Provence, Canal du Midi and More

[Jacques Vert]

Narbonne: Another delightful city in southern France.

Narbonne was where we arranged to rendezvous with the other two crew members for our trip on the Canal du Midi. It is a base for "Le Boat" where we were to board our home for the next two weeks:





First some photos of Narbonne:






There are the uncovered remains of the original Roman road:





And another of those painted flat walls:

 

[Jacques Vert]

There's always a cathedral, this one was more impressive than I expected from the outside:







With an impressive organ:

 

[Jacques Vert]

I understand that Narbonne has the only bridge left in France that has houses/shops on it, the Pont des Marchands:



The red and green lights control traffic under the bridge and into the lock a short distance the other side. Two red means the bridge is not in service (for example, before 0900); a red and green as in this photo indicates to "get ready" and a green means you can pass under the bridge and enter the lock.


Walking across the bridge:






And a shot of the Canal at night:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Narbonne is actually on the Canal de la Robine which together with the Canal de Jonction form a branch that heads south-east from the Canal du Midi to enter the Mediterranean Sea at Port-La-Nouvelle. We decided to first head south-east to the Med.

After leaving Narbonne:









The boat company takes you through the first lock; this was the first on our own:



Only a small one as was the second:

 

[Major]

Do you keep to the left or right for passing traffic ?

 

[Jacques Vert]

As you approach the sea you pass between a number of lakes:






The TGV travelling just a tad faster than us:




And heavy traffic, canal style:




A typical bridge with lock immediately behind:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Looking at that bridge/lock from the other side:



And we bumped into these fellow again:

 

[ellen10]

Oh Wow! We have looked longingly at the Le Boat hire on the canal. Envious lots!
What size boat did you hire?
I will look forward to your thoughts and photos along the way.
Taking note of your accommodation in Montpellier. We will be there next July.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Oh Wow! We have looked longingly at the Le Boat hire on the canal. Envious lots!
What size boat did you hire?
I will look forward to your thoughts and photos along the way.
Taking note of your accommodation in Montpellier. We will be there next July.

I forgot to mention that the rooms at the apart'hotel in Narbonne were a little on the small size, about the same as a Hotel Ibis plus a kitchenette.

Our boat is a 12m Caprice. Fine for the 4 of us however if you can get one of the newer boats with a bow thruster, that would be good thing especially if you are light on experience.

We've also noticed that most of the Le Boats are quite knocked around and looking tired. Generally, the Nicolls and Locaboats appear newer and better maintained. However, the most important consideration is the location of the bases relative to which part of the canal you plan on cruising and, of course, transport options to/from the base(s).

 

[Jacques Vert]

Port-la-Nouvelle:

A small fishing port at the end of the Canal de la Robine. Canal boats are not allowed to enter the port and must moor in the canal; therefore there is no access to electricity or water.

We did have a nice meal at the Hotel near the bridge just to the right of the edge of the first photo), after which we had intended to walk to the beach/seaside (about two km). However an approaching thunderstorm forced a change of plan and we quickly hurried back to our bateau and headed back towards Narbonne. There are three locks between Narbonne and Port-la-Nouvelle so this was a good opportunity for us to perfect our lock technique before heading for the Canal du Midi.









Another of those painted flat walls:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Do you keep to the left or right for passing traffic ?

You keep to starboard (your right) as you do on water in Australia (and everywhere else AFAIK).

 

[ellen10]

I forgot to mention that the rooms at the apart'hotel in Narbonne were a little on the small size, about the same as a Hotel Ibis plus a kitchenette.

Our boat is a 12m Caprice. Fine for the 4 of us however if you can get one of the newer boats with a bow thruster, that would be good thing especially if you are light on experience.

We've also noticed that most of the Le Boats are quite knocked around and looking tired. Generally, the Nicolls and Locaboats appear newer and better maintained. However, the most important consideration is the location of the bases relative to which part of the canal you plan on cruising and, of course, transport options to/from the base(s).

Thanks for the information. I will pass it on to the other half. My husband does do some sailing, but that type of boat we would be light on experience. But we have always looked at them longingly especially on the Canal du Midi.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Heading back to Narbonne the storm caught up with us.



We discovered that our boat had numerous leaks: water leaked into the windscreen wiper motor and shorted it out so that the wiper worked very well on a sunny day but only for about 2 minutes during rain. There were three more leaks in the main cabin (the bucket and paper towel came in handy) and a major leak in the forward cabin resulting in our friends' bed and sheets being wet. Added to this, the demister didn't work, the 12V power outlet didn't work, neither did the oven (of course the microwave only works when you are connected to mains power), and the hatches can't be locked.

As we couldn't see very far thanks to no wiper nor demister, we made slow progress that afternoon and moored for the night just downstream of the second lock, Mandirac, as the locks had closed for the night. Not a bad option as there is a pub/cafe/restaurant adjacent to the canal immediately downstream of the lock. I went to check it out, returned to collect the rest of the crew, and the rain started again; so we decided to stay on board.

Next morning we headed back to Narbonne to arrange some repairs (which didn't fix anything) and we stayed the night to charge our electrical toys, fill up with water, etc.

Entering Narbonne from the south:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Heading north from Narbonne you have 3 locks on the Canal de la Robine then cross the Aude river to enter the Canal de Jonction. Then there are another 7 locks before you reach the Canal du Midi. 10 locks in total, and a long lunch: a busy day.









Time for lunch at Salleles-d'Aude:








Starting to get a little busier:






Adjacent to the next lock after Salleles-d'Aude heading north are the ruins of a Roman pottery factory, Musee Amphoralis. Quite an interest spot; sorry, no photos.

 

[Jim Walsh]

Curious as to how much work each lock is ?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Curious as to how much work each lock is ?

As I have a lot of boating experience, I will ask +1 to answer your question from the viewpoint of a novice.

 

[Gem56]

Curious as to how much work each lock is ?

Many things to consider. Much easier with 4 or more people; size and design of the boat; whether you have a bow thruster or not; going down is less tiring than going up but you need to be careful as you go down so that you don't get yourself "hung up" by your ropes - this caused me a bit of stress in our last lot of locks. 7 to 10 locks per day is sufficient, however we did 17 (all going up) in the one day and we all felt the effect of that the next day. We saw many boats with only 2 people and it was hard work, especially for those with little experience (many hands make light work).

 

[Jacques Vert]

Arriving at the junction:




We turned right and headed towards Beziers. Not far from the junction we found a lovely spot to moor against the bank for the night. You drive in a couple of stakes and tie up, open the bottle of vin and relax.

 

[Gem56]

These beautiful "Plane Trees" are planned for removal as they have a fungal disease. They're chopped down and burnt on site in a huge hole and then covered over. The authorities expect that most of the 42,000 trees will need to be removed. Such a shame. Research has been carried out and a couple of species have been planted in lots of spots along the canals, however they're not sure how they will cope with the Canal du Midi environment. These are being monitored for 10 years. The removal started 10 years ago, however I'm not sure how the monitoring is progressing. We've since been told that they were planted under the instruction from the King of France over 300 years ago, probably closer to 350 years ago. These trees give the canal the character that draw the hundreds in.







View attachment 80978

 

[Gem56]

The removal of these trees is clearly being strategically actioned so as to not remove great stretches of them and leave huge empty areas. From the tourist's view, it certainly seems to be an enormous job.