A nice bright morning but I don’t think it will last. We said out farewells to Felicitas – I hope that we may see them again later. Just down the canal is the Vazon Sliding Railway Bridge. This is an unusual retractable bridge that can be rolled out of the line of the canal to allow boats through. It was originally built in 1915, though it has been replaced since, and is supposedly one 
of only three of its kind in Europe. On approaching the bridge you have to sound your horn and the signalman opens the bridge. There then followed a series of swing bridges. The second one was very different as it is, at present, operated by a boat as there is a new bridge being built over the canal. The third bridge I shared with the signal man – he closed the railway gates and I did the canal bridge. We pulled over for lunch just through the bridge and decided to stay for the night as it’s a lovely place and we are well ahead of schedule.
I actually managed to get the washing dry outside before the heavens opened and we the most almighty deluge. There are three houses behind us and we can hear a pump going so I guess that there must be some flooding.
Once the rain stopped we walked up to the village of Crowle. The road was completely straight from the canal and my pedometer said it was a mile. We did have to shelter under a tree as a heavy shower appeared out of a blue sky! Apparently Crowle was one of the last largest pieces of dry land on the north of the Isle of Axholme when the area emerged from Lake Humber after the last Ice Age. In the 1620s, Vermuyden drained the land, turning a productive marsh-based peasant economy into a less productive arable system. It was not until the late 18th century that the land was drained properly.
of only three of its kind in Europe. On approaching the bridge you have to sound your horn and the signalman opens the bridge. There then followed a series of swing bridges. The second one was very different as it is, at present, operated by a boat as there is a new bridge being built over the canal. The third bridge I shared with the signal man – he closed the railway gates and I did the canal bridge. We pulled over for lunch just through the bridge and decided to stay for the night as it’s a lovely place and we are well ahead of schedule.I actually managed to get the washing dry outside before the heavens opened and we the most almighty deluge. There are three houses behind us and we can hear a pump going so I guess that there must be some flooding.
Once the rain stopped we walked up to the village of Crowle. The road was completely straight from the canal and my pedometer said it was a mile. We did have to shelter under a tree as a heavy shower appeared out of a blue sky! Apparently Crowle was one of the last largest pieces of dry land on the north of the Isle of Axholme when the area emerged from Lake Humber after the last Ice Age. In the 1620s, Vermuyden drained the land, turning a productive marsh-based peasant economy into a less productive arable system. It was not until the late 18th century that the land was drained properly.
No comments:
Post a Comment