In September 2010 I went barging in Southern France for two weeks with a number of friends. On the middle weekend, I ran the Provence half marathon to get close to the backroads and lanes of Provence (great experience but no photos unfortunately).
Most of the barging time was spent on the Midi Canal which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean….an great engineering wonder. We started in Montpelier and finished in Toulouse with switch between “crews” at Narbonne (crews=different groups of friends).
The highlights were passing through the Camargue area which fascinated me when I was young (mainly inspired by the book “The white horses of the Camargue”), visiting the old city of Aigues Mortes where the French armies left for the Crusades (and many other notable happenings took place), the Etang de Thau and Marseillan and the seven locks at Fonserranes which raise the water level by 21.5 m in 300m (does not sound like much but it is a big lift in aquatic terms).
The photos below capture the highlights of the two weeks of barging.
The starting point in Montpelier marina
The first lock out of Montpelier
The walls of the old city of Aigues Mortes
On the Mediterranean…quite chilly.
Shortly after entering the Midi Canal from Etang de Thau side
Another view of the Midi canal
In the seven locks at Fonserranes
One of many stops along the canal
The second week…stopped on the canal
Carcassonne in the Languedoc region…home of the Cathars who suffered greatly at the hands of the Catholics in past years