… of the cooling towers
On Friday I climbed the Wrekin Hill, as did many other local people. The Wrekin was a good vantage point to watch the controlled demolition of the iconic cooling towers that have been prominent in the Ironbridge Gorge since the 1960s.
I am sad to see them go, they were part of our industrial history. The valley will not be replanted with trees but filled with houses, so not really an improvement to the landscape.
The photos of the towers collapsing were taken by Mr C, I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere of the historic moment in time.
Photo taken by Mr C
Photo taken by Mr C
The Ironbridge cooling towers were demolished at 11 am on the 6th of December 2019. This photo is from a similar viewpoint (of the photo above) from the last time I climbed the Wrekin. It was taken at a similar time of day in early December 2005 before the power station had been decommissioned.
Tags: #walk1000miles, Cooling Towers, Demolition, Ironbridge, Ironbridge Power Station, Me by another, Portrait, Shropshire, The Wrekin, There's Always One, Wrekin
Today is the day! I completed 1000 miles walking in 2019 
There were jobs around the house that I needed to do today and I was so close to my target that I didn’t want to risk completing my miles doing housework. Nor did I want to complete my miles on a local walk that I had done before.
So after the postman had delivered some parcels that Mr C was expecting I set off in a different direction hoping for some inspiration. The sunshine was warm and welcoming leading me to find the pathway to Little Apley Pool which I have been meaning to locate for several months. I wasn’t disappointed, the pathway is lovely and the pool was so blue.
It was an added bonus to find out (via posts on #walk1000miles FaceBook page) that the latest issue of the magazine was out a day earlier than usual. I was able to track down a copy and it was a thrill to see my name on the ‘Wall of Completers’ on the day I completed my 1000 miles
Now I just have to complete my personal pledge which I hope to do before the end of the year.
Tags: #walk1000miles, Life, Local Pathways, Sunshine, Walking, Walking Challenge
Yesterday Mr C and I had an afternoon in Ironbridge so that I could photograph the iconic cooling towers from Dale End Park. They are scheduled for demolition at the end of this week. I wasn’t the only one taking photos, many others had the same idea. I could tell that some of the photographers with their exclamations of how large they were had never stood beneath the towers before.
After our walk along the river bank we drove towards Buildwas and the elevated viewpoints at the bend of the River Severn which I always refer to as ‘The Oxbow’. From those viewpoints the cooling towers and the power station can be seen clearly in their woodland setting. Once again I wasn’t the only one to stop and take photos from those viewpoints.
The towers were built with concrete mixed with a red pigment to allow them to blend in with the local soil and as a photographer and walker I have always loved the cooling towers (although not the power station buildings). Within the valley they tease the eye, sometimes they are there and sometimes they are hidden from view. Soon to be a memory…
I have written previously about the care that was taken to blend the power station into the landscape. You can find my post here and in the comments section my personal opinion about what I would have liked to happen to this industrial site.
Tags: #walk1000miles, Cooling Towers, Ironbridge, Ironbridge Power Station, Shropshire
The church stands next to Palazo Corvaja and dates from the 17th-18th century. The facade, above which is a short bell-tower, is simple and adorned with an 18th-century Baroque door. Above it in a niche, is a sculptured likeness of St Catherine of Alexandria executed in the 18th century by P. Greco. The interior, of modest proportions, is brightly lit and characterized by the usual baroque ornamentation.
At the high altar but also at the side ones, are fine spiral columns.*
The distinctive feature of the building is its foundations, which are laid over the remains of a Hellenistic temple and casily visible from inside the church.*
*From the guidebook – Taormina the Peal of the Ionian Sea
Tags: Church of Santa Caterina, Music, Palaza Corvarja, Taormina 2019, Vacation
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Lau Tzu
Tags: Athelhampton House and Gardens, Cherie's Place Thought, Dorchester, Dorset, Vacation
These extensive remains of the Roman period are among the most representative in the whole of Sicily. They consist of a long brick wall dating from the Imperial age, which was restored only in 1943. The Restoration also brought to light part of the original pavement. Although these Roman remains, running parallel to the upper stretch of Corsa Umbertico, are aesthetically diminished by the row of houses built above them, the monumental row of the 18 larger niches is nonetheless remarkable.*
*From the book entitled ‘Taormina – The Pearl of the Ionian Sea”
Tags: Italy, Naumachie, Roman Wall, Taormina 2019, Vacation
