Canal

Canal du Midi, going up

Unwelcome inhabitant on the Canal du Midi. A mink!

A canal in Wassenaar Netherlands

Part of the turf route in Friesland Netherlands. The canals of the turf (torf) route were used to transport the turf to the cities in Western part of the Netherlands. The people working in the moors to make the turf were very poor. Some of them lived in sod houses

A canal in Friesland The Netherlands

Pont du Rode, just outside Trebes, Languadoc. One of the few original bridges on the Canal du Midi. Unfortunaytely all of those beautiful platan (plane) trees will have been cut down now thanks to arbourists who apparently didn't disinfect their kit properly after working on platan trees in N France!

Another that the grockles don't normally see. The empty Canal du Midi. Closed for servicing. Stretches are closed for 6 to 8 weeks in winter. This is the port at Trebes and the hire boats looking sorry for themselves

These are the new trees just on the edge of Port du Trebes. They are the ones on the left of the photo above

Jonzjob wrote in post #19411589
Another that the grockles don't normally see. The empty Canal du Midi. Closed for servicing. Stretches are closed for 6 to 8 weeks in winter. This is the port at Trebes and the hire boats looking sorry for themselves

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Looking west towards the port

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All of the trees were felled there and the ones there now were planted in about 2012. They are supposed to be fungal resistant?

Interesting series John, thanks for posting.
Curious if that drained canal has an unpleasant odour.

No smell Richard, either full or empty. When you pick up your hire boat two of the things that you are told is 1. never tie up to the tree roots because it damages the root and lets infection into the tree, totally ignored. 2. don't swim in the canal at any time, but the reason isn't given as far as I know?

Number 1. is obvious but 2. isn't. The boats in France do not normally have waste water hg tanks. ALL of the waste water does in to the canal including from the toilets! The eclusiers, lock keepers, have a boat load of jabs to protect them if they fall of have to go in the water. The thing is that there is no smell at all and I cane to the conclusion that it is because there is about a 1 mph flow in the canal. The reason is shown below

Jonzjob wrote in post #19411832
No smell Richard, either full or empty. When you pick up your hire boat two of the things that you are told is 1. never tie up to the tree roots because it damages the root and lets infection into the tree, totally ignored. 2. don't swim in the canal at any time, but the reason isn't given as far as I know?

Number 1. is obvious but 2. isn't. The boats in France do not normally have waste water hg tanks. ALL of the waste water does in to the canal including from the toilets! The eclusiers, lock keepers, have a boat load of jabs to protect them if they fall of have to go in the water. The thing is that there is no smell at all and I cane to the conclusion that it is because there is about a 1 mph flow in the canal. The reason is shown below

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If you look at the paddle rods, 4 along the top of the gates, they are down. The lower gate is open and the water coming over the top is the normal state. There are overflow points along the canal so the water can't get too high. There is one just around the corner of the above photo which is of the ecluse l'Evecque. That is the Lodela moored there and on that subject take a couple of minutes and have a look at the Lodela. Hugues is a good friend of ours and a lovely bloke.

https://www.airbnb.co.​uk …59518502_85w9pL​BLMYS56NIY

The history of the canal is fascinating and Pierre Paul Riquet was an amazing man. Especially when you take into account that there is a stretch neat Séte of 32 miles without a lock, and it ain't flat countryside!

https://www.french-waterways.com/waterway​s/south/canal-midi/

thanks John for your detailed response and links
Canals always fascinated me, but I've never seen one.
Just watched some Scottish program and yes, there was a canal with a very ingenious modern lock

About 2 miles east of Trebes, Canal du Midi and it was always one of my favourite places. I called it the cathedral because of the huge arch the platan formed

Jonzjob wrote in post #19411937
About 2 miles east of Trebes, Canal du Midi and it was always one of my favourite places. I called it the cathedral because of the huge arch the platan formed

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Another of the old bridges

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It always surprised me that the barges had to 'shoot' the bridges. The horse was disconnected before the bridge and the forward momentum then carried the peniche, barge, through and the horse was them coupled back up and off they went to the next bridge. They never used any 'roving bridges'.

https://en.wikipedia.o​rg/wiki/Roving_bridge

Interesting John.
Did horse drawn barges go out of vogue at sometime? Never realised that was how they got about, but makes sense.
Must be quite peaceful mode of transport being dragged along these areas

Before the steam and infernal combustion engine all of the canals across the world were horse powered Richard. The Canal du Midi was one of the first being made in the late/mid 1600s. They were by far the quickest way to transport goods across the country, especially any heavy goods. And the Canal du Midi became the quickest and most comfortable way to travel across the south of France at the time.

I think that the Dutch may have been sail powered as well, but not at all sure about that, but Josrood will know I'm sure.

They could be quite dangerous at times too

The danger that lurks in the above photo