Thames Barrier, London

In my defence, my itinerary and map did point out this was a 37min walk. Given better conditions this might have been all worthwhile but you never know until you get there.

Tags:   London Flickr meet 2018 Canary Wharf Thames Barrier River Thames Olympian Way walkway 37 mins dilly-dally mope amble dawdle long exposure Lee filters big stopper 10 stops 0.6 med ND grad

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Exchange Square, Manchester

Another rainy day in town but you don't see this arrangement too often. It's lunch time and not a single customer to be seen inside or out. Nor in the Old Wellington pub next door... very strange... even for Manchester!

Tags:   Manchester Exchange Square Banyan restaurant tables chairs raining raindrops depth of field bokeh Andy Rouse Canon EOS 5D3 5DMkIII EF24-105mm f/4L

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Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey, North Wales

What started out as a perfectly planned military operation commencing at 03:30hrs very quickly went south... literally. Eddie's upload from yesterday has already outlined the day's events but without the detail.

Part 1 (Menai Bridge) locations A, B, C and D all failed to produce anything of worth for uploading as sunrise (07:14hrs)
laughed at us from behind a thin veil of cloud lining the surrounding mountains tops. Other togs came and went, but we stuck it out in defiance, but there was only going to be one winner that day and it sure as hell wasn't going to be us!

B... you can't see the bridge
C... you can see the bridge, but the sun had now decided to put in an appearance, which bleached out most of the shots.
D... bit of a gamble, but to close to the bridge, although I might post one later on just to prove we actually went.

Part 2 (Llanddwyn Island) first time either of us has visited, but no one anticipated the weather on Sunday and although a great day out not the best for dramatic landscape photography, or that might just be down to us and a lack of imagination. So this is my offering, the plain cross with Tŵr Mawr lighthouse in the background. I was going to upload the other lighthouse but Eddie beat me to it and besides his is better.

Part 3 (Penmon Point and Lighthouse)... sod it, we'll go there next time!

Tags:   Llanddwyn Island Anglesey North Wales Tŵr Bach Tŵr Mawr lighthouse plain cross beach coast sea sunshine bright shadows Andy Rouse Canon EOS 5D3 5DMkIII EF24-105mm f/4L 4 whydowedoit

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Kyoto, Japan

Three major sites in one day, the Imperial Palace, the Golden Pavilion and the Pagoda of Tō-ji Temple, interspersed with trains, subways and buses makes for one long tiring day. But here's the science bit about Pagodas...

The pagoda is a structure used to house relics of the historical Buddha. The pagoda of Tō-ji is said to be a form of Dainichi Nyorai himself. The inside of the pagoda is normally closed to the public, except for special openings. Four Buddha statues are located on a platform on the ground level of the pagoda surrounding the main pillar. The statues are facing in four different directions and Buddhist pictures and motifs are painted on the pillars and walls.

Tō-ji's five-storied pagoda is the highest in Japan, measuring 55m (187ft). The reason why a large number of pagodas have five tiers is that each tier has a particular elemental meaning in Buddhism. The five meanings are earth, water, fire, wind, and sky. Similarly, the seven sections of the decorated sorin atop the pagoda each have a symbolic significance as well.

The present pagoda was built in 1644. The first one was built in the 9th century. Since then, the pagodas burned down four times, sometimes after being struck by lightning. But none of them were knocked down by an earthquake. The vibrations caused by an earthquake are absorbed by the interlocked parts of the pagoda and the force of the vibrations is gradually damped as they move to the higher parts of the pagoda. In addition, each level moves independently of the others, in a motion known as the "snake dance". This further absorbs and dampens the energy of an earthquake. Finally, the pillars surrounding the main supports on each level are short, so that the force tending to return the structure to its original position is greater than the deflecting force, which also prevents the pagoda from collapsing.

Tags:   Japan Kyoto Tō-ji temple pagoda five stories 5 levels tiers wooden 55m Buddhist Buddha Andy Rouse Canon EOS 5D3 5DMkIII EF17-40mm f/4L

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Barton Road Swing Bridge, Barton-upon-Irwell

After a successful and enjoyable shoot out at the Southport Air Show the previous day it was back to life's reality check and a little matter of some outstanding DIY. We usually go to our local B&Q centre at Trafford Park, just behind the Trafford Centre. The most direct route is via Worsley and along Barton Road which runs parallel to the Bridgewater Canal before crossing the Manchester Ship Canal at Barton-upon-Irwell. There are two historic bridges at this junction and I've only ever visited once before to try and get a decent photo of either, nor have I ever seen them open.

So we set off early for B&Q on the Sunday morning ahead of opening time so I could walk back and at least reccy the area for a future shoot. My one and only previous visit ended in failure as there is no easy access or decent viewing area to see these bridges but to my surprise there is now a viewing area on the north (Worsley side) which has recently been landscaped. Apparently this is part of a £5.5m regeneration of the Bridgewater Canal by landscape architects and highway engineers at Urban Vision who have designed a range of schemes for Salford City Council which includes the Barton Swing Aqueduct.

No sooner had I unpacked my camera when two "officials" in hi-vis-vests and hard hats followed me down the steps to this new viewing area. My initial guilty thought was "am I trespassing?" but I decided to play the innocent, didn't see any signs first after all. I was surprised when they both bypassed me and headed for the padlocked gates at the end. As it transpired these officials are the bridge operators and for once I was perfectly placed to witness the opening of both bridges... an opportunity I have never witnessed in all of my life... Mrs R would have to choose the paint colour on her own!

