The Loire valley

This page starts with what could be some pretty boring historical facts. You will be excused if you skip the lesson and go straight to the pictures.

The Briare Canal is one of the oldest canals in France. It was the first attempt to connect the Loire river to the Seine. Design and construction were begun in 1610 but it was not till 1642 that the first barge went through. Until the opening of the Orleans canal, it was one of the most successful canals in the French system . However the Orleans canal was closed in the 1950s and the Briare is still working. It’s success is mainly due to the canalisation of the Loire river upstream to Digoin and south to Roanne as well as the extension to the Saone river along the canal du Centre.

Briare is famous for having, until 2003, the longest pont canal or canal bridge in Europe. It is 662 metres long . This wonderful piece of 19th century engineering is actually part of the lateral a la Loire canal and connects it to the Briare.

It was surpassed by the completion of the Magdeburg aqueduct in central Germany which was begun in1905 and completed in 2003. It is 918 metres long (and twice as wide and twice as deep as the Briare).

Until the pont du Briare was opened, canal traffic to and from towns like Roanne, Digoin, Paray-le-Monial and Montceau-les-Mines had to cross through the Loire river before Briare. Here, the Loire is wide with many sand banks when dry,  and could flood to many metres deep.

This photo was taken from the river lock on the left bank, upstream. Looking downstream under the road bridge you can see a stone structure on the other bank. This is the lock where the canal from Briare entered the river a kilometre away. The barges had to navigate this gap to continue in either direction. They used a variety of methods, horses, manpower, oxen teams and even a steam tug that pulled its way on a chain.

From the last picture Peter took, he turned around and took the next one.

The flood mark Marg is pointing to is more than nine metres above the river level that day. The worrying fact is that the lock was empty, the stone bottom had no water in it at all.

The structures are absolutely massive and have lasted in this extreme environment for so many years. They are in scale with the Briare aqueduct that made them redundant. 

As we continued up the Loire canal we passed this current-day structure at Belleville-sur-Loire. One of France’s many nuclear power stations. We just hoped that it would be in as good condition as those river locks in another 200 years.

We have been this route before and missed a lot of the history of the canal. This time we are travelling slower and taking more in.

We had a delightful stop at Menetreol-sous-Sancerre where we taxied to the ancient village of Sancerre, an old fortified village perched on the top of a hill and looking over the Loire valley. Sancere has produced wines since Roman times. Late in the 19^th century havoc was caused by the phylloxera epidemic and most vines were lost.  Gamay, the most common grape was replaced with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.

The old village has a wonderful charm and the views from the top are spectatular.

Walking back (downhill) to the canal we came across a disused railway track and walked across this massive viaduct behind the village where we were moored.

This water pump was on the top of an old well – probably still works.

We found this dramatic chalet at La Chapelle Montlinard. It has had a lot of history but now owned by some Americans who intend to rejuvenate it. They started by clearing the trees around it. They would have been pretty big.

The port of Marseilles-les-Aubigny was a disappointment. At the junction of the canal du Berry and the Loire, it is full of old hulks and they are becoming a real problem. Rather than stop here we decided to go to Nevers. This town is on the Loire at the end of a short  branch canal. Originally this branch had access to the Loire.

There will be more to tell, so we will keep in touch