Ever heard of the Galléliaure pool on the River Cance in the Ardèche? It was an open-air swimming pool, in the river and in the middle of nature, near Annonay… Back to the town’s aquatic past.
Galléliaure yesterday
Built in 1948 on the River Cance, this pool was a Mecca for the Cercle des Nageurs d’Annonay (CNA*) country swimming club until the Vaure pool was built in 1975.
Hard to imagine today for those who know the site, here is a postcard dating from the time of the water basin in the heart of the watercourse.
- Photo of Galléliaure and the basin on the Cance in the last century:
Galléliaure, today
Now managed by the syndicat des 3 rivières for the development of the river and its adjoining streams, the site has become a no-kill fly fishing course run by the Gaule Annonéenne anglers’ association.
After it was abandoned following the opening of a municipal swimming pool in Annonay, nature reclaimed its rights. However, for those with an eye for the landscape, a few remnants remain on the banks of the River Cance as a discreet reminder of the old water feature.
- Photos of the site on the banks of the Cance, summer 2016
Now a fishing spot, the River Cance flows freely and shallowly here, sediment and other rocks having long since filled in the bottom at the mercy of floods and currents.
Where is Annonay?
The basin is located inAnnonay (on the left bank of the Cance) and Roiffieux (on the right bank), in the direction of Villevocance and the Ardèche plateau towards Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid.
- Interactive map showing the location of the old basin:
Where to swim?
And where can you go swimming in Annonay and the surrounding area?
- Aquavaure aquatic centre in Annonay
- Swimming pools and aquatic centres around Annonay
- Bodies of water and lakes in Northern Ardèche
- Fishing course on the basin site, Cance river, La Gaule annonéenne
- History of the Cercle des Nageurs d’Annonay
- Development of the Cance, Syndicat des 3 rivières