WideAngle Wednesday: Armstrong Bridge, Newcastle

This morning I had an early(ish) appointment in Jesmond, and as the Metros are currently partially off for engineering works I decided to walk there. Google Maps told me that it would take 66 minutes to walk but I got there in 46 minutes, so hopefully that means I’m not all that old yet…!
 
I'm assuming that Bobsblips, who kindly looks after WidWed, would like us to relate our blips this month to either A or T (the first & last letters of August) or to the number 8 as it's the 8th month. I was lucky in that my route took me across Armstrong Bridge, which crosses the Ouseburn Valley between Jesmond and Heaton. Seemingly one reason for its construction in 1876 was to save horses having to pull heavy carts up the valley sides.
 
I can just remember as a child being driven across the bridge in the family car, but it was closed to motor traffic and pedestrianised in 1963.
 
The bridge was built at a cost of £30,000 by Sir W.G Armstrong & Co of Elswick and subsequently donated by Sir Armstrong to the city. It was apparently unique in its time, using a specific type of construction to overcome subsidence problems arising from local mining. Sir Armstrong (Baron Armstrong of Cragside fame) also developed Jesmond Dene itself into the lovely park we see today.