Puddles

Yesterday, large areas in the North of England, had well over a month's worth of rain

 in under 24 hours,.which has left large areas some cities under several feet of flood water.

Down here, in the extreme South West, we were very lucky, we have only been left with puddles.

Cat on a damp tiled roof

A misty day dawned for the Autumnal Equinox

Stormy, Stormy Night

Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a Winter's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and daffodils
Catch the breeze and winter chills
In colours on the twilight linen land.

                                                      with apologies to Don McLean

The Frontier

The Toll Booths on the Tamar Road Bridge 

which joins England to Cornwall at Saltash.

The early morning train .....

.... leaving Cornwall and crossing the River Tamar to enter England,

on its way to London.

Early one morning.

Dawn on the River Tamar,

with the prospect of another fine Spring day.

By mid afternoon the sun shone and there was a light breeze,
which was ideal for the the local children to race their small dinghies.

ROYGBIV

We live in a rainbow of chaos.

                                                           Paul Cezanne

 

 

Viewed from both sides

The River Tamar is spanned by two bridges at Saltash, one for rail and the other for road gtraffic

Looking up stream from the sea.

  

Isambard Kingdom Brunel's,

The Royal Albert Bridge, carrying the rail track, was completed in 1859 and is still going strong.

Looking downstream to the sea

The Tamar Road bridge was opened  in 1963 and traffic volume increases each year.

Morning Mist

Autumn has arrived in the Tamar Valley.

The road and rail bridges slowly emerge from their shroud,

 just in time for the morning rush hour.

Boys just want to have fun.

"Build it and they will come."

The Ferryman

For hundreds of years, before the first of the bridges spanned the River Tamar here at Saltash,

 ferrymen were among the myriad of people who earned their living on the river.

Here, one of a group, in a sculpture commemorating their passing,

keeps a watchful eye on the present day river traffic.

The Plymouth bank of the River Tamar

 at Saltash Passage, where the river narrows and is crossed by the road and rail bridges.

Houses on the waterside, or with an uninterrupted view of the river or the sea, now command premium prices. This wasn't the case when the houses were lived in by people who made their livelihoods there. 

Our recent clear, sunny days ...

... have been followed by clear, cold starry nights.

One bye product of this has been early mist on the river Tamar.

One hundred years apart.

Brunel's Royal Albert Railway Bridge across the River Tamar was opened in May 1859.

One hundred and two years later, in 1961, it was joined by the Tamar Road Bridge.

The major refurbishment of the railway bridge is very close to completion 

and a few days ago it was shining beautifully on a brilliant winter day 

as I enjoyed a bracing walk along the pedestrian outrigger walkway on the road bridge..

The Golden Gate Bridges from England to Cornwall.

Sunrise on a crystal clear, winter's morning, 

catching the rail and road bridges over the River Tamar.

Early morning mist on the River Tamar

Shortly after dawn on Friday there was a very high tide 

underneath the road and rail bridges, which join  England to Cornwall at Saltash.

Looks like another night of heavy rain on the way.

Looking north towards the hills on the southern edge of Dartmoor, 

from high ground near the Saltash Road and Rail bridges.

If video killed the radio star .....

....... then the road and rail bridges across the Tamar, 

between Plymouth and Saltash, put paid to the ferryman.

This sculpture commemorates the ferry service, dating back over 900 years, 

which finally ceased in October 1961 when the Tamar Road Bridge opened.

The Ferryman is looking across the river to the Plymouth shore, from the slipway in Cornwall  to the slipway in Devon, which was in front of the blue building on the right of the picture. 

Autumn Mist

"Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?"

                                                                                                            Dodie Smith   I capture the castle.