Cycling the Canal du Garonne, Day One.

The Canal du Garonne flows for 200 kilometres from Castets-en-Dorthe, near Bordeaux to Toulouse. From Toulouse, it links with the 17th Century Canal du Midi which continues all the way to the Mediterranean 240 kilometres south. Known as the Canals des Deux Mers, these two waterways were an invaluable route between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean for maritime commerce for centuries.
Now, they're a haven for cyclists.

For the next two weeks, we'll be cycling along the quiet canals, with an occasional detour to a hillside French village for cakes and coffee. 

The first day was spent cycling under the magnificent plane trees in the above photos. Sadly, these iconic symbols of the canals are under threat from a wilt infection that is slowly killing them. Already, 2,500 have been destroyed and it's projected that all 42,000 will have to be culled. 

I'll repeat that. 42,000 trees. Many were planted in the 1830s.

The government has pledged to replace all of them, hopefully with a plane tree species that can withstand the infection.

Today, we saw the damage. The wilt infection appears to rot the tree from the inside. Those most at risk are sprayed with an orange dot for imminent removal. 

It's rather sad, of course. All we can do is enjoy their beauty and trust that the replacement project is a success.