Canal du Midi

[Silvermomma]

Would anyone like to tell me about the Canal du Midi? Could I combine walking, cycling, boating? I'm just starting my investigation, so any ideas are welcome. I'm 73, have walked 4 caminos alone, can stay in dorms or private rooms, and want to eat well! Thanks in advance.

 

[domigee]

There is this website: https://www.canal-du-midi.com/en
All I have ever done is walking along it.

 

[Silvermomma]

There is this website: https://www.canal-du-midi.com/en
All I have ever done is walking along it.

Yes, thank you. I've been to the websites. I'm looking for some personal reflection. What part did you walk along? What time of year? Anything special to note?

 

[lovingkindness]

..

There is this website: https://www.canal-du-midi.com/en
All I have ever done is walking along it.

...me too, except for the last 5 kms before Carcassonne. I'd eaten something dodgy and was about to collapse. Just when I couldn't walk any further a canal boater said, Jump on!
Canal walking is serene...

 

[lovingkindness]

Yes, thank you. I've been to the websites. I'm looking for some personal reflection. What part did you walk along? What time of year? Anything special to note?

Hello @Silvermomma
I've walked the length of Le Canal du Midi and Le Canal des Deux Mers in springtime, when wild irises bloom in yellow masses. It was a pretty sight.

With a bicycle one could easily visit outlaying villages. On foot the distances seemed too far...

 

[Silvermomma]

Hello @Silvermomma
I've walked the length of Le Canal du Midi and Le Canal des Deux Mers in springtime, when wild irises were blooming in yellow masses. It was a pretty sight.

With a bicycle one could easily visit outlaying villages. On foot the distances seemed too far...

Thank you so much! If you want to share your itinerary (especially lodging) I would love that. DM is OK. I loooooove iris

 

[lovingkindness]

Thank you so much! If you want to share your itinerary (especially lodging) I would love that. DM is OK. I loooooove iris

My itinerary and lodging? Oh dear, what to say....

In 2013 I set off for Jérusalem from a hamlet in Le Lot et Garonne, France. I carried a 13L lumbar pack with a silver flute tied on the back, Leki poles, a pair of boots, a pilgrim credenciale and not much else. I had nothing in my pocket to budget with so played the flute for an hour each day or just until I had enough cash for food and accommodation. I slept in all manner of place -religious communities, Gîtes de Pélerins, Gîtes d'étape, youth hostels, shacks, dirt floors, out in the cold, with families and individuals and even in a palace! Booking ahead wasn't an option.

Along Le Canal du Midi and Le Canal des Deux Mers it was much like that, too. I walked as far as able each day then set about finding somewhere to sleep. The return journey which ended in Amsterdam then a leap to England was much the same.

Happy planning, @Silvermomma.

Ultreia e Suseia!

 

[lovingkindness]

Good morning @Silvermomma

I have had a look through my diaries for 2013 to 2014 and made a list for you of where I stayed along le Canal du Midi and le Canal des Les Deux Mers.

Some of the villages along these canals coincide with various Chemins de Saint-Jacques (Caminos to Santiago de Compostelle). For example, Voie de Vézelay (GR 654), Voie de Tours (GR 655), Voie du Puy (GR65), Voie d'Arles (GR 653) and the Voie du Pièmont (GR 78). In spring and summer there are always a few pilgrims passing through. Sometimes there were volunteers welcoming pilgrims at a bureau.

Regards
Lovingkindness