River Charente
The river Charente flows from the eastern side of the departement in a horseshoe course via the north and onwards to the west into the Charente Maritime, which used to be known as the Charente inferieure until they had grander ideas...
Throughout it remains a delightful, clean river with an attractive valley, gentle current and many towpaths linking the villages along its banks. It is amazingly little used and peaceful and just a few pleasure hire boats and fishermen can be seen during a whole day on the river. Kingfishers and herons as well as moorhens and coots can be seen along the riverbanks. There is a handful of tourist boats which will take visitors on a short cruise from Jarnac or Cognac through a couple of locks to get a flavour of it.
The river has played an essential role in the economy of the Charente, being the transport artery by which oak was moved from the inland forests in the Limousin to the coast for the building of wooden warships at Rochefort. In return, salt was transported from the saltpans on the coast (now mainly used for oysterbeds) inland as it served as a taxable currency in the Middle Ages.
Later on the oak became used primarily for the construction of barrels for wine and cognac and this remains a significant local industry to this day. The locks have all been repaired and so the river is once again navigable along its length from Angouleme to the sea.
Click on the thumbnails below to view larger photos
