River Doubs – the Royal Salt Works
Along The Waterways

The Doubs Valley

We love cruising in the Doubs Valley – the feeling of being a little off the beaten track, the wooded slopes, the craggy outcrops, the irresistibly pretty little villages.  It can be hard to tear yourself away, particularly if you have all the languorous luxury of a hotel barge at your disposal.  What’s around the next bend?  What will we see next?

Near Dole or Besançon – the Royal Salt Works

One of the answers to that question could be the Royal Salt Works at Arc et Senans.  Although not on the River Doubs itself, it is just a short journey to get there – only eighteen miles from Dole or twenty-two miles from Besancon, and in all of our years and years of cruising vacations, the sheer joy of the place makes it a stand-out memory.

It’s not just because of the history, although there is plenty of that.  It is easy to forget how precious salt was in the centuries before refrigeration as it was often the only means of preserving food for the winter.  Because it was a valuable resource it was heavily taxed in France, an imposition so detested that it became one of the triggers for the French Revolution in 1789.  The grandeur of the Royal Salt Works, with its magnificent semi-circle of classically designed buildings, reflects the importance which salt once had.

There is an exhibition in the Director’s House which describes how brine was pumped in underground pipes from nearby Salines-les-Bains, but hurry past that: it is interesting, as is the fact that it took three stages of renovation over decades to restore the site to its original, spectacular beauty after a fire in 1918, but keep on going –  it is the gardens you must see.

The Royal Salt Works Gardens, Arc-et-Senans

Every year, between early June and late October, the Royal Salt Works holds a garden festival, choosing a different theme each time, with subjects from nomads to the comic book hero Tintin – you can see how quirky the vision is. This year’s theme was the circus, complete with a circular garden evoking a big top tent, and a scaffolding garden constructed by local high school students. The whole idea is to be inclusive. It is not the world famous Chelsea Flower Show, but something which takes itself less seriously and is far more exuberant. There’s a magic to it which we adored.

The small plots are located behind the former workers’ cottages and you can wander from one to another, through tunnels and over bridges, past mirrored pyramids, and extraordinary wicker constructions, with greenery tumbling everywhere.  It is gardening with wit, it is gardening with tenderness, it is imagination run riot. The creative hum around the place is borne out by the fact that they also appoint an artist in residence annually.

There is no stopping them, either: at the moment La Saline Royale is built in an arc but there are plans afoot to complete the semi-circle with the addition of twenty more gardens.  We can hardly contain our excitement.

by Kate Dunn

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