I left the B&B just as the door bell rang. The man at the door had hit a parked car, and the car belonged to the owner of the hotel. I beat a hasty retreat, unfortunately into the rain.
Before leaving town I visited the church that totally dominates the skyline – so much so, that later in the day, I could see it from in front of the Cathedral in Beziers, 22km away. I was surprised that it was so sparse inside, nit least as it was earlier the Bishop of Narbonne’s summer residence.
Yesterday’s torrential rain fall had left the paths muddy and slippery. The paths out of Capestang were very narrow and lined with grass, so it didn’t take long before I had wet feet. My umbrella was in use a few times as showers came and went. Luckily a few kilometers into the stage, the path turned into a wider stone path.
I took pictures of the boats today, to get an ad hoc impression of the countryside I am walking through. The canal is elevated in relation to the countryside and this gave some great views. I passed through the picturesque village of Poilhes.
13 kilometers after Capestang, I arrived at the Malpas tunnel. ‘Le Malpas’ (meaning ‘bad passage’ in Occitan dialect), enables the Canal du Midi to cross a hill that separates the Aude and Orb valleys. For the canal to pass through this hilly area, Pierre-Paul Riquet needed to dig out a 160-m-long tunnel. This is the oldest navigation tunnel in Europe. Part of the tunnel passes through a soft stone that has eroded over the years, creating a special visual effect.
I gingerly walked down the steep steps to the tunnel entrance and waited for the lady in front of me to take pictures before walking along the tunnels narrow tow path. A number of loud birds lived in the tunnel and were not too happy about somebody walking through. I continued towards Colombiers, meeting a lady walking from Narbonne, and stopped for a drink in the small town, with yet another large church.
In the afternoon the sun broke through the clouds and it turned quite warm. The centre of Beziers lies high above the surrounding landscape and I could see its imposing Cathedral from afar.
On the outskirts of Bezier, there is an information centre for the canal. As todays stage was only 22km and I had plenty of time, I went in and saw a 20 minute film on the history of the canal. It was interesting, not least to see some of the older pictures and films from the canal.
The info centre is across from the remarkable Fonseranes staircase locks, with no fewer than 8 lock chambers. From Toulouse, the Canal du Midi arrives in Béziers with a 54-kilometre-long canal pound (section without locks). Therefore the canal remains at an altitude of 31.5 metres for the whole section. But at Fonseranes, the canal needed to suddenly lose 25 metres in altitude to reach the Orb river. For the canal to cross this huge height difference and reach the Orb, an extraordinary lock was built, following the example at Castelnaudary, where there are four locks. Construction work on Fonseranes locks began in 1667 and was completed in 1680.
It is an impressive, 315 metres long and covering a total height difference of 21.18 m, making it the biggest staircase lock ever built in France. In 1856 an aqueduct was built over the river Orb, and since then only six chambers of the original lock are used if you continue to sail along the canal. The seventh and eighth locks can still be used to follow a different route. Unfortunately I didn’t see any boats sail along the aqueduct, which is 242 metres long, seven meters high with seven arches. It is seventeen metres wide with a towpath on either side.
In the afternoon I walked around Beziers, the birthplace of Pierre Paul Riquet, with its many beautiful buildings. It is one of Frances oldest and best preserved towns, dating from 575BC.
The Cathedral, which sits high above the town, is was very impressive and the view in front even more impressive, not least now that the sun was shining.
Saint Nazarus Cathedral dates from the 13th century, after the original Cathedral was burnt down in 1209 during the wars against the Cathars.
It was a very pleasant days walking with great views along a very open stretch of the canal as well as taking in the engineering feats of the tunnel, 8 chambre lock and the Orb aqueduct.
