The Essex Bridge, Shugborough Estate

This bridge lies at the confluence of the Sow and Trent Rivers. I remember as a young boy actually walking underneath the arches of this footbridge joining the village of Great Haywood to the Shugborough estate, during the coldest winter in my memory.  It was amazing to be able to walk on the ice with a flowing river below.  The narrow spans of the arches provided ideal conditions to allow the surface water to freeze.

I also took another couple of aerial shots.  They can be found on my Flickr Album.

It was a pleasure to walk along part of the Staffordshire Way, as it passes through the estate grounds.  I probably haven't walked this route in 8 years since we completed the 100 mile path over three days for the Air Ambulance Charity.

While I hoped for more sunshine first thing, the clouds were stubborn in their persistence, so I've added an extra mono image of the Triumphal Arch in the grounds.