It was clothes washing day, so after an early breakfast I found the closest laundromat and washed and tumble dried the four days worth of dirty clothes. The chore finished I walked up to the medieval city to have a final look around, with fewer tourists. Check out was at 11am, so I had a bit of time. There are many more pictures from the ramparts of the medieval town at the bottom of this post.
After remarking to the receptionist that there were far too many tourists, to which she agreed, I set off on 25km day at around 11am walking out of the new town before hitting the canal. The path was very narrow, shared by walkers and cyclists, so I had to step aside every time a cyclist passed by.
The first boat I saw was a tourist boat full of people sailing out to the first lock. I caught up with them as the lock was being emptied and they sailed 200m down river, turned around and then experienced the lock filling up again.
After Carcassonne the canal took a northward arch, before reaching Terbes after about 14km. The original canal did not pass through Carcassonne as it does today, but the route it followed was prone to flooding. A new section was inaugurated in the 1810 including a new double lock and aqueduct over the Fresquel canal. The Fresquel locks consist of a double lock followed by a single lock, 123m further along the canal, where the new canal rejoins the original canal.
It was a pleasant day, dirt paths, great views of the surrounding landscape with many vineyards, many locks, but only 5 boats, and 2 of them during the last kilometer. So not super busy after the May 1st closure. I met a large group of school children that cycled past me. Pretty much all of them said “Bonjour” as they passed.
A few kilometers before Terbes, I passed Rode bridge, one of the original bridges crossing the canal dating from 1680. At Terbes I took a break at one of the numerous cafes lining the canal and across from the port with many boats docked ready for rental – the river must be packed if all the boats I saw along the canal and ready to be rented out, are actually rented out.
I continued towards Marseillette, and passed a triple lock shortly after Terbes. There wasn’t a lot to see as I passed through a section with rock along the northern side of the canal. At one point the canal and river Aude run within a few meters of each other. A barge passed me, it is amazing to see these massive boats sail on the canal – far more impressive than the rental boats.
It was not a very eventful walk and I made good progress towards my B&B just outside Marseillette, arriving just before 4pm. I walked the kilometer from the village to the B&B, only to find a sign on the door, saying open but first from 5pm. I walked back into the village, found the villages only bar and had a beer, watching the locals and canal du midi cyclists take a break, some of them recharging the batteries on their electric bikes.
I walked back to the B&B and was shown to the pink room. Dinner was at 7pm. There was a set menu for 25euro. It was, as they proudly boasted, food their grandmother made, and was excellent, mostly locally sourced, including rice from an ancient now drained lagoon just outside the village. There were several cyclists staying as well – travelling in both directions.
Pictures from the ramparts at Carcassonne Medieval Town
