Old Postcard of Bridge Over Cher in Montrichard

We bought these lovely old postcards at the Montrichard brocante a few years back.  The postcards show the old bridge over the Cher along Rue du Pont, with the castle ruins in the background.

We thought it would be interesting to try and match the views in the postcards to modern Montrichard. As you can see we were not able to get the same angle as the postcard photographer, who we think stood to the right of the bridge on the left bank, as today there is a private garden preventing us from standing on the same spot.

However you can see there are a number of building that help match the images from over 100 years ago with the images from today.

A couple of interesting differences stand out.  Firstly there are a lot more trees in the modern images. Have a look at the ridge on the left of the of the castle .... quite a difference!  And the postcard photos weren't taken in the middle of a drought so don't show so much of the river bed and bridge supports.

More old postcards from Montrichard can be found in this blog about Postcards of Rue du Pont and Bridge over Cher.

Postcard of Montrichard posted 1908 with view of river, bridge and castle

Photograph of Montrichard with view of river, bridge and castle

Postcard of Montrichard with view of river, bridge and castle

Postcard of Montrichard posted 1915 with view of river, bridge and castle

Photograph of Montrichard with view of river, bridge and castle

Postcard of Montrichard posted 1909 with view of river, bridge and castle

Photograph of Montrichard with view of river, bridge and castle

Postcards of Rue du Pont and Bridge over Cher in Montrichard

We bought these fantastic postcards at the Montrichard brocante a few years back.  The postcards show the view from the old bridge over the Cher along Rue du Pont, with the castle ruins in the background.

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard Posted August 1939

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

This photograph, taken from the car when we were stopped at the traffic lights, shows nearly the same view.  You can see that the tower on the castle has been destroyed, probably by the French when trying to prevent the Germans crossing the Cher during the Second World War.

Photograph showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

Bridge on Cher at Montrichard During Drought

As regular readers will know all too well, we are a little bit preoccupied at the moment with the drought.  Sometimes though it is hard to find the words to describe how much drier it is this year compared to years past, so we'll let these pictures do the talking.

This picture is of the depth gauge on one of the bridge arches.  The photo was taken on 1st June 2008 and shows the water level at just over 2.5m. 

Depth gauge on Cher under Montrichard bridge in June 2008

These photos are taken from the Montrichard side of the bridge looking upstream.  The first, from June 2008, had to taken from the road as the promenade along the river is under water.  The depth gauge is hard to pick out but in the first photo it is showing a water depth of over 2.5m.

The second photo was taken on 25 May 2011 from the promenade.  The lowest marker on the depth gauge shows 0.3m when the water is on the top of the concrete plinth around the arch supports, so the difference in water level between the years is well over 2.2m.  

Montrichard bridge 1 June 2008

Montrichard bridge during drought 25 May 2011

This second pair of photos is taken from further downstream.  The first one from 2008 shows the promenade underwater, with the benches looking out of place in the water.  The difference in water level is stark, with the second picture showing how high the arches are.

Montrichard bridge 1 June 2008

Montrichard bridge during drought 25 May 2011

This last pair of pictures is from the Montrichard side looking downstream.  In the top photo you can just see the promenade disappearing into the water with the path under the arch impassable. 

Montrichard bridge 1 June 2008

Montrichard bridge during drought 25 May 2011

Montrichard at Night

Montrichard Bridge at Night

Living near a pretty town was not high on our priority list when we were house hunting in France, so we counted ourselves very lucky that we ended up with Montrichard as our local town. It is a lovely ancient market town with a range of shops all the way from mid-sized supermarkets through copious estate agents to a specialist chocolatier that makes the most fantastic cakes.

Inspired by one of this month's categories for readers' pictures on the BBC News site we thought we would try to capture the night sky over Montrichard; especially as the moon is still almost full. We had hoped we would be able to capture the moon rising above the Cher with Montrichard's very pretty bridge in the foreground but unfortunately the moon stayed behind a large bank of clouds so it was not to be. All was not lost however as it was a gorgeously warm night with no wind so walking along the river bank was lovely. The town looked very pretty too with the soft glow from the street lights picking out the ornate roof lines and the dungeon's spotlights making the surrounding trees appear blue and orange against the black sky. To add to the spectacle we were also treated to a fantastic light show in the sky as we watched an electric storm pass by the town ...... sadly without any rain!

Sometimes we think that we comprehend the sheer number and variety of insects here,

Insects swarming around a street light in Montrichard

and then we see something that makes us think again. On the way back to the car after taking the photographs of the bridge and dungeon, we passed this street lamp on the bank of the Cher. Swarming on and around the light were hundreds, if not thousands, of flying insects. We are not sure what they were, however they looked a little bit like large flying ants. On closer inspection we could see that not only were the flies attracted to the light they also covered the lamp post and the pavement below. Certainly an unpleasant experience to walk through them, but luckily they were more interested in the light than us.