The RER E stations and trains smell new. At the beginning of August, there is room in the carriages and we sit with pleasure, lulled by the ambient air conditioning while outside, Paris flirts with the heat wave. The further west we go, the more the journey tastes of new. Since May, the RER E has been extended in this direction with the opening of stations such as Nanterre-La Folie, La Défense-Grande-Arche and Neuilly-Porte-Maillot. But before exploring this part, let’s start the journey in the Far East, at the station of Chelles-Gournay (Seine-et-Marne), the terminus of one of the RER E branches.
The passengers on the train that day are mostly tourists: they are heading to the Vaires-sur-Marne nautical stadium, which will host the Olympic rowing and canoeing events, and which they will reach by shuttle. At this Chelles station, which opened in 1849, others are also taking the Transilien line P.
Leaving the station on foot towards the banks of the Marne, you quickly find a summer calm among the pretty millstone houses with gardens in the small adjacent streets. It takes about fifteen minutes to cross the magnificent Canal de Chelles, which you cross by a small bridge. Then comes the wooded park of the Vieux Moulin which you must cross to reach the banks of the Marne, on the Quai Auguste-Prévost.
At the foot of the ruins of the old mill lies the regional nature reserve of the Chelles Islands. For centuries, these islands have been the scene of nautical and agricultural activities. The Marne then served as a motor and the mills marked their course. In 1865, the commissioning of the Chelles Canal diverted navigation and allowed the islands to remain relatively isolated. Under the old arches of the Chelles mill, a pretty colony of swans and geese seems to have settled. Here begins a walk along the Marne, which will allow you to see, here and there, the chain of a dozen islands that make up this green setting of five hectares. This walk can be done on foot but also on the water, by boat (as part of a guided tour), by canoe, kayak or paddle boat.
The wild, wooded islets, which are forbidden to enter, have been protected since 2001 because they contain treasures of biodiversity. As for flora, among the 178 plant species recorded, the large dodder and the impatiens, two plants that are very sensitive to trampling, benefit from regional protection. These two species have also given their name to two of the Chelles islands: the neighbouring Ile aux Pinsons and Ile aux Colverts, proof that there have always been many birds along these banks of the Marne.
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