Garonne Canal + River ~ Bordeaux ~ St Emilion ~ River Charente ~ Cognac

Aquitaine, in the far southwest corner of France, belonged to the English Crown during the middle ages and British wine lovers today may mourn the fact that it passed back to the French!

The regional capital is Bordeaux, which is a stately presence on the estuary of the Garonne river and a name that is ineffably associated with fine wines, and claret in particular. The Maison du Vin in the city centre offers a broad-based introduction to many sought after vintages, but a visit to some of the prestigious vineyards themselves is hard to beat. St Emilion is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and this beautiful town and its environs has been known for its vineyards since Roman times.

Helping to link Bordeaux to Toulouse, the Canal de Garonne has sometimes been overshadowed by its older sibling the Canal du Midi, which has had the benefit of leaving it largely unspoiled. It shadows a popular pilgrimage route to Compostela and one of its outstanding attractions is the town of Moissac, with its world famous Romanesque abbey cloister.

Navigation

The other branches are double staircase locks from the main line down to the river Tarn at Moissac and to the river Baïse at Buzet-sur-Baïse. The former branch giving access to the Garonne at Agen has been filled in. The canal has some impressive structures, notably the aqueducts over the Tarn near Moissac and the Garonne at Agen. In 1974, the world’s first water slope was built to bypass the flight of five locks at Montech.

Locks – There are 53 locks, falling towards Castets-en-Dorthe, overcoming a difference in level of 128m. There are 9 locks on the Montauban branch, falling towards Montauban. The five locks at Montech are bypassed by a water slope, 6m wide and designed for 38.50m barges, but boats continue to use the old locks, since the water slope has no facility for boats to tie up. All the other 48 locks on the main line were enlarged in the 1970s to allow navigation by barges loading 240 tonnes, and their navigable dimensions are 38.50 by 5.80m. The locks on all the branches, and the five at Montech, are of restricted length (30.65 by 5.80m).

Most of the locks are equipped for automatic operation and controlled by lights. There is usually a vertical pole suspended above the water some distance before the lock, level with a first set of lights. When the combin­ation red/green appears, the pole is to be given a quarter turn to the right (see also the section on automatic locks in the Introduction).

Draught – The maximum authorised draught is 1.60m.

Headroom – All the fixed bridges leave a minimum headroom of 3.60m above normal water level.

Towpath –The towpath has been significantly improved in recent years, and may now be walked or cycled throughout.

Authority – VNF – Direction interrégionale du Sud-Ouest

– Subdivision de Haute-Garonne: 115 bis, rue des Amidonniers, 31000 Toulouse (PK 0-24).

– UTI Tarn-et-Garonne: Delbessous-Sud, 82200 Moissac (PK 24-90).

– UTI d’Aquitaine: 107 avenue Général de Gaulle, 47000 Agen (PK 90-194).

– Délégation locale du Lot-et-Garonne: 10, rue du 8 mai, BP 302, 47207 Marmande (PK 132-182)