Hampton Loade

This bridge's distinctive and pleasing shape attracted my attention when I'd seen it in the distance from a train window so why not take a walk along the river to take a closer look. It is the Hampton Loade Bridge to the Water Treatment Works over the River Severn. The tubular blue archways integrated into the bridge are water pipes with a walkway underneath.. The water treatment plant and nearby Cheltmarsh Reservoir were built in the 1960s by Degremont-Laing for Severn Trent Water and it was the first design and build contract for the then national and publicly owned water industry.  (Previously capital projects employed a consultant engineer to carry out a feasibility study and then project manage the resulting contracts).  With privatisation  design and build contracts became the norm.

This stretch of the River Severn is popular with canoeists although I wasn’t quick enough with my camera to catch them going under the bridge.  We didn't inspect the bridge further as our route led us further along the banking (and as it turned out into a thunderstorm) but we did look longingly at

the landing stage across the river on the way past where we had heard the cable ferry ran although the machinery didn't look well used.

however the wiring was still in place nearby

along with the water measurement pole.  The crossing has been here for about 400 years but the floods of 2007 damaged the riverbank and I wondered how far up the pole the water reached.  The owner put the ferry up for sale after the floods and I read that the Hampton Loade villagers now operate the crossing. With the help of Wikipedia here is the ferry in operation 

"Hampton Loade Ferry - 2004-07-24" by © Optimist on the run, 2004 /. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia

and this is the explanation of its workings.  "The Hampton Loade Ferry is a reaction ferry, propelled by the river current.  An overhead cable is suspended across the river, and the ferry is tethered by a second cable, to a pulley block that runs on the suspended cable. To operate the ferry it is angled into the current, causing the current to move it across the river".

 An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at H here

The Severn

On the Severnway path in Bewdley there are many words in metal lettering along the walkway on maritime and riparean themes reflecting the river through time in words.  Here is written the original spelling of the river -  Sæferne (which I think is Anglo Saxon).  It doesn't show up in this photograph but all the lettering is embellished, the river's name has

fish scales 

which I think this old boy is waiting for a sight of as he sits fishing by the Severn.

We went into the Georgian town of  Bewdley for lunch at yes -  The George

and on the way back past a sleeping cat in a shop window.

On return to the riverbank the fisherman was still optimistically waiting for a bite while a swan sailed by

Four bridges have stood here crossing the Severn since 1447 but three have been destroyed by wars and flood.  The present bridge was designed and constructed by the great Thomas Telford (1757-1834) whose foreman mason was John Simpson and in the unusually dry summer and autumn of 1798 the bridge was built very quickly. Simpson was highly regarded by Telford and worked with him on many occasions. His trust was well placed because the bridge has stood up to many floods and heavier traffic than ever Telford could have envisaged.

The Severn starts in the Welsh hills and takes its 220 mile journey through many counties here passing through Worcestershire, it also has not just one but two deities in mythology, the nymph Sabrina (Hafren) who drowned in the river and Noadu who rides the Severn tidal bore on a seahorse at the Bristol Channel. 

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey to the alphabet this week sojourning at S here

 

Kayaks

We came upon this little group of kayaks while wandering downstream from the Jackfield Bridge I showed in last week's ABC Wednesday.  They were practicing on a small fall of white water, the red kayak was paddling downstream but

then turned around to make another run

 meanwhile the yellow kayak was still enjoying trying to progress against the flow

 My preference over a kayak would definitely be a Canadian canoe with those reassuring life-jackets as my swimming ability is negligible.  There are quite a few hire companies offering maps, canoes and journeys of varying length on England's longest river, the Severn.  It  is the perfect vantage point to see wildlife while gently drifting through Shropshire.  One of the day trips on offer is a paddle down the river and then a return by steam train on the Severn Valley Railway which goes over the Victoria Bridge which is a similar design to 

this bridge, the Albert Edward, which today only carries coal traffic to the power station.  Built in 1864 with two tracks but today only one is used due to the age of the bridge, possibly one of the last cast iron railway bridges to be constructed.  When we were here in late August the first touches of Autumn colour had started to appear  but at this point the riverside still retained its summer green.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at K here

          

Iron Bridge

Erected in 1779 and opened in  1781 this is the first arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron and spans the gorge of the River Severn whose nearby settlement takes its name, Ironbridge.  The area has a valid claim to be considered the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution for it is where Abraham Darby first smelted iron ore with coke in 1709 (rather than charcoal or coal) meaning  it could be produced in large economic quantities.  The bridge was closed to traffic in 1934 although tolls were still collected at the toll house until 1950 when the council took over its upkeep. 

The steepness and instability of the gorge was another challenge for the original constructors,  they also had to make the bridge high enough to allow sailing boats through and its 100 ft span is supported by 5 cast iron rib members. Both beautiful an functional it is thought that three forges provided the iron one, one of which is the nearby and aptly named Bedlam Forge.

The view from the bridge today is  very peaceful but I imagine in the past it would have looked very different with the rising smoke and fire of the furnaces.

   "Coalbrookdale by Night" by Philip de Loutherbourg 1801.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet this week sojourning at I here

Meandering in the Midlands

Update: The man who knows calls me foolish this car is of course a Buick Straight 8

A very relaxing wedding celebration at the weekend. Here is the old Dodge car that transported the bridge and groom. It was in immaculate condition and had those bonnie and clyde type running boards. We followed it most of the way from Worcester because we had no idea where we were going. "The Cottage in the Woods" was the destination, however the Dodge was built for the wide open spaces and long roads, so it took a slightly different route into the venue than the twisty lane we followed.
The bride and groom with the view over the valley from this Malvern hill. After afternoon tea with lovely buttered scones, cream and jam we were heading for the party night.
On the Pride of the Midlands. Doesn't look as though it would hold 83 people, but it did with ease, on both the upper and lower decks.
Set sail down the River Severn. This spire dominates the skyline but the church it was attached to, St Andrews, no longer exists as it was demolished in 1949. Known locally as the Glover's Needle (Worcester was at one time a major glove making centre).

Worcester Cathedral & Bridge

As we sailed under the bridges the lights were coming on as the sun was setting. We floated down the river and the swans paddled along beside us. The sun set without a glow but along the riverside were dots of fires. The people sitting by the fires flashed their torches and shouted hellos as they sat taking in the summer night on the banking. The music played on, and eventually under the stary sky at midnight we returned and docked.