Great Britain: Town Path Bridge in Salisbury (2)

One last photo of Salisbury and then we'll move on. This is another view of the three-span Town Path Bridge across the River Nadder. The bridge has a long embankment on the west (far) side that juts into the river (retained by masonry wingwalls) and then rises over the river into Salisbury.

The Nadder begins as springs and streams in south Wiltshire and flows northeast until it meets the River Avon in Salisbury.  The 32 km river is popular for its clear water, abundance of trout, and the unspoiled meadows along it's banks.

Great Britain:Town Path Bridge in Salisbury (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Great Britain: Water Lane Bridge in Salisbury

Another quaint one span bridge in Salisbury. This structure carries Fisherton Street over a tiny tributary of the River Avon.  It looks like a through girder bridge made out of blocks of stone. Or maybe it's just a reinforced concrete slab with big stone pedestals. Note the pretty green abutments.

Salisbury is quaint. Across Fisherton Street is a bicycle shop, an Indian restaurant, and a philatelist (now a delicatessen). Water Lane is a footpath along the tributary that is lined with shops.

In medieval England, Salisbury was an important center for the wool industry. It survived plagues and rebellions in the 17th century, but the wool industry went into decline. Today its main industry is tourism.

Great Britain: Water Lane Bridge in Salisbury by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Great Britain: New Canal Footbridge in Salisbury

Another pedestrian bridge across the River Avon just south of the Fisherton Street Bridge.

In yesterday's blog I wondered if a steel girder bridge could have a large camber (the Happy Pontist said aye). Today's steel bridge has an even bigger camber! Actually, this bridge is like one of those deck-stiffened arches designed by Robert Maillart (only made of steel instead of concrete).

As we saw yesterday, the bridge's handrail matches the railing used along the nearby paths and houses. However, no child could fall between the closely-spaced bars on today's bridge.

This is a nice area of Salisbury with pretty homes and a path along the river. We can see the Crane Bridge in the distance. I wonder if these huge homes were ever owned by a single family? I would imagine that today, four or five families live on every floor.

Great Britain: New Canal Footbridge in Salisbury by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Great Britain: Bishop's Mill Bridge in Salisbury

I couldn't find any information about this bridge. Its in the middle of town near the Clock Tower (originally a prison) and the Town House Inn (now called the King's Head).

Because of the dark color, I originally thought the deck was supported by steel girders. However, because of the large camber I'm now thinking it must be a cast-in-place reinforced concrete bridge.

I like the metal railing on this bridge (that continues along the sidewalk). I also like the little masonry abutments. Looking downstream (along the River Avon) is the big, Fisherton Street (vehicular) Bridge.

Salisbury is very pretty (with beautiful bridges, buildings, houses, quay walls). Stonehenge is just north of town (along with neolithic burial mounds) and the area has so much history that it gives an added dimension to one's surroundings.

Great Britain: Bishops Mill Bridge in Salisbury by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Great Britain: Crane Bridge in Salisbury (3)

A last look (from the downstream side) at the Crane Bridge. I never understood why they put cutwaters on both sides of a bridge. When you're so far from the sea the chances of the river flowing upstream should be zero.

Unlike the upstream face, all of the cutwaters in this photo are the same size. The facing stones were reused (after the bridge was widened) so it looks similar to when it was first built. This late medieval bridge was constructed with wooden forms to support the arches until the keystones and facing stones were in place.

Great Britain: Crane Bridge in Salisbury (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Great Britain: Crane Bridge in Salisbury (2)

A closer look at the Crane Bridge. The photo shows the facing stones acting as a retaining wall for the embankment. Also, the closest cutwater is much taller for some reason. It looks almost like a boat ramp beside the bridge, except the arches look too small for anything bigger than a kayak.

Pools of algae have collected in front of each pier and the bridge is covered in lichen. The wet English climate appears to be ideal for a variety of plant life.

While doing research for this article, I found several bloggers complaining about being harassed by landowners while paddling on the Avon. In the U. S. all navigable waterways are owned by the public. In England the public has the right to use established footpaths but no such right exists for traveling on rivers that pass through private land. However, an act by King Charles II may have given such rights to the public on the River Avon.

The Crane Bridge is a couple of blocks to the northwest of the ancient Salisbury Cathedral. The Town Path Bridge is a couple of blocks further to the west. The ancient town of Harnham and the St Nicholas Bridge that was built in 1230 is just south of the pasture to the west. The Nadder, the Ebble, the Wylye, and the Bourne Rivers, all tributary to the Avon, flows south to Dorset and the sea.

Great Britain: Crane Bridge in Salisbury (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.