Canal of Two Seas (2003 / text version / englisch)

Canal of two Seas (2003 / text version / englisch)

From the Basin of Archachon to Langon

We were coming from Montepellier via Bordeaux by train. Biganos, near the basin of archachon was the starting point of our tour to the mediterranean sea.

On new made cycle paths along the road you come from Biganos to Mios. When you come to the first traffic light in town, the further cycleway is already signposted : "Piste Cyclable Mios – Bazas". We follow the signposts and reach soon a cycleway on an old train route. This path leads us for about 50 kilometres through a pine forest via Belin-Beliet, Hostens und Saint-Symphorien to Uzeste. In Uzeste we leave the cycleway and continue on the D222 towards the north, cross the D3 and follow the D222 to Langon.

From Langon to Marmande

We leave Langon on the CD15/D224 and cycle through St-Pierre-de-Mons to Castets-en-Dorthe. Here the Canal Latéral á la Garonne starts. We will follow him till Toulouse.

The Canal Latéral has connected the Canal du Midi with the atlantic sea since 1856. The Canal Latéral is 200 years younger than Canal du Midi is. Because of his late origin the Canal Latéral has never reached the economic significance of the Canal du Midi. Today the Canal Latéral is mainly used by free time captains.

From Castets till Marmande we have always tried to use the "Treidelpath" along the Canal. But in the morning it rained a lot, so the paths were unusable. Because of that, we had to use the road.

Till up to Mazerac we stay on the riverside road at the Canal, then we cycle up the street to Castillon-de-Castets and follow the D224 via Fontet and Hure to Meilhan-sur-Garonne.

After leaving Meilhan we change the riverside at Gravieres and cycle on the D143 via Bernes to La Grande Route. From there we continue on a cycleway till Marmande. This cycleway runs the D933, a road with much traffic. Between Canal and Garonne are about 4 kilometres. In the valley of Garonne is a lot of agriculture. Mostly fields of maize and vegetables.

Frome Marmande to Agen

On the D933 we leave Marmande and take the first possibility to bend left. Then we cycle on quiet streets and pass Cousan, Chaineuf and Pourichon. When we reach Fourques-sur-Garonne we get back on the D14, which we follow till Caumont-sur-Garonne. We stay on this (northern) riverside and cycle on in direction of Varennes. We pass Larriveau and change the riverside at Mas-d'Agenais. Later we leave the town on the D143. Soon we bend left and continue on the D234, which leads us till Lagruère. We cycle to the Canal and continue on the street - which runs parallel to the Canal – to Bout de la Côte. There we change on the other riverside, cycle to St-Juin and continue till les Barthes (D300). At the floodgate 42 La Gaule in St-Christophe we change the riverside again. We follow the D300 till Damazan. This is a good place for making a stop and take a look at centre of Damazan.

After that we continue on the D108 to Buzet-sur-Baise - cross two bridges, firstly over the Canal, secondly over the Baisse – and then we reach Thouars-sur-Garonne soon. The next kilometres we follow the course of the Garonne. We leave Thouars on the D12. Two kilometres after Ménéaux we bend of to cycle via le Paravis, la Garcine (D436), Bequin and la Gaule back to the Canal Latéral. On the other riverside we cycle via Coloumé to Brax (D119). Shortly after Brax we leave the D119 and continue our journey till Cadrougne. Then there are 4 floodgates next to each other before we arrive at the bridge Pont-Canal-d'Agen.This Bridge is 580 m long, 20 m wide and has 23 arches. The Bridge leads over the Garonne. We have reached Agen.

From Agen to Moissac

We cycle through the rain down to the Garonne. Then we follow the N21 and bend off to Boe and take the road through woods and grassland till Le Passage. There we cross the Garonne and cycle on a quiet side road to Sauveterre-St-Denis (D308). We travel on to St-Nicolas de la Balerme (D284), pass St-Sixte (D12) and finally we reach Donzac. There we bend off, cross the garonne and cycle through Lamagistère and Golfech (nuclear power station) in direction of Valence-d'Agen. In Valence we bend off to the canal, we pass him and try to use the towpath on the southern shore. There is lots of gravel and loam and because of the rain we have to cycle slowly. Parallel to the canal there is another canal with coiling water – coming from the Garonne - for the nuclear power station.

