Canals

Canals criss-cross France, Belgium, the Netherlands and parts of Germany. Historically they were the major means of transport, but have been replaced in large part by trucks, and to some extent earlier by trains.

Today they are extensively used by pleasure craft in the warmer months and to some extent for bulk transport. They also make excellent bike and walking trails on what were historically the towpaths. In the south they are typically open all year. The Canal Sete to Rhone is a good example. This self-powered barge is lightly loaded and his bow is high out of the water. To get under the bridge ahead he will power right down so that the bow drops as far as possible.

But then he will have the problem of getting the aft cabin and in particular the car under the bridge because if the bow goes down, the stern comes up.









So once the bow has cleared the bridge, he applies maximum power, as you can see by the large wake he creates as the car passes under the bridge.















All the canals support wildlife and fishing. Traversing hundreds of kilometres of salt lakes and marshes, this canal sees thousands of flamingos and a large population of great blue herons seen here.

This canal takes us to our next destination, La Grande Motte.