After several days measured in locks, ropes and aching arms, today offered something increasingly unfamiliar: uninterrupted cruising.
Our journey from Le Somail to Capestang covered approximately 22 kilometres without a single lock.
It promised to be one of the most peaceful stages of our Canal du Midi adventure—although Capestang’s famously challenging bridge ensured that the day would not be entirely without drama.
Leaving Le Somail
We left our mooring beside Le Somail’s historic bridge and gently returned to the canal.
The village had provided everything we hoped to find along the Canal du Midi: beautiful surroundings, a strong connection to the waterway’s history and enough time to appreciate both.
Now, the Mediterranean was drawing closer.
Without any locks ahead, there were no opening times to consider, ropes to prepare or chambers to negotiate. We could simply follow the canal eastwards towards Capestang.
A day without locks
Lock-free cruising changes the rhythm of a boating day.
Instead of repeatedly stopping and starting, we could settle into a steady pace and enjoy the landscape unfolding around us.
The Canal du Midi wound through vineyards and open countryside, passing beneath bridges and avenues of trees. Villages appeared beyond the towpath before gradually disappearing behind us.
After working through 51 locks since Castelnaudary, the absence of them felt almost suspicious.
There was still plenty to occupy the person steering. Hire boats appeared around bends, cyclists and walkers followed the towpath, and the canal’s narrow bridges demanded careful positioning.
Nevertheless, it was wonderfully relaxing to travel for several hours without anybody needing to climb ashore carrying a rope.
The changing Canal du Midi
This section of the canal revealed another side of Riquet’s waterway.
Locks may be its most obvious engineering features, but maintaining a navigable level across 22 kilometres is itself an impressive achievement. The canal follows the contours of the landscape, curving through the countryside rather than cutting directly across it.
Travelling slowly allowed us to appreciate how carefully the route had been constructed.
Every bend, embankment and bridge formed part of a system created more than three centuries ago—and one that continued to carry us towards the Mediterranean.
Approaching Capestang
Our relaxed journey became rather more focused as we approached Capestang.
The village is known among boaters for its low and narrow stone bridge. Its curved arch leaves little room for error, particularly for larger hire boats with raised windscreens, canopies or enthusiastic crew members standing in precisely the wrong place.
We checked that everything above deck was lowered or secure and lined the boat up carefully.
This was not a moment for sightseeing.
With a steady hand on the controls—and the sort of collective silence that only occurs when both Chris and Adam are concentrating—we passed beneath the bridge.
Clearance was limited, but boat and bridge emerged unscathed.
Arriving in Capestang
Safely through the bridge, we found our mooring and stopped the engine.
Capestang grew as an important settlement beside the Canal du Midi, although its history extends much further back. The village remains surrounded by vineyards, while its historic centre is dominated by the impressive Collegiate Church of Saint-Étienne.
Its tower rises above the rooftops and can be seen from across the surrounding countryside.
After securing the boat, we set off to explore.
The unfinished church
The Collegiate Church of Saint-Étienne is remarkable not only for its scale, but because its ambitious medieval construction was never completed as intended.
Work began during the thirteenth century on what was planned to be a much larger Gothic building. Political upheaval, disease and changing circumstances interrupted those ambitions, leaving Capestang with an extraordinary church whose proportions hint at a grander original vision.
Its imposing façade and high interior seem strikingly large for the village around it.
The building stands as a reminder that even medieval construction projects could exceed their budgets and encounter unforeseen delays.
A subject with which Chris, as a CFO, felt an immediate connection.
Exploring the village
Capestang’s historic streets provided an enjoyable contrast to the open countryside through which we had cruised.
The village once prospered through agriculture, wine and its position beside the canal. Traditional buildings, narrow streets and shaded squares reflected the character of this part of southern France.
With no locks to delay our arrival, we had time to explore at a relaxed pace.
We could wander without constantly checking the time, return to the boat when we wished and enjoy another evening beside the canal.
A deceptively eventful day
On paper, this had been one of the simplest stages of our journey: 22 kilometres, no locks and several hours of peaceful cruising.
In reality, it had offered beautiful countryside, remarkable canal engineering, an unfinished medieval church and one very low bridge.
Tomorrow would be considerably more dramatic.
Our route towards Béziers would take us through the Malpas Tunnel before confronting one of the Canal du Midi’s greatest engineering spectacles: the staircase of locks at Fonseranes.
For tonight, however, we remained in Capestang—pleased to have completed an entire cruising day without handling a single lock rope or removing the roof of the boat.