Tag: Ironbridge

To the bridge

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

We need to walk down to Ironbridge to buy some cards, apparently. We’ll go this morning, as there’s a chance of a shower this afternoon (again! It is April, of course). I’ll take the camera…

One of the photos below depicts some old brickwork, topped by steel sculpture. Only very recently (after more than 40 years of walking past it) I discovered that it was the southernmost support of the former railway station footbridge, which spanned the road alongside as well as the tracks. There’s always something of interest to discover!

Christmas Eve in Ironbridge

On By geoffspagesIn PhotographyLeave a comment

A walk down to the river, partly to see how high the waters have risen, and partly to make the most of a cold but beautifully-sunny morning. Yes, it’s high – but not on the Wharfage yet. Yes, there are others about down there, but not too many – they’re easily avoided. The bridge has been a deep red since its recent renovation, but today it resembles silver filigree.
Nearing home, a hour or so later, the sunshine has gone – it’s a grey day. Tomorrow it’s – Merry Christmas everyone!

High water

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“We ought to go down and look at the river”. Last time the Severn was this high was almost 20 years ago, in Autumn 2000. These floods have set new records locally, though happily the temporary flood barriers along the Wharfage in Ironbridge seem to have been sufficient. There was a fear that the water might rise over the top, and at some stage (during the night?) the weight of water seems to have pushed them back across the road. Further downstream, the water’s on the road near Bedlam (only seen that once before) and poor Jackfield looks a bit sad. Now the waters are receding, very slowly – hope that’s the last of it for now…

Then and now

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Nearly six years ago, we stood beside the road, high above the Severn near Leighton, to look at the floods – and in doing so, recorded the scene downstream, taking in the then still active power station at Ironbridge. This afternoon, as the sun neared the horizon, I stood in the same spot and pointed the camera as before.
See “Deeper and Higher” for more on the February 2014 floods, and “Bang!” for the recent demise of the cooling towers.

Bang!

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, Video2 Comments

Sorry – it’s hardly original. The eagle-eyed will have spotted one or two not-very-cryptic photo captions relating to Ironbridge power station, which operated for the last time just over four years ago. Since then, it has been decommissioned, and now is undergoing demolition. So far, such work has not been obvious, but this morning, at 11am, the towers came down. They were so big that they always seemed to be nearer than they were – the closest was about 2/3 of a mile away from our vantage point, the furthest not far short of a mile. Just before 11, we heard warning sirens – and then the towers began to fall. The boom of the explosive charges, like the crack of thunder following a nearby bolt of lightning, came when the towers were well on their way down. Yes, we know why, but the laws of physics can easily be forgotten in a moment of excitement.

Now they’re history. The intentionally salmon-pink towers were quite an icon in this part of the world, and it was a sad sight to see them being reduced to rubble (and an awful lot of dust!). However, the Severn Gorge already looks more rural, like it did in the early 60s, and when the chimney and turbine halls have gone, the riverside here will look completely different, in closer accord with a greener future.

There’s no-one here!

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

We’ve had lunch, the rain has stopped and the sky has cleared, so we’re taking a stroll from Ironbridge to the top of Coalbrookdale and back. It’s a pleasant afternoon – mild, bright and mostly dry (it’s trying to rain when we get back to the car). But where are all the people? There’s no-one else on the bridge, the Wharfage is deserted, Coalbrookdale’s quiet. Most unusual!

View OS map on Streetmap https://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=366895&Y=304151&A=Y&Z=120

Front seats at the top

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Two weeks ago we saw a red ex-London Transport bus in Ironbridge (see The Wharfage and the bridges). Not a common sight in these parts! “www.regionaltransport.co.uk“, it said on the front. We’d better look into that… It turns out that they are running “sightseeing trips” between Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, on Wednesdays in August. The next Wednesday was wet. Today, the weather’s much better, so we’re off to Shrewsbury on the normal bus service. We’ll enjoy a light lunch before joining the 2.20 departure from the Square, by the old market hall. The route back to Ironbridge is very familiar, but it’s great to look out at the passing scene, from the front seats at the top… At Ironbridge there’s around 45 minutes to wait for the service bus home (we could have walked, but…) – perfect for tea and cakes.

Regional Transport of Shrewsbury