“Humber Princess” a 700 tonne oil barge exiting Waddington Lock, with the Waddington ship breaking yard in the background
Conisbrough viaduct, over the River Don
The end of summer really wasn’t, with a ‘shorts and t-shirt’ type of day for the trip from Rotherham to Sprotbrough. The canal/river here is very wide and deep, because there is regular traffic of the last oil barge working the inland waterways. I met this barge at Waddington lock, and thought it prudent to get out of the way…
The trip was idyllic, in the weather (just a slight following breeze), and with little traffic. It is a busy day if I meet 5 boats, so different than doing anything by car. I’m moored across from the “Ship Inn”, which is also a landing for a large party boat (60+ people) which I saw twice yesterday: once with a kids pirate birthday party, and one last evening with another rambunctious group. Not an issue, and it is great to see that there is some commercial traffic. Went past Conisbrough viaduct, which is a very striking railway viaduct, now in use as a bike/walking trail. The viaduct emphasizes the massive effort to make structures to support the railways in the late 1800’s, and also the effort that was made to make these structures aesthetically appealing. The detail in the brickwork, with carved stone inlays is really different than the plain, utilitarian bridges of precast concrete that are made today. I’ve seen this constantly: the Victorian era always seems to make an attempt at making the utilitarian with some aesthetic appeal. Cast iron seems to be always with some shape and form other than simple rod and plate.
