About Me

My photo
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

W is for Wooden Bridges


ABC Wednesday is up to the letter "W" today. I can't believe I started at the letter "B" and we're almost through the alphabet already! To see who else participated today, click on Mrs. Nesbitt's Place.


Early bridges were made of wood, especially where it was a plentiful resource. Wooden bridges tended to deteriorate rapidly from exposure to the elements, having a useful lifespan of only nine years, but around my area it seems that everywhere I look I see wooden bridges. They aren't usually long bridges, but rather in parks and on trails where they don't get a lot of traffic. I was particularly taken with the following bridge that I found near Andover, UK, when I went out geocaching with some friends. It was a beautiful sunny day, warm enough to just wear a sweater, but the angle of the sun proved it to be autumn. I love how the shadows are cast on the walkway of the bridge.














Closer to home and during my "walkabouts," I've discovered lots of other wooden bridges. Here we have a very long wooden bridge at Boundary Bay that goes over a swampy area filled with bulrushes. I always walk very carefully for fear of tripping and landing in the water!


Below is another one of my "haunts." It's located at Deas Island Park that runs along a tributary of the mighty Fraser River. I often walk through here admiring the views of the river through the thick trees. It was here that I caught my winning photo, "Autumn on the River" from last fall.


































This wooden bridge is located at Bear Creek Park in the neighbouring city of Surrey. I took my grandson here for a day just after my granddaughter was born in March. We had a great time playing on the equipment and walking (him riding his little bike) around the trails. Here he is zooming over the bridge. We stayed here for a while as he "needed" to practise his mountain biking.











Finally, this is one of many wooden bridges you will find at Campbell Valley Regional Park in neighbouring Langley. I posted about my walk here a short time ago because I was amazed that I never knew it existed in all my life living here. The place is so green that you can't help but feel relaxed and calm while walking through giant cedars and firs, alpine meadows, and areas where the trees bend over the trail to create a canopy.


Wooden bridges are intriguing structures. Some are simply made with planks covering the ground while others are intricately constructed over smaller riverbeds or streams. My favourite ones are the ones found in mysterious and remote locations. I always wonder who else has discovered this spot.



25 comments:

sally in norfolk said...

lovely wooden bridges we see alot too when out walking :-)

Anonymous said...

A beautiful selection. I quite envey my countrymens' visit to such a lovely place.

esnorway said...

nice shoots great W

Anonymous said...

Hello Leslie,

You've made a great choice for letter "W". Wooden bridges seem always very romantic to me and I like very much to listen the voice of my steps when I walk on such a bridge! In fact, wood is life, it's natural, it's alive!

I wish you a perfect Wednesday full of happiness and joy!

RiverPoet said...

Gorgeous bridges! This post reminded me of the romance of those bridges in The Bridges of Madison County, though they were covered bridges.

Lovely photos!

Peace - D

Jane Hards Photography said...

Wonderfully written piece with fabulous images.

Reader Wil said...

I like these bridges especially the one in Andover. That's such a beautiful place. The boardwalks are scaring me. Like you I walk very slowly for fear of tripping. I have a great fear of heights.

EG CameraGirl said...

I'm amazed at how many wooden bridges you found! Hmmm. Now you've got me wondering how many there are around where I live. ;-)

AphotoAday said...

Interesting post...
I was walking over a great little wooden bridge recently and noticed a little plaque saying that the bridge had been built by one individual as an Eagle Scout project.

mrsnesbitt said...

A wonderful selection Leslie. I too love discovering when out walking with Wilma....who we have just taken to the kennel for her holiday!

So quiet!

Russell said...

Love the wooden plank bridge that winds around the open area!

Out here in Iowa we have a lot of covered bridges. The bridges were covered with a barn like structure to help preserve the wood and to make them a bit safer in winter and rain.

Take care and I sure enjoyed these images!

Leslie: said...

I love those covered wooden bridges - we saw lots of them when out East (especially in New Brunswick) but they don't seem to be around here. Too much sunshine I guess - LOL. Actually, it seems that summer has finally arrived! Thank goodness.

Daryl said...

Lovely Ws

:-Daryl

Ellee Seymour said...

And we have the famous Mathematical Bridge over the River Cam in Cambridge which is made from wood.

Bear Naked said...

Wonderful idea to post wooden bridges for W.
Your photos are beautiful.

Paulie said...

Loved all the photos of your wooden bridges! My favorite is the LONG one!!!!!!!!!!!

Petunia said...

Very beautiful pictures Leslie!
We could nees some of those wooden bridges here where I live.
Great choice!

Rena said...

Lovely pictures! Wooden bridges look so inviting.

photowannabe said...

Lovely walks and wooden bridges for the letter W.
I especially like the long zig-zag one over the swampy area. Great perspective.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

I like your wooden bridges...and can just imagine the sound of footsteps walking along them, a slightly hollow sound as the wood vibrates from the step.

photowannabe said...

You asked if my W post was a wooden steering wheel. Yes it is. Silly me , I could have used that word too. The picture was taken at a vintage car show. The old cars had been refurbished and looked so grand.

Miss_Yves said...

Beautiful set of wooden bridges!
Miss Yves

Linda said...

These are all very beautiful! You are blessed to have such beautiful places around you to enjoy walking through!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

The shadows on that first one are lovely and make me thin of an English summer's afternoon....

kml said...

wow - you have a lot of wood bridge around! Great post!