Bridges, Old and New

We woke at 7am this morning to the sound of the church clock chimes. This was then repeated a few minutes later which made me think that Emma had pressed the snooze button! We emptied and filled at the service point which was squeezed between the tennis court and “witches brew” coloured swimming pool.

Driving to our first destination of the day we remarked again at how this area is so like Dartmoor. Rolling wooded valleys with tiny villages linked by winding narrow roads. 

Our first stop was Brassac. We didn’t know if there would be parking in the town so we pulled into a lay-by just before the name sign and walked along a path beside the river. The road into town was the height of industry - there was a sawmill, a trout farm and lots of former mill buildings. The river was obviously used in the past to power these factories.

The reason for our visit was to see the pretty medieval bridge which crosses the river in the middle of the town. I was concerned that the bridge might be too narrow for Kiki as this was our route out - I needn’t have worried, there is now a pont neuf for traffic. We returned to Kiki for coffee before heading to our next destination.

We had a vague location for Le Passerelle de Mazamet - we knew it was somewhere just south of the town of Mazamet. Fortunately, as we drove out of the town, we spotted a car park specifically for Le Passerelle!

It was quite a climb up from the car park, some of which was on a old Roman road which was paved in granite and incredibly steep. At the top we came across the suspension bridge spanning a deep gorge. The bridge is 140m long and about 200m above the road and river way below of the valley floor. With some trepidation we walked across the narrow bridge - it was sturdily built but had a see through-base and a low wire fence on each side. Halfway across the ground below was a long way away! We made it across, paused to take in the view before plucking up courage and making the return crossing.

We took a different route back to Kiki via what seemed to be an old terraced garden. This was much less steep and easier going.

After lunch we headed back through the town and up into the Montagne Noir. We diverted slightly to look at another medieval village but our attempts were thwarted by a narrow road. We managed to turn around, parked and continued on foot. Unfortunately we had misjudged the distance to the village and after walking a km we decided to return to Kiki.

Our favourite Park4night app showed an Aire de Camping Car a little distance away so we headed there. The parking is next to the pretty Barrage des Montagnes, a reservoir located is a wooded valley. We walked around the reservoir before dinner and settling in for the night.