Day ten, Mon 13th May
Overcast again today, so I thought we it would be a good day to visit some bridges I wanted to see, better than sitting moaning about the weather.
As we were getting ready to go out, the Thompson's rep came by and asked it every thing was OK, so we told him about the previous night. He was horrified and said he would speak to reception and security to get the motorhome moved.
On the road first we would visit the transporter bridge in Rochefort, we had been previously in 2010 but it was closed because of a fault. I wanted to revisit and possibly travel over it this time and there was another old bridge just outside Rochefort as well.
We knew the way but used the SatNav anyway, it took us to a road that is now closed, a new supermarket had been built and the old road closed off. We could not see anyway to get to the bridge from where we where, so we had to head back out onto the the main road, cross over the river and go to the north side of the bridge. It was not the side we wanted to be on, as my photo was in the museum on the south bank (see the 2010 visit).
The transporter was closed, I forgot that on Mondays the bridge did not open until 14:00 and it was only around 13:00, it was starting to rain and I didn't want to wait around.
So we changed plans and set off to drive towards Fouras on the coast. Well I got in the wrong lane on the main road and we headed back over the river and not the way we wanted to go at all. As we turned of the main road once over the river to get back the way we wanted to go, there was a sign for the transporter bridge, so we changed plans again and followed the signs.
By the time we arrived and parked outside the museum it was nearly time for the transporter to start running, so we walked over to the bridge. An old couple on bicycles were waiting to cross over and kept waving to the people on the other side of the bridge. They then started to moan to us that the bridge wasn't working but in French, I think. We tried to explain that the bridge was just about to open and even pointed out the time table but it did take some getting through to them. They did thank us though when they eventually did get it.
When the gondola arived at our side, I asked, if we got a return ticked how long it would be before the return trip, the answer was almost straight away. We bought a return ticket. It may seem like a strange thing to do but there are only eight of these bridges still standing in the whole world. We have used the transporter close to our home many, many, times and have been using it since we were children. I have added a couple of photos for comparison, the first one is the Tees Transporter followed by the Pont Transbordeur Rochefort.
This transporter is slightly more expensive then ours, a return at home is £1.20 on foot or £2.60 by car, here it was €2.40 on foot and it no longer takes Vehicles. The crossing only takes about four and a half minuets each way but I thought it was great.
On the way back to the car park we popped into the museum to see if my photo was still on display (see the 2010 visit), I was please to see that it was. The photos below are of my photo in the exhibit there, followed by the original photo.
We had an interesting conversation with the curator, and discovered there are even more similarities between Teesside and Rochefort. The last three bridges over the river Tees are a modern flyover, a vertical lift bridge and a transporter. The last three bridges over the river Charente were also a modern flyover, a vertical lift bridge and a transporter, the vertical lift bridge however, has now sadly been demolished.
Feeling pleased with myself we headed off to find another historic bridge over the river Charente, a suspension bridge this time. Pont de Tonnay-Charente, is inland along the river Charente in Tonnay and is one of the oldest cable suspension bridges in the world. It is now closed to road traffic but you can still walk or ride over it.
It was only a short drive to the side of the bridge opposite the town, where we parked at the foot of the ramp leading up to the main span and set off for a walk into town.
As I have aged, I think I am getting vertigo or something like it, I do not like heights any more and I felt a little bit dizzy crossing over the bridge. Off the bridge on the other side, we made our way down to the riverside and walked towards the town centre. It was very quiet but at least the sun came out.
As the sun was now shining. we crossed back over the bridge and made our way back to the campsite for a spot of sunbathing.
The offending motorhome was just leaving when we got back, result.
Day Nine or Day Eleven
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