Micklethwaite swing bridge on the Leed-Liverpool Canal near Bingley.
Interestingly, in the canal's working days, this was a picking-up and dropping-off point for the fast passenger packet boat direct to the port of Liverpool - and perhaps the route to emigration to America, for some people. Beside the bridge, just to the left of my shot, is a building that was a warehouse for supplies for local farmers and the adjacent mill. The loading doors, through which cargo was loaded and unloaded from the canal boats, are now bricked up but still visible in its wall.
The fields in the background are being tussled over. Housing development companies want the land for residential development and there is a vigorous campaign of opposition from locals. They have won backing several times from both the local Council and the Secretary of State for Communities but still the developers press ahead, working and reworking their plans to try to overcome the objections, one of which is that the access over the narrow swing bridge is inadequate.
I never realised that there was passenger transport on our canals. There's always something new to learn from the English landscape.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see progress/developments gobble up green spaces.
ReplyDeleteLovely quality about that shot. Like John, I didn't know that canals carried passengers. Unfortunately, communities need to develop - but it's best not left to the developers. These days, communities can get involved.
ReplyDeleteThat should stay as parkland!
ReplyDeleteThe struggle between development and preservation is never-ending, isn't it?
ReplyDelete