The Bouble valley

On the Bouble

The Bouble flows down from the Puy de Dome, where it takes its source near Menat.

Up to Chantelle, it has a narrow and well-defined profile, its steep slopes covered with thickets, giving it a wild character, particularly in the remarkable gorges of Chirat-l'Eglise, downstream from the mill of La Cout.

After this first idyllic stage, its journey continues, ending in the plain where, calmer now, it finally reaches the Sioul, just south of Saint-Pourçain.

Characterized by a highly variable flow, the Bouble sometimes looks like no more than a stream, to be replaced by a veritable torrent just days later. Its history is marked by violent spates, which often swept away the mills built on its banks.

Today a visit to the moulin de Villonne water mill is a must. It is to be found on the road between Échassières and Lapeyrouse. It is remarkably well preserved, and still houses its mechanism, a true local treasure.

A walk in the enchanted world of the Gorges de Chantelle, at the foot of the abbey of Saint Vincent and the remains of the largest castle of the Dukes of Bourbon, is also an unmissable part of your visit. The site, listed as a Sensitive Natural Area by the Département, is a jewel of nature, where every step is a wonder. Wild vegetation, the ruins of old watermills half-hidden in the undergrowth, fords, bridges, and a special kind of light, which plays between the trees. Behind it all is the unchanging murmur of the river, there to delight anglers and hikers alike.

A small river with a big character, the Bouble will surprise and delight you, wherever you meet it along its course.

Thoughts of Spring

Quand reviendront la ficaire et la pulmonaire

Et l’anémone des bois au sortir de l’hiver

J’irai sur tes rives de printemps bras ouverts

Ton eau claire retrouver de cristal et de vers

Vers le temps du renouveau mes pas je laisserai

Fouler à l’envie ce tendre vert qui entête

En écoutant limpide la chanson de la fête

Couler en secret vers le futur ciel de mai

Aux yeux d’Homme la magie des étoiles de soleil

Qui scintillent liquides sur l’onde frontière des ombres

Loin de nous les ténèbres de la nuit moribonde !

Aux cœurs des poètes l’offrande des divines merveilles !

Pascal PINEL

Ricochets de Lumière sur la Bouble

When will the air return

And wood anemone at the end of winter?

I will go to your spring shores, arms open

Your crystal clear water to meet

At the time of renewal, my steps I will let

Tread this tender green,

Listening clear to the song of celebration

Casting in secret to the future May sky

In the eyes of man, the magic of star, of sun

Twinkling liquids on a wave at the border of shadows

Far from us the darkness of the moribund night!

The hearts of poets offering divine wonders!