Here’s something for the weekend to take our minds off the world’s woes, many and intractable as they are. WordPress, which hosts Life on La Lune, proposes a monthly #WordPrompt to get bloggers writing. I don’t usually need an excuse for that, but I was pleased to see that March’s prompt is “bridges”. I am very keen on bridges and have quite a photo collection of French ones.

From the abstract…

Ever since our ancestors threw branches over a stream in order to cross, people have used bridges to span obstacles. It’s no surprise that they have become powerful symbols of connection, unity or transition.

The French have a well-used expression in relation to public holidays: faire le pont or bridging the gap. Most public holidays in France fall on the actual date, which can be any day including weekends. If, for example, the holiday falls on a Thursday, people often take off the Friday as well. Ils font le pont. In other words, they bridge the gap to the weekend and get four days’ break.      

I like the tranquillity of bridges, their symmetry. If I can, I stop in the middle of a bridge and gaze down into the river to the sound of water washing against the piers. Shoals of silvery, darting fish or the occasional roving pike reward one’s patience. Branches ripped from trees by storms and swept down by flood waters float underneath. I could stay for hours just watching and listening. I rarely do.

…to the concrete

France boasts some wonderful examples of bridges: large and small; ancient and state of the art. Some have legends associated with them, like the Pont Valentré in Cahors. Others are simply beautiful examples that have stood the test of time, like the Pont du Parayre in Peyrusse-le-Roc. Yet others have presented considerable technical challenges, like le Viaduc de Millau or the earlier Viaduc du Viaur (1902).

Here’s a selection of my favourites in rough chronological order of construction.

Le Pont du Parayre Peyrusse-le-Roc (Aveyron)

I love this little bridge en dos d’âne (lit. like a donkey’s back or hump-backed). I came across it quite by chance. Trudging down the hill among the ruins of the former Peyrusse, I found the River Audierne at the bottom. After May rains, the brook was in full flow, bounding and frothing over boulders.

I followed a path along the bank until the bridge appeared around a corner. With its green covering of grass, moss and ivy, it looked as if it had grown there.

This 12^th-century structure formed part of an ancient mule and pilgrim track. It is deceptively simple: only a single-arch bridge but built with skill and kept together by the pressure of the stones against one another. And probably some mortar these days.

Le Pont Valentré Cahors (Lot)

This 14th-century fortified bridge was started in 1308 and took 70 years to complete. It has six arches and three towers and is now a World Heritage site.

A local legend says that the foreman of the construction works was frustrated by slow progress. He entered into a pact with the Devil, whereby the Devil promised to speed up the bridge’s completion. He promised to carry out all of the foreman’s instructions. The payment was the usual price: the foreman’s soul.

As the bridge approached completion, the foreman began to see the disadvantages. He tricked the Devil by sending him to fetch water in a sieve. Furious, the Devil sent a minion every night to work loose the top stone of the central tower to ensure that the work was never finished.

When the bridge was restored in the 1870s, the architect Paul Gout installed a stone into the central tower with the carved image of a demon. This confuses the Devil into thinking his demon is demolishing the bridge as instructed.

Le Vieux Pont Belcastel (Aveyron)

The Aveyron River divides the village of Belcastel. Most of the houses are on the right bank, but the church is on the left bank.

Up to the 15^th century, the church was situated in the precincts of the château. The Seigneur of Belcastel, Alzias de Saunhac, built a new church on the opposite bank and ordered the construction of the bridge to provide access to it. The bridge also served to unite the people of both banks, who were always fighting. Quite how they managed that with a river in between is beyond me. Maybe they threw things at one another. Or boated across for a quick brawl.

The bridge has six arches, but you can’t see them all in the shot above, and in fact one of them is under the road. Le vieux pont is now a monument historique.  

Belcastel boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant on the right bank, le Vieux Pont. The owners have a small hotel on the left bank, where we have stayed a couple of times. To reach the hotel, you have to cross the bridge, which is frighteningly narrow. And because of the hump, you can’t see if a vehicle is crossing from the other side.

Monet’s lily pond bridge Giverny (Eure, Normandy)

This has to be one of the most painted and photographed bridges in the world. Claude Monet’s paintings of his lily pond are famous worldwide. He painted it obsessively in different lights, at different seasons, each time capturing a new aspect.

Monet moved to Giverny in 1883. Ten years later, he bought a neighbouring piece of land and created a water garden inspired by the Japanese prints he collected.

The original Japanese bridge no longer exists, since it had rotted too extensively to be saved during restoration work. The current one is a reproduction in beech wood.

Le Viaduc de Millau (Aveyron)

Finally, the tallest cable-stayed bridge in the world, 343 metres at its highest point. This stupendous structure straddles the Tarn Valley and relieves the previously logjammed town of Millau of traffic.

Despite its size, the viaduct is almost ethereal from certain angles. Proof that modern architecture can be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.

This is not one I would care to cross on foot. In any case, it carries a motorway, so you can’t. The best view is from further down the Tarn Valley. You don’t see much if you cross the bridge by car.

Have you visited any of these bridges? Or do you have favourites to share with us?

I could have included many more, but here are some in a gallery.

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