Discover the Charente
Bonjour from Port Chalmers.
Greetings on this balmy spring day, which is very welcome after all the wind and rain. Bad weather makes one think of escaping to warmer climes and so we made the decision to go to France next August. Our Christchurch friends favour the Charente, so at the end of September, we booked a two cabin Clipper. Very early, but we wanted to grab the best early booking offer from Le Boat. All rental boat operators still have early booking offers, but the discounts will keep reducing as Christmas approaches. There will be some flash sales in the New Year, but it is always advisable to book as early as possible to secure the best boat at the best price.
We included Le Boat’s Holiday Flex Plan, so that we could change the booking without penalty, and, as usual, once we had committed more friends became interested in joining us. We are now a party of eight and have changed boats to a four cabin Vision 4 (above) and will be cruising from Angouleme to Saintes and then back to Jarnac. Already all the Vision 4 boats on the Charente river are fully booked for the end of August 2025, so it was the right decision to book early, as we would have had to opt for a less suitable boat, at a higher price, if we had delayed.
The Charente region is in south-west France and follows the Charente river westward from the Massif Central to the Atlantic Ocean. Its main towns are Angouleme, Cognac, Saintes, Rochefort and La Rochelle and its attractions include beaches, historical ports, picturesque market towns, forests, fields of vines, cereal and sunflowers and the marshes of the Marais Poitevin to the north. It has a low population with relatively few tourists, making visitors feel it like ‘they’ve stepped back in time’, but there is a lot to entertain one. It boasts ancient castles like Chateau de la Roche Courbon and de la Rochefoucauld, UNESCO heritage towns like Saint Jean d’Angely, Romanesque churches, and abbeys such as St Pierre in Aulnay, which is on a Santiago de Compostela pilgrim route, and walled towns like Angouleme, famous for its wonderful Comic Strip Museum and street art. Saintes was an important Roman town and the amphitheatre and Arc of Gemanicus still exist as do many Roman treasures in the museum. Cognac and Jarnac are famous for their brandy and most of the major producers offer tours and tastings, plus visitors are welcome at many small, family distilleries. The Charente also has lots of wonderful restaurants to satisfy the gastronome and some like La Ribaudiere in Bourg-Charente (below) and Le Chateau in Jarnac offer cooking classes. Next year, we will be joining Michelin starred chef Ludovic Merle to learn some ‘tricks of the trade’.
In the 16th century François I described the Charente river as “the most beautiful in the kingdom”, but he was born in Cognac so he may have been biased. The numerous water mills and weirs along the river limited navigation, but in the 18th century sections were dredged and canalised and large chamber locks installed, making the river a major transportation link. However, the arrival of the railways in the 19th century ended the river trade and the Charente was left to silt up and decay until the 1970s. That was when the French government realised the importance of its waterways to tourism and a big restoration programme began. Locks and moorings were repaired, ports dredged and, later, floating pontoons were installed.
Nowadays, self-drive rental boat holidays can be enjoyed by everyone. Handling modern boats is relatively easy, especially if they have bow thrusters, and anyone can steer and negotiate locks once they get the ‘feel’ of the boat. On rivers there are no tow paths and most of the banks will be tree lined and shallow, so mooring places are limited. River levels can vary and there may be hidden rocks, so one must follow the deep channel, which is marked by red and green buoys. Onboard will be a waterway guide, which shows the channel, locks, moorings and warns about hazards, low bridges, etc. There are few locks on the Charente with two being electrified and others are manually operated. That means dropping off crew members to set up the lock and the etiquette is to close the gates and lower the sluices after leaving. This is not difficult, but it takes time and when combined with cruising at around 10km/hr, you gradually slow down and relax, and can start to enjoy your surroundings and the wildlife. Boating is a shared experience with everyone participating, from navigating the river to the preparation of meals on board and chilling out on the sundeck.
Most of the rental boat operators have a base on the Charente, between Saintes and Angouleme, and Le Boat have two, making one way cruises possible. We have cruised most of the waterways, including the Charente, and know most of the boats, so do get in touch if you are dreaming of escaping to France.
Bien cordialement,
Robert & Barbara