After two days on the road and exploring Carcassonne, the moment we had been waiting for finally arrived: it was time to board our boat and begin our journey along the Canal du Midi.
We left Carcassonne, stocked up on provisions and drove to Castelnaudary, where our boat awaited us beside the vast waters of Le Grand Bassin.
Preparing for life aboard
Before reaching the marina, we stopped to buy everything needed for the journey ahead.
Planning meals for a boating holiday always involves striking a delicate balance. We needed enough food and wine to sustain us between villages, but everything still had to fit inside the boat’s relatively compact cupboards and refrigerator.
With the shopping completed—and considerably more supplies than two people could reasonably require—we continued towards Castelnaudary.
Arriving at Le Grand Bassin
Our starting point was Le Grand Bassin, an impressive expanse of water on the edge of Castelnaudary.
Created as part of the Canal du Midi, the basin once served as an important commercial port. Today, its broad waters provide a striking contrast to the narrow canal channels that would define much of our journey.
At 11.00 am, we arrived at the base, completed the formalities and were introduced to our temporary home.
After a boat handover, safety briefing and explanation of the controls, it was time to unpack. Bags disappeared into cabins, food filled the cupboards and bottles were carefully secured against the inevitable bumps ahead.
Just a Minute: the Canal du Midi
Construction of the Canal du Midi began in 1666 under the direction of Pierre-Paul Riquet.
Completed in 1681, it created a navigable route through southern France, connecting Toulouse with the Mediterranean. Together with the River Garonne and the Canal de Garonne, it helped establish an inland passage between the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Its construction required an extraordinary network of locks, aqueducts, bridges and reservoirs. Riquet’s greatest challenge was supplying the canal with sufficient water—a problem addressed through an innovative system drawing water from the Montagne Noire.
The Canal du Midi became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Our holiday therefore took place during the thirtieth anniversary year of that recognition.
One minute—and more than three centuries of remarkable engineering.
Learning a new boat
However experienced you may be on the water, every hire boat behaves differently.
The steering responds differently, the engine has its own character and stopping distances are generally discovered through a mixture of instruction, judgement and mild alarm.
We familiarised ourselves with the controls and checked the equipment before preparing to leave Le Grand Bassin.
Ahead of us lay an ambitious first cruise: approximately 16 kilometres from Castelnaudary to Bram, taking around five and a half hours and passing through 18 locks.
It was certainly not the gentlest possible introduction.
Leaving Castelnaudary
With everything aboard, we started the engine and eased away from the base.
Months of research, route planning and anticipation had finally become real. We were no longer merely discussing a Canal du Midi holiday—we were navigating it.
The broad waters of Le Grand Bassin gradually gave way to the canal itself. Plane trees, towpaths and the landscape of southern France surrounded us as Castelnaudary began to disappear behind the boat.
There was little time to become sentimental.
Our first lock—and another 17 after it—was waiting.