Warning... anorak alert!
The author accepts not responsibly for inducing chronic boredom or suicidal tendencies in the explanation of this image.

Barton Road Swing Bridge (or Barton Road Bridge) is a swing bridge for road traffic in Greater Manchester that crosses the Manchester Ship Canal between Trafford Park in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford to Barton-upon-Irwell in the City of Salford. The bridge is a Grade II listed building, and is part of a surrounding conservation area. It runs parallel to the Barton Swing Aqueduct which carries the Bridgewater Canal.

The bridge and aqueduct were inaugurated along with the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, though a bridge had previously existed at this location for over 200 years. During the 20th century, it became increasingly important as an access route to Trafford Park and to allow traffic to bypass Manchester and Salford city centres, and consequently became a significant traffic bottleneck. A replacement high level bridge was built further downstream, and today the swing bridge carries mostly local traffic.

Operation
The structure is located adjacent to, and downstream of, the Barton Swing Aqueduct (see Part 2). The two crossings are controlled from a brick-built valve house, on a 122 metres (400 ft) x 9 metres (30 ft) man-made island in the centre of the canal. The tower is four stories high, each with a 2x2 bay and accessed via an external staircase.

The bridge opens to let shipping traffic through the Manchester Ship Canal, which occurred up to 14 times a day during the heyday of Salford Docks (now Salford Quays and MediaCity UK). The island supports the pivot points for the bridges' rotating structures, which are fixed in concrete. When in their open positions, the aqueduct and road bridge line up along the length of the island, allowing ships to traverse along each side of the ship canal. The bridge is a steel arch of girders, and connects to the pivot point via a rack and pinion system. It is the only swing road bridge on the canal that rotates from the centre, instead of from one end.

History - Early Crossing
There has been a crossing since at least the 17th century at this location, where the road meets the River Irwell. A bridge was constructed over the river around 1677–79, replacing an earlier ford. It was the first river crossing east of Warrington. This bridge was demolished in 1745 in order to stop the progress of the Jacobite army and was replaced by a wooden footbridge, and subsequently a three-arch road bridge. These bridges pre-dated the Barton Aqueduct, and a condition of the aqueduct's design was that it did not impede progress on the Irwell any more than the existing bridge.

Current Bridge
The current bridge was built during the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal. It was designed by the project's engineer, Edward Leader Williams, and constructed by Andrew Handyside and Company. Williams' design was chosen as the best of three possible plans by James Abernethy, who subsequently became the scheme's consulting engineer. The bridge opened to traffic on 1 January 1894. The total span is 59.3 metres (195 ft) and it carries a 5.6 metres (18 ft) roadway.

By the 1930s, the bridge had become a significant bottleneck for workers in Trafford Park, who commuted over the bridge on foot or cycle, particularly during peak hours. It also became an important route for goods vehicles, both heading to Trafford Park and crossing Lancashire, and for parishioners in Eccles travelling to Mass at the All Saints Church on the canal's south side.

In 1946, concern was expressed in Parliament over the closing of the bridge to road traffic at peak times. The following year, the Manchester Ship Canal Company agreed that the bridge would generally stay open for road traffic during rush hour, though this could not be guaranteed. A cargo vessel struck the bridge on 28 December 1948, restricting the bridge to single-line working and a two-ton weight limit until repairs had been completed. In 1953, traffic was banned from turning right off the bridge into Barton Road.

By the 1950s, the bridge had become part of a de facto outer ring road as it formed part of a main road, the A575, from Stretford to Bolton, avoiding both Manchester and Salford. A traffic survey in 1954 revealed 9,600 vehicles were using the bridge daily and it closed 7,000 times a year. A replacement bridge was considered vitally important to the local economy, particularly that of Trafford Park. William Proctor, MP for Eccles, said "I cannot think of any other project in the North of England which should have higher priority than the Barton Bridge scheme." Construction of the replacement Barton High Level Bridge started in 1957; the bridge opened to traffic in October 1960 and has been referred to informally as the "Barton Bridge". Traffic on the swing bridge has also been reduced by the construction of Centenary Bridge located upstream towards Salford.

Conservation Area
In 1976, the area around the bridge was designated a conservation area, with responsibility shared between Salford City and Trafford. The bridge and the aqueduct both became Grade II listed structures. Salford City Council have been concerned about the poor quality of pedestrian access across the bridge, which, as well as being potentially unsafe, detracts from the development of tourism in the area. The council aims to refurbish the area around the bridge and aqueduct so it meets the status of a World Heritage Site, hence the regeneration projects.

Footnote:
If you've read this far hopefully this paragraph will answer my image title. If you look to the right you will see the Barton High Level Bridge in the distance (opened 1960), however, the pair of white support columns are not part of this bridge but a new vertical lift bridge in front of the high level and currently under construction. It would have been completed and operational by now except it collapsed last year, much to the embarrassment of the engineering consultants and client - Peel Holdings (the North West's answer to SPECTRA) - everybody's heard of them but nobody knows who they are!
The cause of the collapse has never been publically released but apparently several engineers have not been seen since but I digress... The two Barton swing bridges still continue to operate 123 years after they first opened... the Victorians were certainly visionaries who planned for the long term and built things to last even though these bridges could do with a major overhaul today. How many structures survive today that are over 100 years old... more than you think!

Tags:   What did the Victorians ever do for us? Victorian Barton-upon-Irwell Barton Road Swing Bridge bridge road swing pivot open Manchester Ship Canal control tower island Andy Rouse Canon EOS 5D MkIII 5D3 EF17-40mm f/4L

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