La « Grande Traversée » : a 1500 km canoe trip.

Thanks to Greg Spencer for this article.

Curiosity and a good eye for adventure always opens up possibilities… And we got a sense of what was to come when Paul Villecourt (Outdoor photographer, organizer of the Open Canoe Festival) followed his beloved Drôme river to the confluence with the Rhône, from where he was able to navigate UP the Gorges de l’Ardèche (june 2015).

After that trip, Paul started talking ever more of a great crossing of France, from Geneva in the Swiss Alps to Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic coast, and he announced he’d teaming up with his friend Philippe Bouvat.

Paul and Philippe took their canoe down the Rhone from Geneva to Pont Saint Esprit (404 km). They then head up the Ardèche and Chassezac for some 75 Km before portaging 70 Km to Naussac dam, into the headwaters of the mighty Allier.

Many British canoeists revere the Allier. Guidebook author Peter Knowles famously described the stretch from Chapeauroux to Pont D’Alleyras as « The Jewel in the Crown » of the Massif Central. But before reaching this they contended with some tremendous Class 3-4 stretches.