Tulle - Gimel-les-Cascades

The waterfalls at Gimel-les-Cascades are cited as one of the must-see sights in La Corrèze, and they are a short drive from Tulle, so we went to see them.   They are suitably impressive.   We can see them today only because a scheme by a German engineer to turn them into a hydro-electric plant was thwarted.   So instead of an anonymous building and a set of concrete pipes, we can see the waterfalls pretty much as they were then.

The site is privately owned, is protected by the state, and costs €6 to get in.   There are three falls in all, plus rapids in between, and you can see them all from a footpath that parallels the river.  The path is uneven but there is a handrail for those of unsure footing.   It's a pretty place.

The village of Gimel was tucked away in the hilly landscape, difficult to reach, and poor.   The hydro-electric plant would have brought wealth to the village, so the fight against its construction was controversial.   The fight was led by a M Vuillier, a reporter for Hachette, from the days when they set off with a notebook, made sketches, took notes and reported back. He discovered the village and retired there, eventually to die there.