Blogtober 2022 : Day 24
We were lucky to get out before the rain started this morning. It’s not cold at all, in fact the temperatures are set to rise again this week. I suspect that the trees and wildlife don’t know whether they’re coming or going!
I love the reflections in this part of the St Helens canal. The water is very dark and it’s not too overgrown at the banks so the trees looking as if they’re growing down as much as up. There weren’t even many ducks around this morning to break up the stillness of water, and no fishermen at all, thank goodness, so the dog was allowed to stay off his lead.
By the time we got to the Nine Arches bridge, the sky was looking more ominous so we only went as far as the bridge before turning back. I’d noticed these red plaques the last time we were here but didn’t photograph them so I thought I’d take a picture today.
These are Transport Heritage Site plaques commemorating the Sankey or St Helens Canal as the first industrial canal in England, and the Nine Arches viaduct being the earliest major railway viaduct in the world. If you were into industrial transport then I guess you’d probably find out about these in your research and they would places on a map where the first “something or other” happened and they might even be somewhere that you intended to visit one day, whereas for the people who live next the railway and see the trains passing every day, it’s probably not even something that they think about. Funny, isn’t it? There are places like that all over the world, aren’t there? Roman remains in people’s back gardens, sites of historic events down the road, battlegrounds over the garden fence, and yet we just live our lives and don’t often give them a second thought.
Anyway, I thought of the history of the place today, as I waved to the train passing over the viaduct and wondered how many thousands of trains had made that same journey over the years. And then smiled as I thought that someone on the train might be wondering who the mad person waving was … or maybe they just waved back 🙂
So true about history all amongst us! Thank you for photographing those plaques – they are very interesting!
Our Kerria Japonica is in flower as though it were April!
Morning.
The reflections are beautiful. Yes people travel the world looking at historical plaques and places. Sometimes you are living by theses places not always thinking how historical they are. I don’t and haven’t ever lived by trains. But when In the country side or now at a family house 5 hours away where we can see and hear the rumble of the trains on the main trunk line Auckland to Wellington there is a feeling of excitement. Have a great day 🌺🌸😊
We can hear trains in the distance from where we are – they might actually have come over that bridge, I’ve never really thought about it! I love train travel, it’s always a great excuse for lots of knitting! 🙂 xx
I’m going to miss your daily blogs Christine, I’m really enjoying them.
Ah, I’m really glad to hear that, thank you – and you should get a prize for still being here after a month of my ramblings! 🙂 xx
I always wave at train drivers and more often than not get a wave back or even a ‘toot’ !! Such small satisfactions are a joy 😄
Well, I’m impressed with that! I’ve never had a toot from waving to a train, but then again, the train’s usually passing so the driver won’t see me. I’ll have to start waving earlier! 🙂 xx
I’ve lived here for donkeys but it must be only in the last 10 or so I s’pose that I’ve learned we have an iron-age (I think!) hill fort just on the border of the village! We certainly didn’t learn about it at school. Then, they didn’t even mention the old brick-works site either.
No, it’s surprising what isn’t mentioned when it’s on your doorstep. A part of Warrington was a Roman town – I used it in my degree dissertation and came to the conclusion that it was actually quite an important supply town for the fort in Chester – but there’s very little mention of it other than a small section in the local museum. I think it’s a real shame! xx
The history behind all the canals is amazing. All the blood sweat and tears that went into making them and now so many are unused. How history reinvents itself all the time. What will they make of our motorways in the future.? B x
Well, that’s a certainly something to ponder on! I’ve missed reading your posts this week – I ran out of time at the weekend when I like to sit down with a brew but I’ll definitely be back to catch up this week! 🙂 xx