Hockley Viaduct

We are settling into the new office nicely, with more staff arriving each day - though are still waiting for the loos to be completed.  However on the plus side, I'm getting more exercise each day. 

My journey to work has also increased from around 15mins to nearly an hour - however there are some compensations like the new locations to explore with the camera. 

I have worked here before and passed this old victorian, disused viaduct most days for around 5 years; always meaning to stop and explore, but somehow never got around to it.  So today some 10 years later I finally stopped.

Hockley Viaduct was built in the late 1880s by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), and crosses the River Itchen and surrounding water meadows.  It is one of the earliest concrete structures built, with a brick cladding for asthetic purposes. It fell into disuse in the 1960's (though not due to Dr Beechings programme). Today it forms part of a cycling and footpath into Winchester - though the joy of a country walk is somewhat muted by the rumble of traffic along the adjacent M3.