Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
On the OS map I saw nearby to Trawden a waterfall which on investigation was Lumb Spout quite a favourite of the Victorians apparently. We decided to investigate. We were directed by a local plumber working at one of the farms (very helpful the locals...). And, if not a spectacular falls, it proved a pretty spot. And just nearby were the remains of a bungalow and tea shop which served the Victorian sightseers. Retracing our steps, F. went home whilst I pushed on on an alternative track to Wycoller which we had visited yesterday. Slightly more substantial a path this time... And far-reaching views.... I have always loved this countryside with its stone-walls, moors, isolated old farms, friendly pubs and many signs of old industries. I noted again the ancient bridges and of this John Bentley in The Journal of Antiquities says 'The Clapper bridge, sometimes called the Druids’ Bridge, Weavers’ Bridge or the Hall Bridge, is just a short distance along the beck. This is a primitive structure but of massive proportions consisting of three flat gritstone slabs resting on two stone piers, one being a round-shaped boulder, the other a thinner pillar-shaped stone that looks quite fragile, but it is in fact very strong. It was originally a two-slab bridge sup-ported on one central pier. However the bridge has succumbed to floods over the years and has had to be reconstructed a few times. Its three slabs are heavily worn by hundreds of years of use. There is a legend that says this bridge led to a grove where druids practiced their strange rituals; there is no sign of this mystical grove or amphitheatre today, and the handloom weavers of Wycoller have long-since hung up their clogs! The clapper bridge is thought to date from the 16th-17th century, though a few historians ‘think’ it might date from before the Norman conquest." This shot of the pack horse bridge is almost exactly as depicted in the painting where we are staying (which I may yet buy). In a sequence from the film 'The Railway Children', Jenny Agutter is seen sitting on the bridge, talking to Dr Forrest who is driving his pony and trap through the ford...... I must mention a singular feature round these parts which is the prolific moss and lichen, said to be a denotes of fresh air....I particularly liked the footpath sign where the moss is rampant...
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August 2023
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