August 2026

For our August meeting, we had presentations about historic bridges. These were located around the world and ranged from ancient to modern.

We started in Derbyshire with the ancient stone bridge at Swarkestone. This bridge over the Trent is very long.

We then moved to Scotland to hear about the Tay and Forth rail bridges. Originally the building of both was in the hands of Thomas Bouch, however after the Tay Bridge blew down, responsibility for building the Forth Bridge was placed in different hands.

Our next bridge was in Japan. The Aqua-Line is a modern construction including both tunnel and bridge. As a direct route across Tokyo Bay avoiding the 100km route around the bay including driving through Tokyo.

Although our next bridge is in Arizona, it was originally London Bridge. We learned of the importance of London Bridge as the first Thames crossing. When the new bridge was built in the 1970’s, the old bridge was sold to an American who used the stonework as a cladding on a modern bridge.

A trip to France followed where we were reminded of the old song about the Pont d’Avignon. Avignon, on the River Rhone was for a time the seat of the Popes. The bridge partly collapsed leaving a part bridge with a chapel.

The final bridge was the Iron Bridge in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the valley was an early industrial location with an iron foundry where experiments in iron production lead to the building of the first cast iron bridge opened in 1781.

Andy Dixon