France » La Somme

Additional informations: Piers, ports & harbours with informations on waters. House boat & yacht charter.

La Somme

Description: The Somme
This waterway leads from the Canal de St. Quentin over a short stretch of the Canal du Nord to St. Valery on the Channel. The big floods of the last years have made considerable damage to this very beautiful waterway of Picardie. At the moment, great efforts are being done to resolve the damages. In this context, infrastructures for tourism are surely ameliorated.

Information to the Somme, Picardie
This waterway was planed to be a connection from St. Quentin to the Channel. Work started already in 1770 but it was finally completed in 1843 only.
It starts at St. Simon on the Canal St. Quentin, is then from Voyennes to Péronne part of the Canal du Nord and is independent again afterwards. After the lock of Froissy, it joins the Somme and stays in its river bed until Abbeville. Then one changes into the Canal Maritime d’Abbeville at St. Valéry to the mouth of the Somme. After the sea lock at St. Valéry sur Somme maritime rules have to be applied.

Boating on the Somme:
There is a house boat hirer at Chappy. The region is much diversified and can be recommended to families too.

Tourism
Once having left the Canal du Nord, the water way becomes rather attractive. Since the Somme is not properly canalised, there are upstream until about Amiens, on both sides big moor lands and marshes with a manifold flora and fauna. Another thing to be found in this area is the well known P’tit Train de Froissy. Not to forget Amiens with its very famous water gardens of 300 ha and last but not least, the picturesque fishing port of St. Valéry.