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CYCLING THE CANAL DU MIDI
by Declan Lyons
2 POLICE SQUARE, MILNTHORPE, CUMBRIA LA7 7PY
About the Author
Declan Lyons brings a lifelong passion for cycling and touring to this guide. He was bitten by the bug when, as a teenager in the 1960s, he explored the wilds of Connemara on a rusty three-speed Rudge bicycle. Since then he has toured extensively in Ireland and further afield. He’s cycled throughout France, including regular trips from the Channel to the Mediterranean.
Declan’s home in Portiragnes is a few hundred metres from the Canal du Midi. He has spent the past two decades exploring its history, culture and wildlife by bike – accompanied by his wife, son and fellow enthusiasts.
© Declan Lyons 2017
Second edition 2017
ISBN: 978 1 85284 784 5
First edition 2009
ISBN-10: 1 85284 559 7
ISBN-13: 978 1 85284 559 9
Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. Contains OpenStreetMap.org data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA. NASA relief data courtesy of ESRI
This guide is dedicated to the memory of Tom O’Driscoll – friend, colleague, runner and cyclist.
Updates to this Guide
While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk/784/updates), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time.
The route maps in this guide are derived from publicly-available data, databases and crowd-sourced data. As such they have not been through the detailed checking procedures that would generally be applied to a published map from an official mapping agency, although naturally we have reviewed them closely in the light of local knowledge as part of the preparation of this guide.
We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful for help from very many people for their suggestions and advice in the preparation of this second edition. Special thanks are due to Mr Jean-Marc Pougnet, the Head of Public Relations Unit with the French Navigable Waterways. My wife Mary and son Oscar accompanied me on parts of the route and I thank them for their support and encouragement throughout this project. Thanks too to the many people who contacted me and gave useful feedback and help on various aspects of the route. Tim and Mary Hoyle have given valuable information and insights gained from their cycles in the region, while Timo and Isabella Langerwerf from Relax Rentals in Béziers keep me up-to-date with the constant changes and developments along the canal’s length. Thanks too for the help, guidance and support of the Cicerone team of Jonathan and Lesley Williams, Sian Jenkins, Georgia Laval, Hannah Stevenson and Andrea Grimshaw.
Front cover: Le Somail (Stage 4)
CONTENTS
Getting there and getting around
Health and safety
Weather
Maps
Money and communications
Using this guide
Stage 1 Toulouse to Port Lauragais
Stage 2 Port Lauragais to Carcassone
Excursion 1 From Criminelle lock to St-Ferréol reservoir
Stage 3 Carcassone to Homps
Excursion 2 From Trèbes to Lastours
Excursion 3 From Homps to Minerve
Stage 4 Homps to Béziers
Excursion 4 To Narbonne and Port la Nouvelle
Stage 5 Béziers to Sète
Excursion 5 To Vendres salt lagoon
Excursion 6 Across Portiragnes marshes to Sérignan
Appendix A Stage planning tables
Appendix B Accommodation
Appendix C Useful information
Appendix D English–French glossary
Appendix E Further reading