My recent trip to the south of France was more of a family holiday than a photography trip, but there was the odd opportunity to get out with the camera. One such opportunity was getting up before dawn to scoot down to the Pont d'Arc which has to be one of my favourite places in that part of the world. Pont d'Arc is one of the great natural wonders of France. The river Ardeche had carved its way through a range of Limestone hills creating a deep steep-sided gorge on the way to meeting up with the Rhone quite a few miles to the east. Originally, at the entrance to the gorge the river followed a sharp meander around a substantial limestone escarpment, but over time the water dissolved away the rock until it broke through creating this magnificent natural rock arch. The 'hole' is apparently 59 metres wide (194 feet) by 34 metres high (112 feet), so it is more than big enough to allow this substantial river through. In the summer this place is mobbed out with canoes, but on this morning I quite literally had the place to myself. I arrived in the dark, and watched as the sun rose and lit up the arch and the neighbouring tower, and the sky turned the outrageously deep blue you see in these parts. It was good for the soul!