Lydbrook with Lucy

There's a spot near Lydbrook, on the River Wye, to which I'm often drawn.  Like many of my favourite spots, it combines beauty, tranquility and history in equal proportions, so when Lucy Melford asked to see it, during her visit last week, I took no persuading. 

This old aerial photo gives a good idea of the place. That's Edison Swan's cable works on the right. Among the many products manufactured there was the fuel pipeline laid between England and France after the D-Day landings. The railway in the foreground ran between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye.  Both factory and railway closed in 1965.

Today the factory lies derelict and the railway bridge has become part of the Wye Valley Walk.

Here's a view, looking upstream from the old railway bridge, which has definitely seen better days. Thankfully the walkway side is in better repair.  Lucy was intrigued by the sapling on the left, which appears to be growing out of solid wood... or perhaps not so solid.

Lucy, on the Welsh Bicknor side of the river. Several Internet accounts of the Ross-Monmouth railway call this bridge Lydbrook Viaduct.  With Lydbrook Tunnel to the left and Lydbrook Junction to the right, they might be forgiven for their error, though one account even includes a photo of the actual Lydbrook Viaduct (on the nearby Severn & Wye Railway line), which was demolished in 1965. It certainly pays to take any 'facts' one reads on the Internet with a large pinch of salt, especially in blogs. O crumbs... I may be writing rubbish too. Perish the thought!  

We briefly explored Lydbrook Tunnel, but were not tempted to venture far into its murky depths. Instead, we took a leisurely stroll along the river bank. "What's that big black bird on the treetop?" asked Lucy as we retraced our steps.  Here was my chance to show off my wizzy camera, so I braced myself against a tree trunk, aimed the lens at the mystery creature and zoomed in.  On the fifth attempt I got the little blighter. A cormorant, I reckon, though remember what I just said about Internet 'facts'. For all I know, it might be a shag, though surely not this far inland.  

Quite suddenly, I felt a poem coming on:

The common cormorant or shag

lays eggs in a paper bag.

The reason you will see no doubt

it is to keep the lightning out.

But what these unobservant birds

have failed to notice is that herds

of wandering bears may come with buns

and steal the bags to hold the crumbs.  

(Christopher Isherwood)

Welsh Bicknor Church.  Just out of shot on the left is Welsh Bicknor Youth Hostel, where they serve very tasty ice creams to foot-weary adventurers and cormorant-spotters.  Incidentally, Welsh Bicknor is in England these days, as is English Bicknor, a few miles up the road.