Hockley Port Junction Bridge

[masque]

Beautiful photo, Derek. How old is this bridge?

The canal there is from the 1760's apparently. I don't think the bridge is that old, though it may just have been resurfaced, the horses that pulled the barges would have more or less destroyed the original surface over time. On the parapets of some bridges on the network you can see where chains or cables have gouged into the brickwork. The actual bridge surfaces have all been replaced to encourage walkers, runners and cyclists to use the towpath net work and it's tourism that keeps the canal network maintained these days with holiday boats. A lot of the stone bridges were replaced with wrought iron spans on some of the original foundations. Like this one...