Forêt de Tronçais
Relax and unwind surrounded by sturdy oak trees more than 300 years old. The 11,000 hectare Forêt de Tronçais is one of the most beautiful forests in Europe.
The Forêt de Tronçais and its 300-year old oak trees !
Relax and unwind surrounded by sturdy oak trees more than 300 years old. The 11,000 hectare Forêt de Tronçais is one of the most beautiful forests in Europe, a paradise for walking, cycling and even water sports and swimming in and on Saint-Bonnet-Tronçais Lake. There are activities for everyone to enjoy in magnificent surroundings.
The predominantly oak forest is also planted with beech and hornbeam trees to force the oaks to grow ever higher in search of light. The resulting 40-metre tall trunks (after 250 years !) - the same height as cathedrals – give the forest an unusual, impressively majestic atmosphere. There are traces of the presence of man in the forest since prehistoric times including remains of Gallic resistant encampments and Gallo-Roman sites. Caesar marched through the forest and Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister under Louis XIV, organised its restoration in order to ensure the Kingdom of France had a powerful Navy. Trunks were specially selected to supply the shipbuilding industry with top-quality raw materials.
The Forest and its 40 springs
Visitors who take time to really explore the forest will notice that water bubbles up beneath the undergrowth, creating little brooks which trickle under leaves and between roots. Around forty such springs have been identified in the forest. Nowadays hidden and left to their own devices, in the past they were well-maintained as an essential source of clean water. The forest has been inhabited since time immemorial. In the village of Le Brethon, the Priory de la Bouteille, of which only the chapel of Saint Mayeul remains, shows that Benedictine monks came there to cut themselves off from the outside world over 1,000 years ago.
During the 19th century, the forest was dotted with huts and cabins, the temporary homes of woodcutters, log splitters and charcoal burners who all built shelters in a style typical of their craft. Today oak staves are made from Tronçais wood for use in the manufacture of barrels for best Bordeaux wines. Wines from Saint-Pourçain are also aged in barrels made from Tronçais oak.
There are heaps of different activities in the Allier region including dog-karting, swimming (lifeguards in summer), pedaloes, canoes, water slides, 15-hole crazy golf, tennis, table tennis, badminton, play parks, basketball, volleyball, fishing …
