Le Pont Pérent

Le Pont Pérent, Chartreuse, France

60cm x 80cm x 5cm sSculptural Watercolour® in a boxed frame

The Pont Pérent in the Chartreuse Massif was constructed around 1500 and remained in use until a revised route was opened in 1856: the roadway we take today in our motor-cars.

It is remarkable that this rather hidden and almost forgotten section of the old route up the Guiers-Mort Valley is still there, remaining virtually unchanged through more than 500 years!

J M W Turner came this way on horseback in the summer of 1802 and sketched this bridge (as seen on the page before last). By referring to that sketch, you may stand on precisely the piece of ground he stood on, and sketch or photograph the view, although the bridge is largely obscured by the greenery.

Many famous people must have travelled this same 'vieille route' such as the poets William Wordsworth in 1790 and Matthew Arnold in 1850.

Although the bridge is a French National Monument, it is not easy for the visitor to find.

If you should visit when it is wet underfoot, take great care, as the ground around where Turner stood may be extremely slippery.