Le Pont d'Arc

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. We were lucky enough to visit on a glorious October day with the leaves turning gold, and hardly a soul about. From reports on TripAdvisor and the like, backed up by the number of campsites and canoe hire shops nearby it is apparently very different at the height of summer. By all reports the river is more akin to the Arc de Triomphe at rush-hour and if you do join in the industrial scale duck race on the water you will be lucky not to get a paddle round the back of the head if you stop to look up at the arch. That may seem hard to believe from the tranquil scene we encountered, with a few folk lazying about on the beach just by the Arc, giving me the opportunity to slow down and take a few long exposure shots of WATER (you know I love water) in the wam still air that barely stirred the leaves - wonderful!