Canal de Loing, Canal de Briare (Route Bourbonnais)
Information about the 49km of Canal du Loing and the 54km of Canal de Briare, with a total of 51 ecluses (locks). The Loing (completed 1723) passes through woodland and some pretty villages, but the outstanding feature is the Palace of Fontainbleau, one of the largest French royal palaces, with its gardens and forests. The Briare (completed 1692) continues the Bourbonnais route south and includes locks that have been consolidated from sets of former locks and which are consequently quite deep - it can be necessary to let off crew in advance to be able to take and handle lines.
See also general notes (foot of page).
Basic Information
Approximate minimum depth 1.80m, headroom 3.5m, width 5m. These are the 'book' values and may vary according to conditions. Navigating the canal should not present insurmountable difficulties to normal pleasure craft and the Bourbonnais (Seine-Loing-Briare-Loire-Centre canals) it is one of the recommended routes from the Channel to the Mediterranean. It is usually reliably and well supplied with water. This may alter during and after long hot summers - the overall route is then not as dependable as the eastern (Champagne) route.
- Speed limit 8kph. Reckon on 3-4kph overall for a day's travel including ecluses, or count ecluses and times by half-an-hour each.
- Some locks fill right 'to the brim' and beyond and this means you must have protection down at the waterline and into the water. Fenders must 'paddle' and/or use fender boards to keep from floating up and/or use tyres. See Protection.
- Check your engine cooling water filter frequently - weed, leaves and boué in the water and on the bed can get stirred up as you pass and especially as you go up or down in the lock. See Clogged.
- VNF sub-division contact telephone numbers: 03 86 71 71 71 (Nevers), 02 38 95 09 20 (Montargis), 02 38 31 26 20 (Briare).
Canal de Loing
PK78 Moret
A very lovely, historic fortified small town, with gateways and willow treed banks.
Port de Plaisance 01 60 72 81 70 water and electricity
PK 59-61 River Loing
PK30 Nemours
Quayside Halte mooorings with water and electricity along the narrow curved route around the town, but may be little space.
Moorings / Haltes also at:
PK19 Souppes sur Loing
PK11 Nargis
PK3 Cepoy
PK1 Buges
Halte with pontoons. Site of the first paper mill to print notes for the Bank of France (1804), a long paper manufacturing history. Above - the entrance to the 79km long Canal d'Orleans, abandoned in 1954, but currently in the process of restoration.
Canal de Briare
PK53 Montargis
Port de plaisance with water and electricity. The "Venice of the Gatinais" because of the network of small canals.
Haltes also at Montcresson and PK35 Montbouy
PK29 Chatillon-Coligny
PdP 02 38 92 55 51 water, electricity and services
PK19 Rogny-les-7-Ecluses
Two ports de plaisance 08 77 10 56 46 and 03 86 74 55 92. The village is noted for the old staircase lock (see photo above), replaced more than a century ago by a series of ecluses and now a memorable attraction in the parkland landscape.
PK8 Ouzouer-sur-Trézée
Halte, long length of quai, water and electricity.
PK1 Briare
There are two ports, on the canal by the bridge and on the river.
Canal Port (photo above) - port capitain (for the canal and river ports) is Bruno Chanal
02-38-31-24-65 or 06-08-95-03-20 port.briare@lyonnaise-des-eaux.fr
VHF Ch 12 (future) - Fuel 1.12€/lire (2010)
Over-wintering community, friendly and helpful
The PdP (Quai Mazoyer) along branch down to the river is new (reopened in 1988)
(photo: Bruno Chanal). For the famous Briare aqueduct (Eiffel, 1896), see the Canal lateral a la Loire page.
Notes
The information about the Bourbonnais Route canals has been gleaned from many different sources, including personal accounts of travels, moorings, etc. but not (yet) from our own personal experience. Accordingly, Grehan very much welcomes your comments, corrections, suggestions and additions.
PK = Kilometre distance mark, as printed in waterway guides and found as actual signposts (occasionally) on the waterways.
PdP = Port de Plaisance (inland pleasure port/marina/mooring). Halte (nautique) = mooring place/pontoon. Ecluse (Sas in Normandy - 'sas' means 'chamber') = lock. Peniche = barge.
TE (tirant d'eau) = Depth. Check actual depths! The 'book' canal depth is in the channel centre, edges will be less and you may have a problem coming alongside so be careful. Tuck your nose in first and if necessary keep the stern (where the vulnerable prop is) poking out. There is often a shallow bar just outside the lower gate of an ecluse.
VNF SINGLE NUMBER - The VNF have introduced a nationwide single telephone point of access for making lock arrangements, etc and notify breakdowns and other emergencies - 0800 863 000 - you will almost certainly need to understand and speak a certain amount of French.
Contact Grehan >top of page<This is an information guide - it is not a substitute for a waterways pilot book, nor is it meant to be. We strongly recommend obtaining a pilot book for each river or canal you travel. The information here results from direct personal experience cruising the waterways from north to south and east to west; and/or has also been gleaned from a number of sources and accounts. Photographs by Grehan; some other photographs by permission, or in the public domain; if we have inadvertently breached any copyrights, please contact us. Grehan's own photographs may be available for re-use, please contact us for permission.
