Gorge du Verdon, Provence > Reviews (1)

In the following review we shall experience the nerve-tingling excitement of the rim; witness the sheer, pant-wetting terror of a drive around the gorge; groan at the feeble attempts at humour while sharing the highs, and hopefully not the lows, of the death-defying, stunningly stupefying, automobile excursion from hell.

The Gorges Du Verdon make up the largest canyon in Europe and only the Grand Canyon in the USA is larger. From Castellane to Moustiers-ste-Marie the canyon cuts its way for 21 km through some stupendous scenery. The River Verdon begins its journey at 2500m above sea level before winding its way for 172 kilometres until it reaches its confluence with the River Durance. The river has been tamed by the building of a succession of dams, each one forming a lake.
At water-level, in certain places, the width of the gorge is only six metres, with vertical cliffs of up to 700m.
There are also pre-gorges which have a more gentle landscape to them with more gradual slopes.

At the beginning of the 20th century at a time when almost every corner of the world had felt the effect of man's booted foot, the gorges had still not been fully explored. But in 1905, with the need to increase water supplies, the gorges were surveyed and explored for the purpose of utilizing the water resources. The plan was to completely flood the gorges but thankfully, there were enough people, with enough foresight, to prevent this happening.

It's possible to drive right around the gorge by travelling along the Corniche Sublime road, which was built in 1947 by cutting into the rock on the left bank. This road is extremely winding in parts - most parts - but there are parking places at all the best viewpoints. Following this road takes you over the Pont de l'Artuby, a favourite spot for bungee jumping.

The road on the right bank allows you to travel between Castellane and Moustier-ste-Marie, a circuit of around 23km which has some of the most impressive viewpoints, too many to mention but one, Point Sublime, is breathtakingly magnificent.
This is probably the best known and most photographed view of the gorge.

Personally....
I hate those narrow, twisting, winding, hairpin roads. I'm not too happy when, with 700m drops, the engineer's idea of a safety barrier is a 12 inch high wall, or perhaps a miniscule wooden fence, or as it most cases here, nothing at all. I like a road that is divided by white lines - one side for me, one side for anyone travelling in the opposite direction. As if anyone keeps to their own side of the road in France anyway.
But most of all, my concept of holiday excursions is to avoid plunging headlong, screaming and shrieking, to a horrible, grisly thud while my shattered bones are strapped into a metal box which is going to be engulfed in flames on impact far, far, far, far below.
So why do it? - Och, why no?

Besides Mrs P wanted to and believe me, it's far safer to face almost certain gravitational, bone-crushing destruction than to risk the wrath of my woman scorned.

I'd love to tell you about the views as we drove along but I'm afraid I didn't really see much. I was too busy watching my life pass before me. Mrs P said she didn't see much either as she was too busy having a good laugh at the sheer terror etched on my poor, pathetic little face. She's all heart.
As I sit here writing this now, a lifetime later, I feel a cold sweat coming on. Is it any wonder I partake of a small libation from time to time? I'm a nervous wreck.

Would I do this again? - I'd sooner pluck out my eyes, roast them on a spit, gobble them up and wash them down with a bottle of Bud Lite.*

* Obviously, that's a wild exaggeration. There's no way I'd drink Bud Lite.

©proxam2012