Imagine the scene. Sunday lunchtime and you are in the local for a quick G and T. The universal topic is the recession and in particular how it’s affecting everybody’s holidays. Moans, moans and more moans.

Holidays will have to be taken at home, in another barbecue summer, the ever reliable UK weather.

“Actually”, you casually drop into the conversation, “we’re cruising in the south of France!”

There comes that peculiar silence, when everyone looks at you, and then everyone talks at once … with the present exchange rate?  Impossible etc etc etc

“No, really. We’re on a private boat, no others except a skipper to look after any problems. Paid for in the UK and at prices that haven’t been raised in three years … about a third of the cost of a plastic hire boat and no hidden extras. Really!”

Well that should ensure you being bought more drinks while you explain.

THE WILD GOOSE

Built in 1980 as  Norfolk Broads cruiser, the “Wild Goose” is 42ft long, 12ft wide and has been refitted to provide two double cabins, Captain’s and Crew’s bedrooms.

I/We occupy the crew’s cabin. The skipper will always be on board, sometimes with his “first mate”! This means that experience is always there for handling the boat, dealing with the locks, lock keepers etc

Where will we be when you want to come? Well if guests in previous weeks wanted to travel 100km in their time, we will be at point A. On the other hand, if they spent days watching the world go by, exploring the countryside by bicycle or just lying under the sunshade with a glass of wine, then we will be at point B.

This is the joy of this kind of travel holiday, you do as you wish.

The only constraint is that we have to start and finish somewhere close to a railway station, so that you can get home or return to your car. SNCF is very helpful in this respect and very few areas don’t have some kind of railway service. Also most railway stations do have good parking facilities.

So, tell us when you want to come and for how long, and a rough idea of where you would like to explore (from Castelsarrasin westwards for 2009).

Please note - No smoking is allowed anywhere on the boat.