Post by rowanberry on Dec 23, 2019 20:10:26 GMT
We finally made it into the woods by us yesterday... it's been raining so much lately we thought we'd go and see how the bridge was faring.
It's a long bridge over a swampy area, and is one of four bridges built by the local council because a swamp created by runoff often cut the woods in half- the boggy parts made it impossible to get to the other side if there was even the slightest amount of rainfall. It tended to be used as a depository for things like car parts and shopping trolleys. Really attractive when it dried up during a dry spell. 
Since the bridges were put in, it's helped to improve the whole woodland- there are more walkers, more people out strolling, so vandalism and littering has actually decreased.
The largest bridge is over the swamp, and stands about a metre clear of the mud- cattails, marsh marigolds and water plantain grow there even though the water quality is not the greatest... most of it is the result of the runoff from busy roads on the far side of the woods which eventually ends in this hollowed-out swamp.
This first photo was taken of the bridge in April three years ago, after a very wet spring. The water is just high enough to cover the floor boards, and it feels strange to walk across it in wellies (the dogs love it when it's like this!) and the signboard in the lower right corner tells about bird sightings that have been recorded there. To be honest, no ducks or water birds stick around for very long- there are no fish or frogs, so they tend to move on very quickly.
So, yesterday we were curious as to how high the water would have reached after all the recent rain we've had... and here it is. Completely submerged. 
The orange-ish item just seen below the surface of the water is the signboard.
We weren't the only ones out photographing it, and trying to guess how deep it is! Interesting discussions were had.
Since I think it is above the ground by about a metre (or maybe a bit more) and the railing are about another metre.... wow, that is a LOT of water! Shame the water isn't very good, because the local frogs and herons would have appreciated this.
It's going to take it awhile to drain off this time- I think our poor bridge is going to be off-limits until next summer.