At the floodgate Petit Bézy we give up the struggle with the rain and the mud and take the N113 to Moissac. When we reach Moissac at last the rain stops. We have saw an abbey of the 11th century and stand on a swing bridge called St-Jacques, which crosses the canal in the centre of Moissac.

From Moissac to Toulouse

It rains again. We cycle along the canal and leave Moissac to cross the river Tarn on the Pont-Canal du Cahor. Unfortunately the path is in a bad condition, so we leave the towpath and take some quiet roads past the N113 and the motorway. We pass Notre-Dame d'Alem and go on to Castelsarrasin. Again the path along the canal is too muddy for tourers. Between St. Porquier and Montech we have to take the N113, because there´s no alternative.

From Montech we cycle on the D50 to Montbartier. We follow the canal till Lapeyière and continue to Dieupentale. On side roadswe cycle to Grisolles. Then we take the D49 and the D17 to Ondes. After a short trip on the D29 we meet the canal again and we cycle on a asphalted towpath, which will lead us till Toulouse. The path is called "Parcours Cyclable du Canal Latéral à la Garonne". Along the canal we travel to the centre of Toulouse to the Ponts Jumeaux. At this point the Canal Lateral, the Canal Midi and the Canal Brienne – a lengthening of the Garonne - meet each other in a bassin. We follow the Brienne to the Garonne and to the bridge St. Pierre. After that we see the huge Place du Capitole, which is worth-seeing. Even when it rains, you should have seen Toulouse.

From Toulouse to Villepinte (Castelnaudary)

From now on we cycle along the Canal du Midi, which will lead us to the Mediterranean Sea. 1667 the foundation stone of the Canal du Midi was laid. 1681 the official opening took place. 15000 workers were involved in the construction, who were lead by Paul Riquet, the initiator. Riquet died before the canal was finished.

Near the railway station of Toulouse we get back on the cycleway, which leads us – along the Canal du Midi – to the harbour of Lauragais. After 5 kilometres we leave Toulouse behind us. Just after we change the side of the canal, where we stay till we reach Lauragais. In the near of the canal theres is the "Autoroute des Deux Meres". At the harbour Lauragais you can visit a small museum, which shows the technology, the history of the Canal du Midi and the achievements of Riquet. To get to the exibition you have to change the side of the canal and after that you have to cycle back to the last bridge.

Soon we come to the Col de Naurouze (190 meters), that's the point riquet chose as watershed of the canal. Till the floodgate "Ocean" the floating point is in direction of Toulouse, after the floodgate the canal runs to the Mediterranean. Riquet constructed ring canals to use the watersprings in Naurouze, but also to control the huge amount of water. In honour of Riquet an obelisk was built.

Back at the floodgate we change the riverside. It's late, when we arrive in Castelnaudary. This evening we didn't find a hotel in Castelnaudary. So we have to go to a hotel in Villepinte which is 10 kilometres away. There we had a excellent cassoulet with duck.

From Villepinte from Carcassonne

We cycle back to the canal. Till we reach Carcassonne, we stay on the left riverside. Here the cycleway varies a lot. Sometimes the path is narrow, sometimes wide and first there is gravel and then there is loam. On our way to Carcassonne – which we will reach midday - we pass 8 floodgates.

The canal leads through the middle of town. Across the harbour with the floodgate there is the railway station. We cycle through the pedestrian precinct past the town hall. In front of the Pont Vieux - which leads us over the Aude – you have a beautiful view of the Cité, located above. This old town has its origin in the third century. Nowadays it belongs to world cultural heritage. In the end of the last century the old town was restored. A doubled circular wall saves the castle Comtal, the basilica St. Nazaire and lots of small houses with countless (souvenir-) shops. The houses are located in a maze of small places, narrow streets and alleys of the old town.

