The Mighty (and not so mighty) Loire..

These photographs were taken at the confluence of the Loire and the Vienne at Candes-Saint-Martin (38 kilometres from Braye), the first one on 12th December 2010 and the second today.

The small tree on the bank in the second shot is the one you can see immersed in the water in the first shot. We estimate the difference in river level to be approximately 5 to 7 metres, there being very little water in the Loire at the moment due to the drought.

For interest, the plume of 'smoke' in the top photograph is actually steam from the large nuclear power station 8 km up river near Le Petit Chouzé.