Day 14 – Bovec to Tolmin

May 07, 2026

The Napoleon Bridge

It was a cool and fine start to our third day in the alps. This day was described inn our notes as an easier day. In theory only 34kms and less climbing.

We continued to roll down the Soca valley occasionally seeing glimpses of the river which had continued to grow in size. At one point we saw a rather impressive waterfall seeming to come out the cliff that then tumbled down into the valley. Sights like these slowed our progress as we took photos of the sights that impressed us.

A view just outside Bovec which was typical of this area

Before the village of Kobarid we had a long climb taking us high above the river. We had travelled for about 20kms, mostly on the main road which had cars and trucks occasionally passing us rather too closely for comfort.

The waterfall

We dropped down a steep gradient on a quiet road that took us to a bridge called the Napoleon Bridge. The bridge crosses the Soca river at its narrowest point. There have been a number of bridges at this crossing point going back to ancient times. They have included several wooden bridges and a stone bridge that were demolished at various times by the defenders of the area. The bridge got its name after Napoleon, because the French troops were fighting their way up the upper Soča valley in the year 1797. The concrete bridge was built post the second world war. It frames the Soca gorge and river very nicely.

Another of the Napoleon Bridge

The Soca gorge

Kobarid was recommended as a place to visit. It was about 500 metres away and was rather pretty although like many of the towns and villages we passed through we did not see many people. We were ready for a coffee break. While having the coffee we spotted the charnel house that had been recommended as a place to visit as much for the architecture as the view of the Soca valley.

We climbed a rather steep hill to a charnel house that had been built by Mussolini in 1936. Along the way we observed the 14 stations of the cross that had been created. Here is what Wikipedia says about the structure. At the core of the site is a small chapel on the Gradič hill dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua and consecrated in 1696. The chapel contained frescoes by a local artist, Luna Šarf, but these were mostly lost during the adaptation of the site to the new memorial, and only the fresco depicting universal judgement remains.^[5]

Beneath this the architect Giovanni Greppi built three octagonal modern structures rising below the baroque chapel and the sculptor Giannino Castiglioni carved the fourteen Stations of the Cross on the winding road that leads up to the shrine from the main square of the town.

We had another picnic lunch there in the warm sun before wandering around the memorial. The bones of over 700 Italians who had been buried in Ljubljana where uplifted and placed in the Charnel House. It is a quite an impressive structure. The names of the soldiers are engraved around the structure.

Inside the chapel of the charnel house

Leaving Kobarid

It was then time to continue on our ride to Tolmin, our next destination. It was meant to be flat and I suppose by comparison with the day before it was. It was very rural and like everywhere we went different and pretty. Cuckoos called throughout this latter part of the ride. The weather forecast had been for rain but it held off although as the day wore on the clouds gathered.

On arrival at our hotel in Tolmin we discovered yet another basement storage facility for the bikes although the planks of wood were wider for conveying the bikes to the basement. It was a one person job provided one was careful with the brakes. For safety we did it in pairs with the receptionist helping.

After getting our rooms I met Bev and Graham in a little square where they were enjoying a drink. It was very pleasant until the first few drops of rain appeared. We figured that this was the beginning of the rainy weather we had been expecting.

We cycled 43 kilometres and climbed 416 metres. So much for a rest day.