Читать книгу Walking in the Dordogne. 35 walking routes in the Dordogne - Sarlat, Bergerac, Lalinde and Souillac онлайн

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At the Vieux Port there are two old courau boats, used for medium sized cargos, and several information boards in English, including ones on the town of Bergerac and the mills, which ground wheat and walnuts to export all over the world. Opposite the port is the large old mill-building, a symbol of Bergerac’s trading activity in the 18th century. By the mid 19th century, the merchandise loaded up at the Vieux Port to be transported to Bordeaux was 28 per cent wood and 65 per cent wine, the remaining cargo being of olive oil, chestnuts, paper and even millstones. On the return journey, sugar, coffee and other exotic goods came via Bordeaux from further afield.

The port consists of three sections, the most important being the Quai Salvette which was developed in 1838. At the end is the Quai Louis Bernicot, which is named after the sea captain who circumnavigated the world after his retirement in 1936.

A courau boat at the Vieux Port

At the end of the port, go down the cobblestones to join the river path opposite an island. The path soon rejoins the road at an information board entitled ‘le Canelet’, and then goes on a grassy track down to the river at the Sport Nautique building. Go back up to join the Promenade Pierre Loti, which is a quiet road for pedestrians only between the river and more smart houses. Pierre Loti, 1850−1923, was a writer whose novels are set in the exotic places he travelled to when a naval officer. The road then becomes the Promenade du Barrage, which is a peaceful stretch with no houses and a large military area on the right. The pedestrian section ends at a Sports Centre and Tennis Club just before a line of buoys across the river, and a warning sign that swimming and boating are forbidden in the area of the dam. You now reach the dam, which in high water is an even more impressive sight, with water pouring over it.