Shaldon Bridge and The Salty

It's Wide Wednesday (hosted this week by steveng) and the theme this week is Historical (not Hysterical). I thought Shaldon Bridge would make a good wide shot. It's a structure with plenty of history.

A bridge was first opened here in 1827. It was made of wood and it was claimed at the time to be the longest wooden bridge in England with a length of 1,632 feet and 34 arches and the second longest bridge in Europe.  There were stone abutments at both ends and a swing bridge at the Teignmouth end to allow passage for tall masts. Sadly, just 11 years later it collapsed and was found to be riddled with 'shipworm'. I suppose that's a nautical form of woodworm. The new one has gradually been strengthened and widened to cope with modern demands.


For my purposes it's the backdrop to this brightly coloured boat on the shore of the estuary, or the Salty as this part is known.