2000 Years Of Bridges in France.

Two Thousand Years of Bridges.

After spending several days in the Provence area chasing lavender fields we were positively lavendered out – we were also abbeyed out. We had seen some great country and really enjoyed what we had seen up on the plateaus but we now needed a change.

(Once you have seen one abbey you have seen them all – they are very much the same – lovely stone work, beautiful caved pillars, the same sandstone colour and the occasional stone sculpture but very little colour. The churches on the other hand are all different. They all have magnificent iconic pictures, stained glass windows, lovely coloured statues, chapels and alters and their own way of presenting their treasures. I could keep looking at churches, chapels and cathedrals for every, l find they all have a distinct personality of their own.)

We decided to do a Back Roads of France drive that enabled us to see many different bridges dating from Roman time till present time. Our trip started at the 2000 year old Roman Bridge the Pont du Gard and ended at the amazing new viaduct spanning the River Tarn Gorge at Millau and on the way we saw magnificent scenery, the wild uplands and the shady chestnut forests of the beautiful Cevennes area and deep canyons of the Gorges du Tarn and the many small stone bridges that are deep down in the gorge and crossing the river.

This is the Pont du Gard - look and see how small the people look on this very large Roman Bridge.

 

The Pont du Gard is the highest bridge ever built by the Romans. It is a stupendous feat of engineering still unsurpassed.  It is 160 Ft. High and as well as being a traffic bridge in its day, it was also a via-duct carrying water some 30 miles/50klms. The French have turned this grand Roman Bridge into a real tourist attraction with a large visitors centre, museum and 3D movie. It was just fantastic to see it and to be able to walk across it even through there were lots of people also enjoying the bridge.

 

There were many tunnels cut through the mountains that we had to pass through.

 In most places the road is very narrow - a bit scary when some one is coming the other way.

The drive through the Gorges du Tarn which is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Europe was just unbelievable. There were magnificent views, as the road snaked its way along the heavily treed side of the gorge that has been sculptured out of the limestone by the Tarn River. Along the way were several stunning little villages built into the sides of the steep mountains.

 

Two of the Villages on the way. 

This is a small group of houses on the other side of the river accessed only by a flying-fox.

 In some places there were small groups of lovely old stone houses on the opposite side of the river and these were only accessible by a flying fox strung across the deep valley and fast flowing river. The stone bridges were old, very small and very pretty and if you had to cross one they were only wide enough for one car at a time.

Two of the stone bridges we saw on our journey along the Gorges du Tarn.

 After a long steady drive down from the high rugged mountain area, we eventually arrived in the large city of Millau and the viaduct de Millau. This marvellous engineering feat finished in 2004 has created one of the highest suspension bridges in the world (higher than the Eiffel Tower) and it spans the gorge made by the River Tarn for a distance of 2.5klms. The tallest pier is 340mts tall.

 This is the Bridge at Millau. There are 7 piers that support this suspension bridge.

 
This was a great Back Roads of France journey –such a great variety of wonderful countryside to admire and enjoy and the many little villages and their beautiful old stone houses, churches and bridges were delightful to see. It was a great journey in the middle of summer when the fields were green and full of cereal crops and the villages were very colourful with their hanging baskets full of brightly coloured flowers, but I also had to wonder how beautiful this wonderful area would have been in winter covered with freshly fallen white snow and then in spring, what would it look like when the river is swollen and roaring through the gorge.