Planes (trees), trains and bicycles...

Saturday 17th May 2014





[caption id="attachment_764" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Good morning![/caption]

Ok, enough of the dilly dallying and resting, anyone would think we were on holiday!....time to get back on the trail... Salleles d’Aude, on the canal de la Robine was our starting point....then up to the canal junction, down to Beziers, a train back to Narbonne and a cycle back to Salleles d’Aude. In all about 60kms...on the hottest day so far!

Today has been one of our best days, the views have been stunning and the canal  itself has had many twists and turns adding to the sheer beauty of it all.

[caption id="attachment_767" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Leaving Salleles D'Aude[/caption]







[caption id="attachment_771" align="aligncenter" width="640"] What a place for a wedding![/caption]

The church at Capestang can be seen from a long way off as it stands so proud from the town, however, it is deceiving as you cycle along. one minute you think the town is just around the corner  and your coffee stop is imminent, and the next, as you turn the corner, it is a long way off....if you look at a map of the canal at this point you will see why...it really is very wriggly, with many U turns, so, it may be 12kms as the crow flies (a deceiving signpost we saw) but in reality its much further. When we eventually did arrive there, we decided to cycle into the town and find a very much needed coffee. We had a very pleasant surprise ....a lovely town with a central square filled with cafes and bars, people chatting and an old couple sitting together on a bench watching the world go by.





[caption id="attachment_772" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Coffee[/caption]

All too soon it was time to leave and resume our cycle. The path has been a real mixture today, at times its been wide and fairly reasonable, at others its been so narrow....really only the width of the bike tyres with very tall grass either side...(unfortunately, BT was bitten by a nasty horsefly that was lurking in the grass...nothing that our Zap-it and a plaster can’t fix!) and at one point the track was so close to the canal...actually falling into the canal occasionally, we had to get off our bikes and carefully push past the danger spots! ....neither of us want to take a bath in the canal...the water looks pretty filthy!

[caption id="attachment_778" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Sleeping on the job![/caption]



[caption id="attachment_775" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Along the way there are exercise routines to follow[/caption]

We have noticed along the way that many of the 42,000 plane trees that line the canal have been removed. It has left the banks looking very bare indeed and the path very difficult to negotiate. It has become apparent to us that a lot of them are dying...many actually dead and others clearly looking poorly. Apparently, they have some kind of disease...we have asked several people about it and there seems to be a variety of thoughts as to how the fungus has arrived here and how it is spread amongst the trees. When the canal was built, the trees were planted for several reasons, the main one being for the roots to eventually stabilise the banks, which they clearly have done, also, to provide much needed shade in the summer months. We feel that the trees are very much a part of the canal du midi and, and although, in some places, they have been replaced with young specimens, it could be many years before the canal looks as we all imagine it to.













[caption id="attachment_785" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Lunch stop[/caption]

Beziers is a large sprawling city on the banks of the canal du midi and the Orb river. Apart from being able to see the huge abbey from a long way off, the first thing that you come across is a staircase of 6(?) locks. They are hugely impressive and a popular tourist attraction. We saw many barges and boats waiting to ascend or descend the locks. We have been told that if you plan to traverse these locks you need to allow a day...the commercial boats have priority, so even if you’ve been waiting for several hours and a commercial barge happens along, you have to let them go before you! As we watched, this happened to some poor guys who had clearly been waiting a long time...a very large tourist barge...barged its way past them and into the first lock of the staircase....it was, according to the boss and the one who knows...(BT) fantastic boat driving!

[caption id="attachment_786" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The staircase of locks at Beziers[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_787" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Great boat handling[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_788" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Beziers[/caption]

At last we located the train station, eventually got onto a train headed for Narbonne, full of young families (no real room for our bikes) and whizzed past the countryside we had just cycled through. We are always amazed at how far we have actually come and how long the train takes to get to our original starting point...it really doesn’t always feel that far!...but we give ourselves a pat on the back for doing so well!!!

Once back in Narbonne, the journey wasn't over, we still had 11kms to cycle back to Bluebelle.... As we were almost back to the van the canal joins the river Aude for a short period, and the path becomes very unclear. We knew we had to get across the river, somehow...the choice was either return to the previous village...not a thought we relished as we were now feeling tired...OR cross a disused railway bridge...not something I (Billy) relished either....we chose the railway bridge, which meant ascending a stone buolt rampart up to the bridge, squeeze through a very tiny gap in the fencing...placed there to keep people like us out (with may signs telling us of our impending death should we decide to trespass)and cycled over the river...I did not enjoy this experience at all....high above the river, large gaps in the supporting structure either side, and rusting footplates!!!

[caption id="attachment_809" align="aligncenter" width="427"] The sign warned of certain death!![/caption]

We made it back to Salleles D’Aude..all in one piece, very hot and incredibly dusty. A celebratory and well deserved beer was just what we needed. Fortunately, there was a bar just next to where we were parked, so we popped in there for our refreshments. Having seen the food as it arrived on various tables around us, we decided that we would head back to the shower at Port Minnervois...just a couple of miles up the road ...and then return for some dinner.

On our return, clean and fresh, we met a lovely English couple and their daughter...John, Jane and Sophie....who were sitting at the table next to us. Well, this was one of those moments in life when things take a new turn, new opportunities open up and friendships are kindled. We spent a very pleasant evening chatting...discovering that John and Jane had a Dutch sailing barge that we had seen in the dry dock at the end of the village ...BT had obviously stopped to photograph it...

[caption id="attachment_810" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The beginning of a new adventure![/caption]

which was where we had also decided to stop for the night. So, with the boating connections (love) and their obvious love of travel...they have spent 8 years and 11,000 miles, in their barge travelling the canals and rivers of Europe… (take a look at their website www.lifeatanangle.com) we hit it off straight away...and Sophie, 3, and I made great friends! John and Jane were staying on their barge tonight so, very kindly offered us coffee in the morning if we would like....who could refuse??