Discussion
Inkyfingers said:
It's fantastic, get to see some real France doing the canals.
Would 2 weeks be enough to do the majority of it and also allow time to spend each evening enjoying the place we stopped. We visited Carcassonne for 3 nights then down to the Sete area for the rest of the week this summer and loved it. andrew_huxtable said:
Ok so some of you will scoff and laugh at the plastics tugs
You will be the one scoffing and laughing, cruising by as they sand, sweat and varnish and pretend they enjoy it really 
I don't know the CDM but I'd be surprised if you can travel the length of France in two weeks, still less if you want to stop sometimes and go sightseeing.
I have to confess that it was about 15 years ago that I did the Canal Du Midi so my memory of exactly where we went is hazy. What i can tell you is that we did 2 weeks and it was a great holiday. Well worth hiring bikes with the boat as you can use them to cycle off to the nearest village to buy provisions or visit the local bars. Anybody who says the french are rude ought to go to a trip like that to rural France, they are generally very friendly.
My parents were on a canal boat holiday last year and had booked a table in a local restuarant, when they arrived the owner was really upset as he'd not actually planned on being open that night and had forgotten that they had booked. As an apology he then invited them to the party he was going to that evening, including all the food and drink they could manage, all for free.
My parents were on a canal boat holiday last year and had booked a table in a local restuarant, when they arrived the owner was really upset as he'd not actually planned on being open that night and had forgotten that they had booked. As an apology he then invited them to the party he was going to that evening, including all the food and drink they could manage, all for free.
Simpo Two said:
You will be the one scoffing and laughing, cruising by as they sand, sweat and varnish and pretend they enjoy it really
I don't know the CDM but I'd be surprised if you can travel the length of France in two weeks, still less if you want to stop sometimes and go sightseeing.
I own a wooden sailing boat on the Norfolk Broads and the smug sense of being a "proper" boat owner tends to vanish when you wake in the morning and find that the rain has poured in to the cupboard where all your clothes are stored!I don't know the CDM but I'd be surprised if you can travel the length of France in two weeks, still less if you want to stop sometimes and go sightseeing.
I assume that the OP is referring to navigating the lenght of the CDM in two weeks, rather than the length of France! Having refreshed my mind I would say that it's probably too much to do in two weeks. It's supposed to be a relaxing holiday, so depending on where you pick the boat up from I would just pick the boat up, cruise for a week then turn round!
On one holiday on one of the french canals I took part in a villages Bastille day celebrations which involved climbing up a greasy telephone pole suspended out over the water. Predictably I fell off (as I think did everyone else), it wasn't until I got out that I was told just how filthy the water in the canals are, had a long shower after that!
jamiebae said:
Get a copy of Rick Stein's French Odyssey on DVD, it certainly makes it look like an amazing holiday. I'd love to do it one day, the South West is my favourite part of France and it's a great way to see some less well known bits too.
Have it and watched it a few times. Good stuff, just a shame that when we go out for a bar lunch here we get microwaved pish compared to France
mickrick said:
I'm halfway through the book "Narrow Dog to Carcassonne" by Terry Darlington.
You have to read it! Hilarious! TD has a very dry sense of humour.
The Rick Stein TV series and that book set me and some friends off on the trip .We did it over 3 years using about 8 days each time , Ok the ' Boats' were plastic but by renting the ones that loked like Dutch Barges we felt as if we were slightly superior to the Gin Palace look-alikes with their flying bridges !! The country side gradually changes as you get further toward the Med until the smell of Pine trees and the sound of Cicadas confirms that you have arrived in the 'South' !! You have to read it! Hilarious! TD has a very dry sense of humour.
Rower
mickrick said:
I'm halfway through the book "Narrow Dog to Carcassonne" by Terry Darlington.
You have to read it! Hilarious! TD has a very dry sense of humour.
Agreed- brilliant book (although the follow up isn't a patch on Narrow Dog' IMO)You have to read it! Hilarious! TD has a very dry sense of humour.
I read this last summer, neighbours must have though I was nuts kept bursting into uncontrollably laughter.
Great Christmas gift for a bloke if your stuck too I'd imagine.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff