Castelnaudary, a sweet goodbye

After a day’s journey from Carcassonne, we reached Castelnaudary just after the locks that lead into the Castelnaudary basin closed. Because of the time it takes to go through the 4 chambers, these locks close 15 minutes before the official closing time and are controlled by the lock keeper from a tower.

The old mill at St. Roch Locks

We spent the night tied along the bank on the southeast side of the St. Roch Locks, a set of 4 lock chambers.The remains of two old mills are situated at the top and at the bottom of the lock staircase and date back to the 17^th century. They are among the “royal mills” granted to the Riquet family.

Ruins of an old mill at the St. Roch Lock

We transited the locks the following morning, bringing the boats into the “Grand Basin” of Castelnaudary, the largest port on the whole canal.

The Lock Keeper Tower

The basin was dug to feed the 4 St. Roch Locks and to supply a loading port for grain from the Lauragais plains. The Ile de la Cybelle island on the west side of the basin was created to protect barges from strong winds as they turned into the port.

Looking across the basin to the town skyline is enchanting and captures the essence of old France. This was a fitting place to say goodbye. It was time to take a taxi to Toulouse and confirm our arrangements for flying home — for “different latitudes, different attitudes.”