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Published: September 28th 2013
Gorges de l'Ardeche
Pont d'Arc - natural limestone bridge over the River ArdecheOur last day in France was spent in the magnificent Gorges de L’Ardèche, situated south-west of Nyons. It took us about 1½ hours to get there but we were rewarded with wonderful vistas and amazing rock formations. The limestone in this area contained some ochre due to weathering and this contributed to the variety of colours in the cliff faces. Many caves dotted the cliffs and some small ones were right next to the road. Some of the larger caves in the area (called “grottes”) can be visited but we opted for a day in the open air.
Our first stop was Vallon Pont d’Arc at one end of the main gorge. We had a tasty lunch at Auberge du Pont D’Arc, very close to the biggest natural limestone bridge (the Pont d’Arc) over an active river in France. It was quite spectacular and if we’d had more time, we would have joined the canoeists enjoying the River Ardèche and the gorge on the water. Following lunch we took the tourist drive along the gorge. At varying intervals along the way fairly new observation areas had been set up above the most spectacular sights. We came across quite a number
Gorges de l'Ardeche
Pont d'Arc from the other side of goats who have made the area their home. They seemed quite tame…one baby goat tried to get into our car when I got out to take a picture.
Later in the day we stopped at St Martin de l'Ardèche, a village at the other end of the gorges on the River Ardèche, not long before it meets up with the River Rhône. It was a pretty town on the river bank where people were sunbaking and paddling even though it wasn’t particularly sunny today.
We’ve had a wonderful time in France in the last 4 weeks but are now looking forward to the next stage of our journey in Italy.
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