Memories from Devil's Bridge (Sepia Saturday 588)

 

 

The prompt for Sepia Saturday 588: "a covered bridge going to who knows where"

I can't recall that I've ever been on a covered bridge like that one. However, in the past, I have been on a lot of old railways and steam trains, because of my dad's love of them. Most of our family holidays (by car) back in my teens, both in Sweden and in Britain, involved visits to various railway museums and other remains of old railways and station houses. 

The combination of railway + bridge brought back one such memory in particular: From Devil's Bridge in Wales, visited on a family road trip in England and Wales in 1974.

Postcard (1974)

We went there by steam train from Aberystwyth, through the Vale of Rheidol:

Ticket (1974)

Postcard (1974) -  Rheidol Valley

I'm afraid the only photo of my own from Devil's Bridge is not really blog material - even after an attempt to enhance it digitally - but here it is, anyway:

It shows my parents (well, dad's cap and mum's jacket) having climbed down to some lower platform beneath the bridge, to look down on the river (Mynach) - and perhaps also see the construction of the bridge(s) from below.

Wikipedia is more helpful when it comes to reminding me of details:  

The bridge is unique in that three separate bridges are coexistent, each one built upon the previous bridge. The previous structures were not demolished. The top one (from 1901) is an iron bridge. Beneath it are two older stone bridges, the oldest one from medieval times. This Wiki photo shows the construction more clearly than the old postcard:

Photo from Wikimedia Commons
(geograph.org.uk 2005)

According to folklore, the first bridge was built by the Devil - hence the name.

According to legend, the original bridge was built after an old woman lost her cow and saw it grazing on the other side of the river. The Devil appeared and agreed to build a bridge in return for the soul of the first living thing to cross it. When the bridge was finished, the old woman threw a crust of bread over the river, which her dog crossed the bridge to retrieve, thus becoming the first living thing to cross it. The devil was left with only the soul of the dog.

Besides the postcards in my album, I have another souvenir to remind me of the visit to Devil's Bridge - a piece of jewelry I bought in a gift shop there. I guess one reason it has stuck in my mind where I bought it is the contrast between the name of the place vs the item itself: a Celtic cross.  It is one I have worn quite a lot over the years, as it has a very clever design - it can be used both as a pendant and as a brooch.

Färjestaden, Öland

Road Trip 2018, Part 19

Our last stop on the island of Öland (still 18th July) was at the small seaside town of Färjestaden. The name means Ferry Town.

The Öland Bridge (~ 6000 meters long) seen from the harbour at Färjestaden, was looking kind of mystic in the dim evening light.

Before this bridge was built (1972), ferries were the only way to cross the strait between the island and the mainland.

I think the only ferries still running now are just for passengers – and bikes!

“Bicycle Ferry to Kalmar, 30 min. Buy ticket aboard.”

We had hamburgers and fries at a harbour café for dinner/supper. (At least that’s what I had. I don’t remember what Per chose!)  And then we took a little stroll around the harbour and nearby beach before we drove back over the bridge to our hotel in Kalmar on the mainland.

Öland Bridge & Algutsrum Church

Road Trip 2018, Part 9

At the end of Day 2 we arrived at Kalmar, where we had booked rooms for three nights at a hotel on the outskirts of the city, not far from the bridge over to the island of Öland. This suited us well, since we intended to spend one day on Öland, and one day in Kalmar city.

After breakfast on Day 3 (July 18th) we crossed the bridge over to Öland – inaugurated in 1972, and until 1998 the longest bridge in Europe: 6,072 meters long (19,921 ft) and supported by 156 pillars.

This photo taken in the evening from Färjestaden on Öland shows the typical silhouette of the bridge.

This is a view from the car while we were driving over the bridge in the morning (from the mainland towards the island).

Our first stop on the island was at Algutsrum Church, which has a rather unusual tower – almost like a lighthouse.

The view from that tower is said to be spectacular. We didn’t get up there, but I zoomed in the top of the tower from down below:

The first church on this spot was built in the 11th century. That one was made of wood; but was replaced by a stone church in the 12th century. Over the centuries that followed, the church went through a few changes – visually explained on a plaque in the porch:

According to the sign over the entrance door, the present tower was built in 1864, “during the happy [!] reign of King Carl XV”.

The door was open, so we went in. The church is beautifully preserved inside as well.

Votive ships are quite common in Scandinavian churches. They were often made and donated by seamen or ship builders as thanks for having been rescued from being shipwrecked at sea.

Left: Baptismal font. Right: Glass sculpture also connected to baptism; with the names of the recently baptised written on little pieces of paper held by the figurines. I don’t think I’ve ever come across this practice before, but we saw more than one similar arrangement in churches we visited on this trip.

Beautiful iron gate

Old sundial outside the church.

Autumnlike colours, yellow grass and bare tree silhouettes giving a hint to how extremely hot and dry this summer was (and this was still only mid July). We were to see a lot more of this before our day on Öland was over.

Between the trees on the horizon I also zoomed in our first windmill of the day:

An internet search informs me that at the end of the 19th century there were around 2000 windmills on Öland. About 350 are still preserved. We did not visit all of them; but we did see quite a few more before the end of the day!

Postcard for the Weekend: Bridges

Postcrossing card from China (Shanghai), July 2017

In the dark, I can't tell if those roads/bridges are crossing water or land... An impressive piece of engineering, indeed - but I can't say it tempts me to go there.

Reflections of Light and Dark

“Art is in the Eye of the Beholder”…

Did you know?

… that the person credited with coining the saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, an Irish novelist whose light romantic fiction was popular throughout the English-speaking world in the late 19th century. The line occurs in Molly Bawn (1878). (More famous authors before her expressed much the same thought in other words, though…)

(Sources: The Phrase Finder & Wikipedia)

See more reflection photograpy at:
Weekend Reflections

Lots of Love

Lots of Love “blowing in the wind” at the recent street art festival. On bridge railings, and in the trees.

Linking to

Good Fences & Friday My Town (open theme)