Le Bois du Plan

Departure and parking: Torrent de Clapouse car park

1. From the car park, take the track which runs due south along the Clapouse torrent. A lonely damsel with a headdress can be seen on the left bank of the torrent (to the right of the walker). Pass under the EDF canal bridge. From there, the canal runs underground for almost 12 km to reach the commune of La Saulce, where it emerges from the mountain
2. Turn left onto the E26 track and follow the Durance canal. On the right, the plain of the Clapouse torrent, called Pré Achard, is now cultivated.
3. Reach the bridge crossing the EDF canal. From there, a track goes straight ahead. Continue on this track, which runs alongside the canal for a few metres before entering the Bois du Plan. The trail then evolves in the coolness of this pretty mixed forest. When the track splits in two, continue on the leftmost downhill track. A few hundred metres further on, the track again offers two directions. Once again, take the downhill track on the left. This joins the D951.
4. Once you reach the tarmac road, fork right along it and continue for about 500 metres
5. Leave the road and re-enter the forest on an ascending path to the right. This soon joins a forest track. Continue straight on until you reach the track from the first leg. Return to the bridge over the canal
6. Take the bridge and continue on the Rue du Bois du Plan. Take the first left and pass the school. When you arrive at Place de la Fontaine, turn right to go past the town hall. It is easy to join the route des Trois Lacs, which, if you take it on the left, leads back to the starting point.

ABOUT THE DURANCE CANAL
The EDF canal, or Durance factory canal, is an irrigation, drinking water supply and electricity production canal built by Électricité de France to divert part of the waters of the Durance. It is several hundred kilometres long and flows into the Etang de Berre (Bouche du Rhône). Although it provides fresh water to a large part of Provence, it is also dotted with numerous hydroelectric power stations. The section of the Curbans canal was built between 1963 and 1965. It is the part of the factory canal which carries the waters of the Durance from the Espinasses dam, which completes the hydraulic development of Serre-Ponçon, to the Curbans power station.

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