CAPPING IT OFF

Completing his Gallic tour, Nigel Hutson revels in the wonders of southern France from Béziers and Narbonne to the Grotte de Clamouse and Cap d'Agde

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As we crossed the River Hérault on the D612 approaching Agde in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, it felt as though we were going home, even though the last time we were here was in 2019.

Our destination was a campsite that we have been to several times before, Camping Le Neptune located at the side of the River Hérault at Grau d’Agde. We’ve always been made to feel so welcome at this spotless site that when we’re planning our touring holidays, we look at many places, but often end up saying, “Shall we go to Neptune?”

As we had three weeks in this part of the world, we were determined that we would relax and go where the mood took us, whether that was on four wheels or on our bikes.

It didn’t take us long to set up, so our first trip was on the bikes along a cycle path at the side of the river to the seafront, where we reacquainted ourselves with the various shops, cafés and waterside restaurants.

One of the many lovely touches at Camping Le Neptune is that out of July and August, you can order bread, croissants and delicious things such as pastries the day before, and they’re delivered to your pitch in time for breakfast. That’s a tradition that has continued and as I say, is a lovely touch.

Canal by bike

Our first jaunt away from Grau d’Agde was to cycle in the opposite direction towards ‘old’ Agde, and to the Écluse Ronde (or Round Lock) on the Canal du Midi. As the name suggests, it’s a three-way, round lock, which allows boats to turn around within it. It was originally a circle, but in the 1970s work began to enlarge it so that larger barges could use it. It’s still a fascinating spectacle, though.

From the lock, we cycled back into Agde and meandered around some of the old streets before returning to the ’van.