The wind is up, blowing against us, so we are glad to rest and take our picnic lunch on a hilltop verge, before gliding down to the busy outskirts of Castelnaudray.
The Canal Du Midi is a very wide basin in the old town centre, with ranks of hire boats moored up along the old quay. Our hotel is on the town square. A walk around reveals narrow streets of sand coloured stone houses and shops. The oldest square, the Place de Verdun, has a stone colonnaded covered market structure, spoilt by graffiti and generally there is an air of the town having seen more prosperous times, now needing restoration.
Location:Foix to Castelnaudary
