I've always liked this viewpoint on the city walls circuit. I'm stood just beside the red tower, the only structure on the walls that is not built of limestone. Behind me is a long break in the walls. There was never a need to build this section because it was an impassable lake and marsh.
The nearer part of this view is a relatively low section of the walls, and unlike most of the walls it is not built on a bank. The difficult soft ground conditions would have made that difficult, if not impossible. Further in the distance the wall rises onto a bank, and becomes higher, so there are a lot of steps on this section.
In Victorian times there were plans to demolish the walls, but strong opposition prevented that, and the decision was to make the walls accessible to the public. The original walkway was very narrow, so major work was undertaken to widen it. Much of it will be more than twice as wide as it was before the improvements took place.
I only walked a short section of the walls, as a quick link between two places where I needed to be, but I did enjoy it. I think perhaps a walk of the whole circuit would be a good idea in the near future.
Would love to work on that wall as far as it goes. Touring Fortifications send me back to those centuries which many dream of chivalry - while we disregard the poor folk who toiled and toiled for their masters to be fed panut
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Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
In view of the interest that some of you have shown in our city walls, I will be posting more shots of them in future.
Ian
Thank you Judith. It is hard to imagine anyone even considering demolishing the walls today.
Ian
Thank you Vesna, the wall walk is a lovely place to walk.
Ian