Le Somail

 It's  a beautiful evening for dining out. The restaurant cat took turns at checking that the customers were happy. The music later in the square was more my taste. Pink Floyd ...

Plane trees once lined nearly the entire canal but a decease has resulted in hundreds of them being felled.

It's 33 degrees and the shade is lovely. We pass through Beziers and have to push the bikes up past the flight of 9 locks.

One of the 328 major civil engineering works that the engineers had to design.( remember this was built in 1666)

 There were a few failures too, like this later model, a sliding plug , meant to bypass the 9 locks

Just before the malpas tunnel at Colombiers, we met the first kiwis on this trip. Passed them again later on their canal boat

Sorry guys, forgot your names !

 The canal pass's through a range of hills now to run inland up the L'Aude valley. On the hill top is the remains of a Roman town, 300bc. 

  Then 600 odd years ago the inhabitants dug a long drainage canal under this range ,to come up in the centre of a shallow lake. It still looks the same, like a big pizza

350 years ago along came Richets canal and the first canal tunnel was built

Then to cap it off the railway came in 1860 and a tunnel was put through between the two. What a place !

A last glimpse of the hill through some of the deceased trees ( and the semi naked lady)

Lunch stop at Capestang and this Cornishman was saying that this section of track was too rough for him, and he was taking the roads. We're pleased we bought the old bikes with bigger tyres and that we are travelling light ,because we are so enjoying the canal side.

Large sections of shade trees missing now and we're running out of water constantly. Stopped at this winery and were told that the water was drinkable 'potable ' but it only dribbled out. I could have licked it off the concrete!

We arrive in Le Somail about 4pm and checked in to the NEPTUNE. That's it to the very right of the picture

Pretty village and it's got one of the best second hand bookshops I've seen. Bought one each, then a beer at the local dairy. Which happened to be on a barge !