2022 LCC Alpine Holiday to Durance Region in France: Day 13 Thursday: Le Vénéon by Leanne Murray and Steph Blissett
Day 13 Thursday: Le Vénéon by Leanne Murray and Steph Blissett
Whilst enroute to campsite number 2, a select few paddlers were keen on Keith’s plan to run the river Vénéon. After the beautiful drive into the valley a few decided to ditch the river and go straight ahead to the Isle de Serre White Water Centre leaving Keith, Sara, Nick, Oscar, Roy, Stuart, Leanne and Steph to paddle the Vénéon which has never been descended by LCC before.
The get on was a little spicy looking but it turned out to be nice drop round a right-hand corner with an eddy halfway down. This river was the best short river section of the trip with plenty of friendly, large bouncy water. An unexpected rock caught Nick out and Sara`s shoeless feet caused far too much trouble than good for a swift boat rescue. Unfortunately, Nick’s Pyranha sponge was set free into the Vénéon, never to be seen again.
There was a beautiful waterfall on river left and we stopped off to jump in with an obligatory LCC bridge picture. The water was freezing, and Roy complained about certain parts of his anatomy shrinking but it was well worth the stop.
An ice cream and a beer in the sun at a cafe up the road ended the river trip nicely before heading off to the campsite and white-water course on the “surface of the sun”. Perhaps if the others had joined us on the river, they may have survived longer than 15 minutes at the new campsite before sacking it off to go to swiftly booked hotels!
For some of the group the most memorable bit was the herbal essence waterfall moment. Keith said it was his best river of the trip but for Roy the best part happened whilst the shuttle was in progress. He managed to spot Nouria Newman and gave her a whistle and a wave. For those that don’t know, she is a world-famous kayaker. Some in the group doubted this sighting. However, this was later confirmed at dinner, after a few glasses of wine and Steph’s use of Instagram direct messaging. We believe she’s become an honorary LCC member. Roy still hasn’t quite recovered!
Overall, a great day was had by all and a good story to tell, we think we will be back.