Also the new town is worth a look. There the houses are located in a square grid. Right in the middle of the centre there is the Place Carnot, with lots of cafes, where you can have a drink in a nice atmosphere.

From Carcassonne to Les Somail

We leave Carcassone on the right riverside till we reach Trèbes. There is a cycleway and in places there are pines lined up near the canal. Here the bridges are very old and mostly there is only room for one ship. The locks are frequently multistaged.

At Marseillette we change thre riverside again and cycle to Puichéric and the floodgate of Aiguille. The lock keeper also works as sculptor. Some of his wood-sculptures stand around the floodgate. We have to change the riverside again.

After La Redorte the canal crosses the river Argentdouble. Here you also find the construction, that looks like a bridge but was built in 1693 for high water protection.

In Argens-Minervois you can smell wine in the air. Grapes from the whole region are brought to Chatteau. The grape harvest is on its summit.

In the late afternoon we reach Le Somail, one of the four post offices in earlier times, which were used for mail ships between Agde and Toulouse.

From Le Somail to Beziers

Shortly after we have left Le Somail, we come to the floodgate Cesse, which seperates the Canal Robine from the canal du midi. The canal Robine leads to Narbonne and at Port Nouvelle in the mediterranean sea. But we stay close to the canal du midi.

It's the time of grape harvest. Meanwhile most of the vine is harvested by machines. Near of Pigasse we had the chance to see a traditional grape harvest with hands and scissors.

We pass Capestang and Poilhés till we reach the Tunnel Malpas, who was built because of the canal. The tunnel is 170 metres long and underlines the peculiarity of the canal. We cycle over the tunnel - which means we go over the hill- to the other riverside.

Soon we reach the multistage lock stairs Fonserannes. From this point you have a nice view of Beziers and its cathedral St. Nazaire.

We go on and cross the river Orb on the worth seeing canal bridge. After a short climb we are right in the middle of Bezier, the native town of Paul Riquet, the initiator and architect of the "royal canal of Languedoc". That was the name of the canal till the french revolution takes place.

A wide alley is named after Riquet, who reminds us a little bid of the ramblas in Barcelona. In the centre of Beziers the town put up a statue for Riquet. The business life takes place in small streets. The alley Riquet is especially for sauntering.

From Beziers to Étang de Thau (Onglous) and to Mediterranean Sea

The last stage of our tour takes us down to the river, where we cross the canal at the floodgate of Beziers. At the next floodgate, called Portiragnes, the canal becomes more open, because the riversides don't have as much trees as they did before. We pass the Ouverages du Libron, a construction to save the people from high water, located on the crossing of the canal and the river Libron.

Soon after that we reach the circular floodgate of Agde. We leave the canal and cycle into Agde. For the last piece of the canal our cards don't show a towpath, so we have to look for another way to reach the end of the canal.

We cycle through Agde on the D51 and keep us directed to Marseillan. At the end of Agde we can see the railway underpass. We bend off to the right, where a small road lead us past St. Michel and Les Mongeres to Etang de Thau. Now you can see the destination of our tour: the lighthouse Onglous. We cycle in the direction of Onglous, we are back at canal du midi and soon we stand on the other side of the canal at the lighthouse.

From here the mediterranean sea is not far away anymore. In Marseillan-Plage we reach the sea definitely and also the real destination of our journey. We cycled 650 kilometres from the atlantic to the mediterranean sea. From Toulouse till Marseillan we pass more than 60 floodgates on a length of 240 kilometres. We also have pleasant memories of the numerous bridges across the canal or the ones, which the canal needs by itself. If the statements of the canal are true, we cycle along over 40.000 "Platen", cypresses and pines, but we really have no doubt on that.

(Author: Rainer Benthaus / Translation: Jonas Benthaus)