The bargemen and Tilers Trail

Utopia, if it exists, is here where the towpaths have natural anti-stress powers. The Bargemen's Trail wanders along the Roanne-Digoin canal, parallel to the Loire. At the locks, pleasure boats create a lively scene. The thought-provoking monument at Melay recalls the landing by RAF Lysander of Jean-Moulin in March 1943, bringing back to France for the last time this great leader of the French Resistance. Then, from the bucolic landscapes of the water's edge, the path passes into the rural valleys through fiels and woods. A stop a the Lapillone quarry, now a nature reserve, adds interest on the return to Melay. In the centre of the village, look for the high, brick chimney of the old sawmill, now converted into an exhibition space of local history. It also houses a large wine press dating from 1683 (7m long * 3m high), one of the oldest and most impressive in Burgundy.