L’Ecluse in Pegomas – Walk, Play & Eat By the River

Only 15 minutes from Cannes there is a little corner of paradise where you can go for a family stroll along the riverbanks, try a slightly more strenuous walk up to the beautiful village of Auribeau-Sur-Siagne, splash about in the river, try your hand at a bit of fishing and top it off with a lovely lunch, dinner or drinks in a wonderfully idyllic setting.

L'Ecluse River

This is literally our neck-of-the-woods and one of our favourite places to go year-round for a walk, a leisurely lunch, and in the summer to escape the heat. I will outline a few different options as to what you can do in this area so feel free to mix and match your activities depending on how much time you have.

L’Ecluse (which means ‘lock’) is  part of the River Siagne which is located between Pegomas and Auribeau-Sur-Siagne. The river starts up in the hills in Escragnolles and winds its way down to the Mediterranean Sea via this lovely spot.  There is a big grassy area with a bit of a children’s play area and lots of shade which make it great place for a picnic, to feed the ducks or kick a ball around.

A word of warning – swimming / paddling is not permitted in most of the river as it is part of the hydro-electric network linked to the dam at Lac St Cassien. The currents can be strong and can change in an instant when the dams are opened, further upstream, so please do not ignore the notices that say ‘Baignade Interdit’ – ‘Bathing forbidden’. Below, I will detail a place where it is safe to paddle at the confluence of the rivers.

No bathing

Location:  The parking is located at 951 Chemin de l'Écluse, 06580 Pégomas. There is a huge gated parking for clientele of the restaurant. If you are patronising it, you are very welcome to park in there, but if not you will need to park outside the barriered entrance.

Family Stroll – 30 - 40 minutes return

For a leisurely stroll that is pushchair-friendly walk past / through the restaurant and follow the river under the shade of 100+ year old trees and soak up the views of the village perched up ahead. After about 300m the path splits to go around a water treatment building – you can take either as they meet up again a few hundred metres later. Eventually you will come to a confluence of the rivers and a metal bridge and here is a good place to turn around unless you want to do an ascent up to the village of Auribeau-sur -Siagne. 

Auribeau village reflected in the river

The metal bridge at the foot of the path up to Auribeau

Walk up to Auribeau-sur-Siagne – 2km – 1 hour return

If you and your family would like a slightly longer walk, you can take the steps up to the village of Auribeau-sur-Siagne. The path is slightly hidden at the foot of the gardens of the house in front of you once you’ve crossed the metal bridge. There is a wooden sign pointing to Auribeau village.

The path will lead you all the way up to the village where you can explore the traditional old streets and take in some great views of the surrounding hills and out to sea. To return to L’Ecluse retrace your steps back down the path and over the metal bridge.

The streets of Auribeau village

Auribeau Sur Siagne Loop Walk 

Total Distance: 5km       Elevation: 150m     Estimated Time: 2- 2.5 hours     Difficulty: Easy

For a longer variation of the walk up to Auribeau, you cross the metal bridge and take the steps leading up to the village as above, but then, as the concrete path takes a right, there is a path going straight ahead with the red/white markings of the Grand Randonne (GR).

This is where the concrete path goes off to the right and we go straight

Follow this path and it will bring you along the river.

Follow the red/white markings along the river

Keep following the path along the river for approximately 1km before it will eventually bring you out on to the road (Chemin de Tanneron). The road will cross a bridge over the river to your left but we follow it up to the right - be careful here as there is no pavement. It will then join Chemin du Gabre and you now follow this to the right. Eventually you will come to a junction with a cross. 

Turn right here and after about 60m take the left path (Chemin du Bosquet) which will bring you up to the village parking and square. Continue to the tourist information office, and you will have re-joined the red/white markings. Following these will bring you back down to the metal bridge but be sure to have a wander around the quaint streets of Auribeau before returning. There are also a few bars / restaurants here with lovely views across the valley below.

Restaurant with lovely views in the village of Auribeau-Sur-Siagne

River paddling / fishing

At the confluence of the river, near the metal bridge, there is a small stony ‘beach’ area and you can paddle around here and we often have a go at fishing with a few nets.  As above, be aware that the currents can change at any minute so it is inadvisable to swim out into the river. In the hot summer months this area can get quite busy mid-afternoon with locals cooling off - it is better to visit in the mornning.

Riverside Dining

Having worked up an appetite you can treat yourselves to a delicious lunch, or ice-cream and drinks at the restaurant on the banks of the river. They have a good varied menu at reasonable prices given its beautiful setting. For menus and booking please see http://restaurantlecluse.fr/fr/services

Opening times:

• Monday 10am - 2pm
• Tuesday 10am - 2pm
• Wednesday 10am - 2pm
• Thursday 10am - 2pm & 7pm - 11pm
• Friday 10am - 2pm & 7pm - 11pm
• Saturday 10am - 2pm & 7pm - 11pm
• Sunday 10 - 2pm

Accommodation:
Visiting the French Riviera and haven't booked your accommodation yet? Why not check out our wonderful centrally-located, self catering, townhouses and apartments sleeping from 2 - 11 people. All our properties are air-conditioned and are located on pedestrian streets within 5 minutes walk of the beach. We are a small family-run company so we are on hand for anything you may need before, during or after your stay!
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