Well here we have a wonderful old bridge built in the late 1700's and with marks on it to show how it was used. The problem is there is nothing going over it, eg. lane or track, and nothing going under it as it stands in the middle of a field.
So what's going on you can say, well it's part of the missing mile of canal that was filled in many years ago. If you look at the underside of the bridge you can see where the barge pulling ropes have worn into the stonework when the barges were towed along by the horses.
There are serious plans to restore this section within the next 5 years and therefore hopefully the link between the River Severn and the River Thames will be passable as it did for hundreds of years. Here is a link to a 15 minute youtube film of the missing mile and this bridge appears at about 9 minutes in. Enjoy.
These canal systems are a vital link in the network of canal travel. There has been quite a lot of work done over the last few years to link up various sections. One of our old neighbours was very instrumental in opening the link between the Lancaster Canal with its section south of Preston. I hope this bridge regains its rightful place in canal history.
