Counting voussoirs
Voussoirs are the wedge-shaped stones that make up an arch. Counting them is a harmless habit and a good excuse to stand still on a bridge.
Small notes on walking, old bridges and the places between towns.
Voussoirs are the wedge-shaped stones that make up an arch. Counting them is a harmless habit and a good excuse to stand still on a bridge.
The towpath is quieter after the first cold week. Fewer cyclists, more herons, and the light comes in low across the water by four o'clock.
Old stone changes colour in the rain. Limestone goes grey-blue, sandstone darkens to the colour of strong tea, and the lichen suddenly looks bright, as if someone turned it up.
Half a mile above the weir there is a small packhorse bridge that connects nothing to nothing. The track on either side has gone back to field. The bridge stays because it is easier to leave a bridge than to remove one.
I keep the paper maps that have pencil marks on them. A clean map is just a map. A marked one is a record: the stile that was gone, the footbridge that was closed, the pub that turned out to be a house.