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England
• Trent (1) • Dee (2) • Severn (3) |
France
• Seine (4) • Gironde (5) • Dordogne (6) • Garonne (7) |
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Europe
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The Atlantic coastline of Europe is the main location for tidal-bores with a tidal range from four to six metres surrounding Great Britain and along the west and north coasts of France. Several bores can be found in both countries.
The north-coast of Spain is the only other location with a large enough tidal range but there are no significant estuaries along the coast.
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Further north a bore can be found on the Dee, about 15km north-west of Chester. This wave is considerably smaller and only significant on exceptionally large tides.
The tributaries of the Humber Estuary are the third location for bores with the largest occuring on the Trent when tides exceed 6m at Blacktoft. Other tributaries with much smaller bores are the Ouse and Aire.
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The Trent is a tributary of the Humber meandering south. The aegir is most effective after a long spell of dry weather but can be greatly diminished by above average freshwater levels. The main viewing locations are at Gainsborough, Stockwith and Owston Ferry. The name aegir (or eager) is most likely derived from the French eau-guerre meaning 'water-war' - a vivid description of the clash between the downstream river flow and the upstream tide flow. |
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The Dee estuary is located just on the Welsh side of the northern border with England and then meanders through Chester.
It is a relatively small but surfable wave on the largest spring tides. |
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The Severn Bore is the largest tide wave in the UK. Beachley, on the Severn, has the greatest UK mean spring range of 12.40m [40.7ft]. The largest official height of the head wave is 2.8m [9.25ft] recorded in the Guiness Book Of Records. Though historical documents regularly talk about head waves around 10ft in the 17th and 18th centuries. |
The bore can be viewed at several locations on both the east and west banks on any one tide. The A48 runs parallel to the west bank for part of its course and popular viewing locations are at Newnham, Minsterworth and Over Bridge. The most popular spot on the east bank is Stonebench, where the record wave was measured, but access and parking is not very good here. Further information is given on the Bore Riders Club website.
The world distance surfing record currently 5.7 miles held by Dave Lawson was acheived on the Severn from below Weir Green to Maisemore Weir.
There are two centres for mascarets in France. One is around the large funnel estuary of the Gironde separating Saintonge region and Médoc. The other is the rivers flowing into the English Channel on the north coast - one of the few sea areas in the world where macrotide range is over six metres. In the early to mid twentieth century the River Seine, which flows through Rouen, was renowned for a phenomenal mascaret that destroyed many ships over the centuries though this bore is almost extinct now.
Mascaret activity also occurs in the Baie Du Mont St Michel in Normadie. A small mascaret can be seen at the mouth of the Sée and Sélune rivers, about 10km east of Mount St Michel, near Avranches. The bore can be observed from Grouin du Sud. A small mascaret also used to travel up the Cousenon next to the Mount, but a dam was built in 1969 to prevent the salt water flooding of the inland plains.
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The mascaret on the Seine river was one of the most famous waves in the mid 20th century. This phenomenal (but dangerously irregular) tide-bore destroyed
217 ships in 60 years around the turn of the 19th century! Sadly dredging of the estuary and the completion of the Canal de Tancarville have all but caused the cessation of this great wave! |
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The Gironde is the estuary mouth that is fed by the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. The Gironde estaury forks into the two tributaries near the port of Bayon and two separate mascarets travel up each river. The mascaret is normally surfable for four to five days around the full (or new) moon. The wave can be surfed on the Gironde but reports are fairly poor! North westerly winds can create a surge and increase the size of the mascaret. |
The tide occurs from sixty to ninety minutes earlier than in the Bristol Channel so expect an early start!
The most effective location is probably Blaye-et-Sainte-Luce about 25km north west of Bayon on the eastern side. There is a small island here which channels the tide and concentrates the swell. Other possible viewing locations are at Macau and Pauillac.
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The Dordogne is the upper fork of the Gironde estuary.
The mascaret continues on its course up the Dordogne, with two potential surfing channels near the popular Port of St Pardon, just north west of Vayres (see map above for channel illustration). Here the river is about 200m wide.
The mascaret works best in early Autumn when freshwater levels are not too high.
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The bore has anything from 2 to 9 rideable whelp waves behind the head wave and all of these can reach a similar height. The waves can be riden for upto 3km (approx 15 minutes).
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The Garonne is the lower fork of the Gironde estuary. Here the wave can be more hollow than on the Dordogne, but the ride tends to only be about 4 to 5 hundred metres. The bore travels from the city of Bordeaux as far as Cadillac. There is a road that runs along the eastern side of the river so it is possible to watch it at several locations. |
Potential locations for a good wave are Le Tourne, Cambes, Langoiran and Cadillac. It is also possible to surf at St Pardon on the Dordogne and drive to another location on the Garonne. (But you have to drive very fast!)
Possibly worth researching the mascaret along the Garonne to avoid the crowds on the Dordogne!