Midi Canal - Le Somail to Colombiers

We decided to follow Dave's advice and go along the canal towards Bezier. This was a fairly long distance but there were no locks to slow us down.

Soon after leaving Le Somail, we stopped to get water from a supplier on the bank. We must have been too early because, after waiting for almost an hour, nobody turned up and so we gave up and continued our journey.

Nearby, the canal passed over a river - one of several cases where we saw a canal bridge crossing a river.

We managed to get water at a town around midday. To save time, we had lunch on board the boat - bread, cheese, sausage meat and red wine.

Just before Colombier, the canal went through a tunnel that was about 300m long.

We continued past Colombiers and stopped just short of Bezier. There is a long drop down towards the town of Bezier and there are several locks in a row. The locks would have been hard work and we had had been advised not to go into this town.

We then headed back along the canal and moored the boat at Colombiers. The wharf area is fairly modern - a harbour area with modern shops along the wharf. We tied up on an island that is connected to shore by a modern footbridge.

In the evening, we walked up to the chateau that Dave recommended. A very nice building with high ceilings, thick walls, nice views. The restaurant had good food, good service but (as you might expect) was a little more expensive than we had been paying until now along the canal.