and the bridge. We left early to avoid having spectators and had no problem getting through. This section of the Canal has no locks so we quickly travelled 22km to Le Somail, another touristy town on the Midi, and moor up before lunch.

 

Leaving Capestang

The colour scheme for our next repaint

More diseased trees are cut down

This boat won't get through Capestang bridge

Le Somail

Friday 18^th September

Yesterday we stayed at Le Somail and sheltered from the high winds. Today we travelled to Agen Minervois and went through our first lock for over a week. The lock was ready for us and the helpful lock keeper took our ropes, something they don’t usually do on the Midi. Agen Minervois has a whole section with new mooring posts where the plane trees have been cut down.

 

Argen Minervois

Same view 5 years ago

Saturday 19^th September

The Midi locks have curved basins and the bollards are placed to suit 2 hire boats each side and are not in the right position for our longer boat. Our first lock of the day is a double and we have difficulty getting a line attached. No help from this lock keeper and even with longer ropes our mooring lines only just reached. At the next lock, also a double, helpful passers by took our lines. Only 35 more upstream locks and many have two or three chambers, we need a better technique!  After the third lock we stop at Homps. Mooring is free for 24hrs and we take the opportunity to do the laundry and fill up the water tank. Tomorrow there is a Vide Grenier (car boot sale) mostly these are full of rubbish only fit for the tip but they are always very popular.

 

The lock won't open because of too much water. Time to call the boss

Homps

Sunday 20^th September

Stalls were being set up next to the boat from 6.30am. D walked past them to get bread. He did not spot any bargains in fact he thinks he some of the junk he has seen before in other towns. We travelled only 6km this morning, to La Redorte. We were looking forward to lunch at the quayside restaurant but an Australian who lives in the town advised us to avoid it as the kitchens are disgusting and no locals ever go there. In the afternoon we met a New Zealand couple who are on a great cycle trip from the Channel to the Med. They had enjoyed lunch at the restaurant, ignorance is bliss.

 

Le Redorte

Monday 21^st September

Liz and Roger have arrived from the UK and are staying in a local hotel. We arranged to meet them after the first lock of the day. Usually we can arrange with friends where to meet or when to meet but not both. This time we got the time and place spot on. Liz and Roger joined us on our journey along the canal. They were excellent crew; we managed 2 double locks before lunch. After lunch we set off to tackle the triple lock at Fonfile. There are 9 boats ahead of us waiting to go up and it takes 3 hours to reach the top. Our longest wait ever. There were many more boats behind us hoping to get up that day. We moored at Marseillette and Liz and Roger cycled back for their car before dinner. We have a jolly meal on board before our guests returned to their hotel.

 

Roger helping us to moor up

more trees bite the dust

Marseillette

Tuesday 22^nd September

There is another triple lock at Trebes today so we leave early to get ahead of the queue. We arrive in Trebes at 11.00am. Several boats moored with us at Marseillette are not such early birds and had to wait several hours to ascend the triple lock. One boat with an American group on board are on a tight schedule and are worried about the delays. They will follow our example and leave early tomorrow. In Trebes is Chris on Catch 22 a solar powered boat that we last saw at Chalon en Champagne in 2012. It is remarkable he has made it this far on solar energy alone. In the evening we have a meal out at a local fish restaurant with Liz and Roger who have spent the day sightseeing in Carcassonne.

 

The queue at Trebes

Trebes lock

Fish supper with Liz and Roger. Yum

Wednesday 23^rd September

We are not very good in the mornings but it is not usual for D to nearly fall over as he gets out of bed. It took a minute or two realise that Tesserae had a sharp list to starboard, we were aground, the water level in the canal had dropped by over half a meter. Chis appeared as D was trying, unsuccessfully, to refloat Tesserae. He says the lock keeper has left one of the sluices open overnight. Many were aground, one hire boat has its stern is caught up on the quay.   By 7.45am the water level had risen slightly and we were afloat again and by 9.45am we think there is enough water in the canal to leave. We pass the Americans who were hopping for an early start but they are still firmly aground. We take things very slowly watching the depth gauge closely hoping to stay afloat. A hire boat came up behind us travelling much faster and tried to push past but there is not enough water at the sides of the canal and his bow swings into our stern. L managed to push them off and told them off (they won’t try that again!). Luckily at the first lock there is no room for the hire boat and we will not be travelling with them. After the first lock the water levels are back to normal and we made quick progress to Carcassonne before lunch. We decided not to stay in Carcassonne as we spent several days stranded there in 2010 when the Icelandic volcano stopped all flights. We travel a short distance to a rural mooring by a Gite Chris told about. A large supermarket is a short walk away, across vineyards so we restocked the larder.

 

Americans hoping for an early start but firmly aground

More trees go

Carcassonne

Louisa last seen ion the Thames in Mapledurham 

Gite mooring outside Carcassonne 

de Ancien canal

Thursday 24^th September

We travel with 2 hire boats to Villesequelande. We normally only have one other boat in the lock with us and 3 boats is a tight squeeze. We will need to get the paint pot out and paint over the scratches when we reach our destination. Paul and Sue on Lady Sue are moored at Villesequelande.  Lady Sue is another Piper boat that was with us in Reading in 2012 before we left for France. They are travelling with Alec on a wide beam canal boat. They always travel together as Alec is single-handed and moors to Lady Sue in the lock rather than on the side. They never have any hire boats in with them, as they are too big. This sounds like an excellent plan. In the evening sat on the bank with them and swapped news and gossip over a few glasses of wine.

 

3 boats is a bit of a squeeze

Moored at Villesequelande with Lady Sue

Saturday 26^th September

Yesterday we stayed at Villesequelande and walked into town to see the oldest elm tree in France called Relais de Sully, it survived Dutch elm disease. We had lunch at a very rundown restaurant on the main road. We were the only people there, the food was ok but the owner reminded L of Jaws from the James Bond films, we will leave that to your imagination! Today we travelled to Villepinte. The locks are becoming more frequent but there are fewer boats and we seem to have worked out a good system for mooring in them. We stopped at a very peaceful rural mooring with no other boats in sight.

 

The oldest elm tree in France

Early morning at Villesequelande

The Canal with and without trees

Rural mooring at Villepinte

Sunday 27^th September

We made an early start and reached the first lock at 9am. Most of todays locks were ready for us as we arrived and had helpful lock keepers. We passed a lot of boats going in the opposite direction. They have left the hire boat base at Castelnaudary and their inexperience is obvious. Luckily we don’t have to go in a lock with any of them. This is a lovely section of the canal du Midi with views to the Pyrenees. We moored just above the triple lock at Viviers and plan to arrive in Castelnaudary tomorrow morning.