Bridge that Gap!
A trip to Millau
BUILDINGS AND ARCHITECTURE TRAVEL THROUGH FRANCE
3/22/20253 min read
Yesterday we had a date. We were to meet friends for lunch in the beautiful town of Millau. It was to be a thank you for looking after their dog Gucci. But for many, many days now the rain has been falling. All those accolades about the weather in the South of France; about our enviable " three hundred days of sunshine a year" have been buried under this heavy and insistent layer of cloud. Every single day is dull and wet , while streams and rivers run full. But, we thought, lunch in a special restaurant might cheer us up , so we went ahead with our plans regardless. Millau lies in the impressive Tarn Gorge, about a fifty minute drive to the north of us. The drive over the Causse du Larzac, a famous limestone plateau, is normally stunning. But yesterday all the colour had drained from the landscape. I would not have been surprised to see the witches from Macbeth appear over the brow of that '"blasted heath.' " You have no doubt heard about the famous Millaus suspension bridge. Had we been continuing on our drive north we would have crossed it, but yesterday we turned off the motorway and wound our way down the valley. If I had hoped to take some stunning photographs of the towering cliffs above us for this blog, all was thwarted. But even in that atrocious weather, the the red topped roofs and tall spires of Millau nestling in the valley below, still looked impressive.
Long before we ever dreamed of moving to this region, we read in the British press of plans to span the Tarn Gorge with an enormous suspension bridge. But this beautiful gorge was a famous beauty spot, that drew many thousands of tourists a year. There was a huge outcry amongst local people, who believed it would not only ruin the landscape , but their town too. But we knew only too well of the problems that motorists encountered when travelling from the north to the south of France . If you were lucky, crossing the Tarn Gorge would add a good thirty or forty minutes to the drive. Hit it at a bad time, and you would join long, slow queues of traffic snaking their way down into Millau and out the other side. But we also felt sympathy with the local objectors, for this valley is indeed very beautiful. An ugly bridge might well have ruined it. But, go ahead it did. The construction began in October 2001, just as we were planning to move here.We followed its progress in the local press with great interest, and felt proud that it was a joint collaboration between Sir Norman Foster, a renowned British architect and a group of French engineers headed by Virlogeux. As you must already know this proved to be a most fortuitous 'marriage.' The bridge was constructed simultaneously from either side , and met in the middle "with millimeter precision.” Phew!
The Crucial task for the architect was to design a bridge that fitted harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. And did it work? You bet it did. We couldn't wait to see it completed, and soon after it opened on 16th December 2004, we made the trip with friends. As we approached Millau, the bridge seemed to be floating like a graceful sailing ship above the clouds. This is the very first photograph of the completed bridge that we took.
There is an interesting visitors' centre at the north end, where one can learn more about the details of the construction. We went there that day, and took these pictures of the bridge, looking south from the special viewing point.
We hope to make the journey north to England in May. I know for a fact that I shall be just as awe-struck and excited as we cross that stunningly beautiful and graceful bridge, as I was on that very first day.
