Bridge

 Those of you who have driven along the toll motorway by Birmingham will have seen an apparent Bridge to Nowhere.....

It is a canal bridge, constructed at the same time as the motorway, ready to reconnect a length of canal.....

The years have gone by, but at last the land ownership either side has been sorted. 

This is the article in the group magazine....

The Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust is doing fantastic work...Canal have a look and see what they are doing...and they are just one of many groups working hard to revive the canal system.

They are on farcebook too.

Bridge at Upokongaro

 We had a ride from our coach's house (keeping the bikes there is better, not in a car that could sit here getting very hot, and safer too) down to the Mountains to Sea path by Dublin Bridge ( sorry no photo yet!) and up through Papaiti to Upokongaro.

This was where there once was a ferry to Upokongaro. There was a shop, and there still is a school, café, pub and church.

When we left Whanganui in February 2020 everyone was eagerly awaiting the moving of the bridge from a field by the river....but last minute technical difficulties meant that we missed it!

It is beautiful...I am still not keen on heights...and drops....but I did ride over it, and on the return, held hands with a French tourist from Dijon to help her walk across... mutual assistance!!

A model of a Moa...the equivalent for this continent of and ostrich...but bigger!

And on our way back.... couldn't resist this...a postbox!!

It is a relief that this bridge is there...no need to ride for 10 km up the state highway!!

Back in Kent

this is a beautiful foot and cycle bridge over from the entertainment park where the hotel is where we are based, to the town side and large supermarket.

The first evening children were waving to lorries travelling on the M 20 below and being rewarded with horns sounding!!

One patch of wet ground between the motorway and the park has deep water and is a sort of wet nature reserve...moorhens and ducks paddling through the duckweed 

Autumn fruits showing themselves by the path which leads to pirate's nephew's home

 And a tree rat!!

We went to pirate's old mate's funeral yesterday...quite a success...150 cyclists plus family...plenty to talk about....three hours and counting!!

Barskimming wander

 We had a short wander after posting, near Mauchline by the River Ayr, starting by the Barskimming bridge. Originally built in the 1600s I think, then improved in the mid 1700s. 

Robert Burns was courting the miller's daughter unsuccessfully...the year after he married Ann Armour.   

It was only after getting home that we realised that the huge heap of bricks had been a three storey mill, rebuilt after a fire in the late 1800s. It was the biggest water driven corn mill in Ayrshire. By this century it was derelict, after use by a metal supply company..there are photos of it in 2010 and 2013 looking very sad...it appears to have been demolished sometime between 2018 and 2020 and the site out up for sale for redevelopment.

You see the arch? The three storeys were above that.

The heap of bricks.

The bridge from upstream then downstream. We walked a little way upstream almost to where the Lugar joins the Ayr, but deep as it is the floods had been a good six foot deeper and the path was partly washed away and partly overgrown.

There was a path on the river side of the fence....rather a washout unfortunately.

I might be able to find a little more about the mill...but how a grade two listed building can disappear.....very sad.

Yonder

 Afternoon bike ride...in the sun no less!

Just when you try and get clever...and sort the photos in reverse order....it puts them up as you listed them!!

No worries, they are all there.

We went here and there...and even yonder!!

Glasgow Day Out

 After getting my camera checked...and confirmed as brain dead..we walked along the Clyde past all the bridges..well, most of the bridges...

 Compared the old Titan crane to a new one

 And went to the Scottish Exhibition Centre to see the Creative Crafts Show. I was so busy getting inspired...and it was busy...I didn't take any photos!!

 On our way to Kelvingrove we discovered....

 Loads of small and medium-sized workshops and businesses in a close

 Some yet to be filled

 Kelvingrove museum and gallery

 Mind blowing and informative!! We will be going there again....

 And back along Sauchihall Street...

Plenty of walking...and plenty of inspiration!!