FRENCH WATERWAYS ❘ CANAL DU MIDI
“ WE SPOTTED HERONS AND WHITE EGRETS AND ENJOYED THE SWATHES OF VINEYARDS AND SUNFLOWERS EXPANDING BEYOND THE BANK”
Leaving Homps, in Aude, we were to cruise slowly up toward Le Somail and back again. Just 40 minutes away from Carcassonne, Homps is a cute little village whose port is lined with olive trees and a couple of restaurants. Here is also one of Le Boat’s many departure bases on the Canal du Midi. With over 50 years of experience, Le Boat provides self-drive cruisers of all shapes and sizes, allowing entire families to stay on board one boat for their holiday. Indeed, our party of ten ladies was split across two Horizon 5s, but these huge beasts can easily sleep ten people who are happy to share the five spacious en-suite cabins.
After a safety briefing and a half-hour lesson on how to drive, stop and moor the boat, we began our navigation. These boats don’t go over five knots per hour (roughly the equivalent of 6mph) so the pace was wonderfully relaxing, allowing us to enjoy the scenery along this historic canal. Built in the 17th century, it fulfils the remarkable feat of linking the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, via the Canal Latéral à la Garonne. Construction was ordered by Louis XIV in 1666 and supervised by Pierre-Paul Riquet, whose name made the history books thanks to the construction. The Canal du Midi, which is listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO, is considered to be one of the oldest functioning canals in Europe. Used for ferrying merchandise at its inception, it is now mostly enjoyed by tourists. We were not the only hire boats out that day. Though it was quite early in the season (the Canal du Midi usually operates between April and October), we had to queue at our first lock approaching Argens-Minervois. The Canal du Midi is quite well
The all-woman crew take to the waterways
known for its interesting locks (check out Fonseranes’ nine consecutive locks) and on our first day alone, we were treated to a double lock and a very pretty, oval-shaped one into which our two boats squeezed alongside a third.
OF WINE AND BOOKS Cruising the canal is the epitome of chill. We waved as cyclists and joggers overtook us on the towpath, spotted herons and white egrets, enjoyed the swathes of vineyards and sunflowers expanding beyond the bank and even bought some honey from a lock-keeper with a side hustle. We took turns steering the boat and some of us made great skippers while others preferred (wo)manning the ropes at the locks. Most importantly, there was plenty of time to sunbathe, read a book and take photos.
The best part of the day? Mooring up at a lonely pontoon only to discover steps leading to a wine estate in a stunning 17th-century château overlooking the waterway. We had in fact just stumbled upon one of the homes of Monsieur Ricquet, who built the canal – Château Paraza was built in 1615 and housed the architect for the duration of the works. It has been a family-run domaine for the last 16 years, with 71 ha of vineyards. “We are big among the little domaines and small among the larger ones,” said Lucille, who runs the estate with her brothers and mother.
66 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Oct/Nov 2023
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