Wild Swimming France - COMPARE PRICES
The book Wild Swimming France is full of beautiful pictures of places to swim, but it is much more than just a picture book. It is a full-on guide to where to swim in France, sorted by French regions. Each swimming location features a description of the swimming area along with information on the difficulty to get to the swim site, how long it takes to get to it from a parking area, its latitude and longitude (for GPS use).
Wild Swimming France includes tips on what you need to bring with you to enjoy the swimming experience, water safety tips, navigation tips, overview maps of each region, and access to location guidelines and tips. Among the many subjects, the book has guidance on non-swimmers and children; slips, trips, and falls; cold water; jumping and diving; cramps and solo swimming; weeds; blue-green algae; currents; flooding and dam releases; official signs; bagnade surveillée; bagnade non surveillée; bagnade interdite; and access and private property.
The regions of France covered by Wild Swimming France are:
- Jura
- Central Alps
- Alpes-Maritimes
- Corsica
- Haut Var and Verdon
- Vaucluse and Haute Provence
- Ardèche
- Languedoc
- Cévennes
- Corbières and Aveyron
- Pyrénées
- Lot, Célé and Aveyron
- Dordogne
- Loire and Normandy
PONT DU GARD
LAT LONG: 43.94668, 4.53305
WALK IN: 5 MINS, EASYOne of the most famous swimming spots in France. A magnificent multilevel Roman aqueduct spans the river. Low gorges provide rocks for sunbathing and diving.
(Directions) From the A9, take D981, then signed turn-off to huge and very busy car park. Head upstream on paths through woods to lose some of the crowds. Or walk from upstream and descend through olive groves and Roman ruins.
THUEYTS, PONT DU DIABLE
LAT LONG: 44.6710 4.2216
WALK IN: 5 MINS, EASYA slender medieval bridge spans a narrow gorge above a large river pool with pebble beaches. The water below is jade green and beautifully clear. Volcanic basalt columns line the canyon and a via ferrata above the pool provides added excitement!
Pont du Diable is signed 1km E of Thueyts on N102. Descend into valley of Ardèche (Chaussée des Géants) and continue to car park in woods (1km). The beach is to the L or walk over the bridge and along gorge to find further pools and cascades 200m upstream. Via ferrata is on the cliff opposite.
I enjoyed reading this book, and doing a little day dreaming about visiting France... and swimming in some amazing, natural swimming spots. Up and down a river, jumping off a cliff into a cold clear lake, swimming under a water fall, looking at beautiful scenery while relaxing in the water. This book made me think - a lot - about taking a trip!
Wild Swimming France - COMPARE PRICES
Swim on!
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