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French canal holidays along the canal de Garonne are very popular, due to the beautiful weather and picturesque countryside of this part of south-western France. An Engineer’s Dream Whenever one speaks of the history of a canal, it’s almost inevitable that one or two key historic personages will come to the forefront. These might include the financier, the chief architect, and so on. The canal de Garonne, though, is interesting because it had been on the drawing-boards, in concept, for centuries before anything was done to build it. The fact is that a quick glance at a map will show the obvious appeal of linking the city of Bordeaux on the Atlantic with the Mediterranean – and it has nothing to do with providing a mechanism for French canal holidays! Getting from one to the other with cargo by canal would cut out the journey along Spain, round Gibraltar and across the often treacherous Bay of Biscay. Militarily, the British seizure of Gibraltar in the early 18th century put maritime commerce between the French Mediterranean and Atlantic ports at constant risk. British vessels in Gibraltar could and did choke of such traffic in times of war with great ease. The need seemed obvious. Difficulties It’s relatively easy to draw a pencil line on a map between two points, using existing rivers, then to label it a “canal”. But building it is quite different! In fact, the Canal du Midi had linked Toulouse with the Mediterranean since the 17th century, but problems arose getting goods from Toulouse to Bordeaux. The seemingly obvious solution was to use the river Garonne, but there were huge problems. The river naturally has a highly variable flow rate, from perhaps unsustainably low and feeble in summer to wild and potentially dangerous in winter. If that wasn’t bad enough, the depth of water and location of the bottom can be hard to predict. For a long time, goods had to be offloaded from barges in Toulouse then re-loaded onto smaller, lighter vessels for transport onwards to Bordeaux. This was expensive, and above all, highly inefficient. The Canal de Garonne was the obvious answer, connecting the Canal du Midi to Bordeaux, thereby creating the “Canal of the Two Seas”. So, in the earlier 19th century, work began on the new canal and progressed well. Unfortunately, just as real progress was being made, along came the railways to put the enterprise in doubt! Thankfully for later French canal holidays, and actually quite unusually for the time, the decision was made to continue jointly with railway and canal development in the area. Today’s Holidays Along the Canal Almost inevitably, by the time it was fully opened, the rapidly developing road and rail networks meant that the canal’s original commercial expectations couldn’t be met. By the middle of the 20th century, it was already turning into a largely leisure-based facility much loved by travellers. Cruising the Canal de Garonne is wonderful, allowing access to the unspoilt Tarn and Garonne countryside, its wines, histories and traditions. So, if you enjoy French canal holidays on this stretch of the Canal of the Two Seas, remember to raise a glass to those visionaries and engineers of the past who made it all possible! Paul Newman is the Marketing and E-Systems Executive for European Waterways, the UK's most respected provider of all-inclusive, luxury French canal holidays. Part of a team of experienced barging aficionados, Paul is first in line to endorse the perks of a slow-paced barge cruise to anyone looking for a unique holiday experience.
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