Ever since we watched
Prunella Scales and Timothy West barge (sometimes literally!) their way along parts
of this famous French canal, with plenty of pause for thought as we observed
how they dealt with Pru’s dementia, we’d been determined to give it more than
our customary sideways glance as we travelled along a road that ran near it
over our years of travelling in France.
And now, here we were,
within almost spitting distance of its final stretch before it enters the Med
near Cap d’Agde – how could we not make an effort to go and have a look, and
explore the tow path?
We decided to make an
initial exploratory stab at working out how best to get to it from the
campsite, as there was no agreement between Google Maps, the advice at
reception, and a cycle tour map we had picked up en route. This was not perhaps
one of our more successful trips by bike, as the most direct route to access
the tow path involved what could only be described as some challenging off-road
dirt tracks that tested our little folding bikes (and Mrs B’s patience) to the
full, as Mr B had asserted (we never did find out on what basis) that it would
be an easy cycle path, surely…
So although we did find an access
point near the town of Portiragnes, the unplanned mountain bike section and the
thunder and lighting with belts of heavy rain on our way back to the van somehow
took the edge off our first foray! Still, we now knew we could get to and from
the Canal in about 30 minutes, leaving us with a decision to make about whether
we should head west to Béziers, or east to the Med… Either way, our visit to
the lock and bridge at Portiragnes had whetted our appetite, so long as we
could pick some more reliable weather and avoid that off road section…
Once we had reviewed the
weather heading our way, and the ramping up of the temperatures closer to those
of the Middle East than the Med, we decided that the longer we left it, the
hotter and more challenging the ride would be. Which is why, just a couple of
days after our initial exploratory ride, we were mounting up once more and
heading off (on the non-off-road route) towards Béziers, having decided that
the ‘9 locks of Béziers’ (compared to the Caen Hill locks of Devizes) would be
an interesting visit for our first adventure along the towpath.
This canal really is
something! Linking the Atlantic and the Med (with a bit of help from the
Garonne river near Toulouse) it runs for about 240km end-to-end. Started in 1667
and finished in 1681 it is famous, amongst other things, for having almost 100
locks, 130 bridges and being lined with shade-giving plane trees along its
banks. Unfortunately, as we discovered, many trees have been cut down to manage
a wilt infection and although there is a replanting scheme that has been
underway since the disease was discovered in 2006, there were many sections on
the short stretch we rode that have nothing more than some very large but
shade-free stumps lining the banks.
The ride provided plenty to
look at with some very different boats than those we might see on a British
canal;
A floating tourist office;
A cunning rising bridge that
could be lowered to allow trucks from a massive pump factory to cross the
canal;
An impressive aquaduct that
carries the canal over the river Orb at Béziers;
Some amazing canal-side
buildings;
And of course the 9 locks;
And although it turned out
that there were only 7 locks (since the aquaduct had made two of them
superfluous) they were indeed impressive, with the very deep lock chambers
emptying and filling at a rate of knots, aided no doubt by the very efficient
electro-hydraulic system operated remotely by the single lock keeper!
We knew there was a
café/restaurant at the locks and we had decided when we paused to rest at the
tourist office at Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, that we would ride on and eat a bit
later than we had planned. Not one of our better decisions that, as the
café/restaurant was one of those over-priced and underwhelming places that can
crop up when there’s nowhere else for miles.
And so, saving a visit to
the nearby failed ‘water slope machine’ (where French engineering prowess of
the 1980s was thwarted by gravity and the giant tractor unit was unable to push
barges up a 5% incline)…
…we decided to track back to
Villeneuve-lès-Béziers for a late lunch. Except, it’s France and yet again we
had forgotten that in the south, between 2.00 and 5.00 nothing much moves, or
is open (except, oddly, a pharmacy!) and so we made the return trip with
rumbling tums and amazement at our own forgetfulness! Luckily, we were fine for
water as the canal has a number of fresh water taps dotted along the path and
so, hydrated but starving, we got back to the campsite in time to get a fresh baguette
from the second daily bake, and we collapsed into a well deserved late lunch or
early dinner!
At 25 miles the trip was a
proper adventure and although a bit further than Mrs B had anticipated, not
enough to deter her from subsequent folding-bike adventures! Given that almost
all the other bikes that passed us were full-size wheels, and most of those
electrically assisted as well, we felt pretty chuffed to have managed it,
especially as the temperature only got to 34 degrees!
It was a great day out and
with so much more of its length to explore, we started to kick around the idea
of maybe one day finding a secure park up and hiring a small boat for a few
days on a subsequent trip. You never know…
S&J
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