Every great adventure begins somewhere.
Ours began at 3.50 am, when Chris and Adam woke to discover that they had overslept for a planned 4.00 am departure.
After months of preparation, carefully calculated timings and detailed holiday planning, we had allowed ourselves precisely ten minutes to get out of bed, load the final bags and begin driving to France.
It was an impressively chaotic start to our Canal du Midi adventure.
Ten minutes to departure
The alarm—or our response to it—had not gone entirely according to plan.
Our intention had been to leave home at 4.00 am, giving us ample time to reach Folkestone for our 6.20 am LeShuttle crossing.
Instead, we woke ten minutes before departure.
What followed was less a calm beginning to the holiday and more a hastily choreographed evacuation. Clothes were pulled on, bags were checked and anything not already packed immediately became somebody else’s problem.
Somehow, we got on the road.
Crossing to France
With the first crisis narrowly behind us, we reached Folkestone and boarded LeShuttle for the short journey beneath the English Channel.
The crossing marked the real beginning of our holiday. Britain disappeared behind us and, within approximately 35 minutes, we emerged in Calais with an enormous drive still ahead.
Our destination was Carcassonne—around 700 miles away in southern France.
Calais to Carcassonne
Leaving Calais at approximately 7.55 am, we began the long journey south.
The drive would take around 12 hours, carrying us almost the entire length of France. It was a demanding way to begin a holiday, but it allowed us to bring everything needed for more than a week aboard—including, inevitably, considerably more than we were ever likely to use.
Motorways replaced canals for the day as we travelled from northern France towards Occitanie.
The landscape gradually changed around us. The flatter scenery of the north gave way to the warmer colours and increasingly distinctive character of southern France.
Every mile brought us closer to Carcassonne—and to the Canal du Midi.
Our first sight of Carcassonne
After a journey of approximately 700 miles, reaching Carcassonne brought an enormous sense of relief.
The medieval fortified city dominates the surrounding landscape, with its walls, towers and hilltop position creating one of the most recognisable views in France.
Our Airbnb was situated just outside the city walls, placing us within easy reach of the historic centre while giving us somewhere comfortable to recover from the drive.
After beginning the day in a ten-minute panic and spending most of it crossing France, we had finally arrived.
The adventure begins
Tomorrow would be devoted to exploring Carcassonne properly.
For tonight, simply reaching it felt like an achievement.
The Canal du Midi was waiting, our boat would be ready in Castelnaudary in two days, and more than a week of locks, villages, vineyards and waterways lay ahead.
Our journey may not have started with exemplary timekeeping, but the adventure was now firmly under way.