A single lane bridge over the Claise at Le Grand Pressigny, last Friday at rush hour.This year's drought has brought water levels down in most of the rivers in our region. The Claise is no exception. There is at least one spillway on the river at Le Grand Pressigny which slows the river down. It could have been done to create a basin to power a water wheel at some point in time, although I saw now evidence of that. It could also been built for flood control.
But there's no need to worry about floods this year. The river is flowing very slowly right now. From the bridges you can see the river bottom and watch fish moving about, but only at the clear spots that haven't been covered by lily pads and other aquatic plants. The water is quite clear.
Clear water and a lovely, single-lane bridge... that's a nice thing to see on a summer day. :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your château-hopping!
Flood has hit our town many time...it seems the rain are our enemy
ReplyDeleteSorry about the drought but that is a beautiful bridge. I think I love it. :)
ReplyDeleteI always wonder who has priority on such a single-lane bridge. Saw quite a few during our visit and fortunately we were the only car on it but saw some tire tracks along the concrete sides . Since this one is metallic, the drivers backing away from on-coming traffic must have some "fun" .
ReplyDeleteRush hour... lol!
ReplyDeleteThe weir is to create a millpond, as you suspected. The Claise falls at a rate of nearly a metre a kilometre, so has an average of 1 mill every kilometre. There is more than one mill in le Grand Pressigny.
ReplyDeleteBeaver: there are signs either end with arrows indicating direction of travel. If your direction has the thick arrow, you have right of way.
Some day I want to see the Loire; they have good wines there I hear.
ReplyDeletejudy, a very peaceful scene!
ReplyDeletebalimoz, that's not good!
writer, it's raining now...
t.b., susan answered the priority question below. Whoever is on the bridge first has the row, obviously, but otherwise the sign tells you who gets to go first.
cubby, right?!
susan, cool. I didn't see the mills, so we they must have been upstream from where we were.
michael, yes, good wines! And a beautiful river, to boot!
We think the mill there has been demolished. It was probably on the island opposite the station. However there is a mill (possibly 2) visible from the other bridge.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I can't believe you went out during rush hour. I don't know how you tolerate all the traffic.
ReplyDelete