When we booked a week on the Canal du Midi, I had a fairly clear picture in my head of what it would be like. The brochures showed boats gliding through tunnels of shady trees, with dappled sunlight on the water and picturesque villages appearing every few kilometres. In many ways, that’s exactly what we found. In a few important ways, it wasn’t.

The boat itself was excellent. For two people it was spacious, comfortable and easy to handle. The canal is a remarkable piece of engineering and there is something deeply relaxing about travelling at walking pace through the French countryside. The locks become part of the daily rhythm, and some of them are engineering marvels in their own right.

One of the highlights was navigating the famous staircase of locks at Fonseranes near Béziers. Seven locks in succession lift or lower boats through a significant change in elevation. It took us about an hour to get through, working alongside the lock keepers and other boat crews. It is easy to see why it is one of the canal’s major attractions.

The biggest surprise was the lack of shade. Much of the imagery used to promote the canal still features the great avenues of plane trees that once lined its banks. Unfortunately, many of those trees have been removed over the years, victims of disease. There are still shaded stretches, but there are also long sections where the canal is completely exposed to the sun.

Normally that might not have mattered too much, but we happened to arrive during a heatwave. The temperatures were relentless. For the first few days we spent most of the day cruising, and by the time we tied up each afternoon we were exhausted. We had imagined leisurely afternoons enjoying the scenery. Instead, we found ourselves searching for shade and wondering why we felt so drained.

Eventually we worked out the obvious solution. We repositioned the bimini so it shaded the driving position and stopped trying to travel during the hottest part of the day. From then on we cruised mostly in the mornings and spent our afternoons exploring the towns and villages along the canal.

That changed the whole character of the trip.

Instead of treating the boat as the destination, we started using it as a means of moving gently from one place to another. We wandered through markets, explored narrow streets, sat in cafés and enjoyed long lunches. Some of the canal-side towns turned out to be among the highlights of the journey. The slower pace suited both us and the climate far better.

Of course, every trip needs a little drama.

On the final day of cruising I tripped while stepping onto a cobblestone dock and landed heavily on my left shoulder. At first I thought I had just bruised myself, but by that evening my ribs and shoulder had stiffened considerably. I was worried I might have broken a rib. Fortunately I hadn’t, but even now, more than two weeks later, I’m still feeling the effects.

That injury put a bit of a dampener on the end of the holiday and certainly slowed me down during our following week in rural France. Even so, it doesn’t change my overall view of the canal.

Would I recommend a Canal du Midi boating holiday? Absolutely.

But I would offer one piece of advice. Don’t try to spend all day cruising, particularly in summer. Travel in the cool of the morning, find a shady mooring for the afternoon, and spend your time exploring the villages, markets and cafés that make this part of France so appealing.

The canal rewards those who are prepared to slow down. As it turns out, that was the lesson we needed to learn.