Monday 29 August - cycle to Montauban, then cruise back to Saint Porquier


We rose early, and Rita cycled into town to get some bread for breakfast. She then cycled back into town again to get some croissants and pain au chocolat. Well, 9am came and went. As did 10am. At 10.45am, we were starting to get worried. We hadn't seen Mathilda pass us on their way further south to Toulouse, so we figured they must still be in Montech port. We rode over and were greeted by a bleary-eyed Donna from the boat. Seems they had kicked on after we left the previous evening, and Kevin and Donna spent until 4am that morning discussing things of importance and non-importance to the world, with suitable supplies of liquid lubrication. With apologies all round, we took our leave and left them to their recuperation, since we wanted to go see Montauban.

This trip so far had taken us from Moissac to Castelsarassin to Montech. We now wanted to go to Montauban, but knew that we wouldn't have time to barge there and back (given that it has 5 locks each way). So once again we decided to cycle there and back.

The towpath started out very nicely, but soon turned to gravel, dried-mud and rocks (not quite as good as the Garonne Canal towpath!). Nonetheless if was quite rideable, so long as you kept looking where you were going. But the scenery was interesting and we were getting a good feel for the Montech Canal for when we barge it in the future.

Along the canal the five locks were very picturesque, often being situated on gentle bends so that they came as somewhat of a surprise. Some of them had been extensively renovated into homes, now that the entire lock system had been automated. This one had a lovely garden that extended out onto the lock forecourt.

There was extensive dredging work being conducted on the canal, with dredging barges plying up and down the canal. To see this large barge being pushed along by a much smaller tug unit, and then being manoeuvered into the lock with only centimetres to spare on either side was enough to make you weep with envy at the skipper's skill.

We eventually arrived at the Port of Montauban which looked very relaxed, yet organised. A further lock allows you down to the River Tarn, similar to Moissac. The port, however, is separated from the main town by the railway lines, with only one road connecting the two. It is therefore pretty inconvenient to walk from the port into the town. Luckily we were riding our bikes, so it didn't really bother us.

As we entered the town proper, the first thing we noticed was the beautiful bridge over the Tarn. This bridge has withstood the ravages of time and Tarn, including the horrendous 1930 flood which wiped out much of Moissac.

The other thing you notice is that Montauban loves red bricks! Most buildings seem to be made of red bricks so we assume there must have been a local quarry and brickworks in the olden days. We had a wander around Montauban and a nice lunch in the sun in a square near the courthouse, watching all the juvenile offenders and their parents walking in and out of the courthouse!

Then we rode back over the River Tarn and returned to Montech.

Once back in Montech, we weren't quite sure what to do. Peter and Judy said they might come down from Castelsarassin and meet us for dinner. But we also knew that we had five locks to negotiate going out of Montech and that, once started, they had to be completed without mooring up for the night. So we waited until 5pm and then, with no sign of Zee Otter, we headed through the first lock on our way north. As luck would have it, who did we see going south between locks 1 and 2? You guessed it! But it was too late to turn around now, since there were no turning circles and the canal was too narrow to pivot on the bank, so we waved and just kept on going.

We moored that night near the little town of Saint Porquier and after dinner we went for a walk through the very quiet town. Most of the townsfolk had closed their blue shutters for the night, so it was a rather eerie feeling walking through the town. As always, it was a Citroen Deux Cheveux that caught our attention; the contrast with the golden spire and the dark blue evening sky made it outstanding. The obligatory virgin in southern France was also standing out in the town square.