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The Canal du Midi was the first major canal construction in Europe. It was inspired by the remarkable Pierre Paul Riquet, and built by a young engineer, Francois Andreossy in the late 1670s. It predated the works of James Brindley by 100 years or so. This early canal was no minor project. It created a through passage for 150 tonne barges between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, passing through the foothills of the Pyrenees. To obtain a water supply, they had to build what was then the World's largest dam over 20 kilometres away in the Montagne Noir. Today, the Canal has the status of a World Heritage site. It's enjoyed by thousands of visitors who experience boating in almost guaranteed hot sun- shine.

This video tells the remarkable story of the construction of the canal, its triumphs and its setbacks, woven around a modern day journey from Sete on the Mediterranean coast, right the way over to Toulouse. For extra measure, the programme takes you across to Montech on the Canal Lateral a la Garonne to show you a working example of a water-slope. It's an amazing device for pushing boats up or down hill on a moving wedge of water trapped in a sloping channel. This programme is already a collectors' item.