I had a lovely afternoon walk with great company and conversation.

I had a lovely afternoon walk with great company and conversation. I am looking forward to the next one

Today, there was a need for me to visit (just visiting) my local hospital, several times. In between visits we had lunch in the Furnace Kitchen at Coalbrookdale where I chose a croissant filled with butternut squash, caramelized onion and Feta cheese. It was delicious.

Currently many routes to Coalbrookdale are subjected to roadworks and closure. This meant that we had to take the long route home via ‘The Oxbow’ which is stunning after the recent heavy rainfall.

With my hospital walks and a little bit of food shopping (miles) I clocked up at 4.75 miles.

Whilst reading about the artist Bob Murray I was reminded of my visit to The Museum of Steel Sculpture in 2012. The sculptures were dotted around a 10 acre woodland site in Coalbrookdale. On arrival we were greeted by Pam, the co-founder of the museum as we gave her the nominal museum entrance fee. The sculptures seemed to work in their woodland setting, with sunlight dappling through the trees and the larger sculptures dominating the grassy areas. As we were about to leave Pam came out of her house to talk to us and ask if we had enjoyed our visit.

Founded in 1991 by the sculptor, Roy Kitchin FRBS, the Ironbridge Open Air Museum of Steel Sculpture occupies a 10 acre site situated within the historically appropriate district of Coalbrookdale, England. This extraordinary region, known as “the cradle of the Industrial Revolution”, was designated by UNESCO a “World Heritage Site” in 1986.

The Museum is barely half a mile from the remains of the Blast Furnace where, in 1709, Abraham Darby I successfully smelted iron using coke as the fuel instead of charcoal. Here too, in 1779, the world’s first iron bridge was cast, which still spans the River Severn today.

Registered as a Charitable Trust the Museum, since the death of it’s Founder in 1997, has been managed by his widow and co-founder, the sculptor Pam Brown, supported by an experienced Board of Trustees.

Pam wound up the museum during 2014 so that she could concentrate more on her own work. The sculptures have been moved to a new home at the British Ironwork Centre near Oswestry. I wonder if they will work as well in their new setting.

The world’s first cast iron bridge was built over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale in 1779.

From Wiki:

In the early eighteenth century, the only way to cross the Severn Gorge was by ferry. However, the industries that were growing in the area of Coalbrookdale and Broseley needed a more reliable crossing.

In 1773, Thomas Farnolls Pritchard^[1] wrote to a local ironmaster, John Wilkinson of Broseley, to suggest building a bridge out of cast iron. By 1775, Pritchard had finalised the plans, but he died in December 1777, only a month after work had begun.^[2]

Abraham Darby III, who was the grandson of the first foundry owner and an ironmaster working at Coalbrookdale in the gorge, was commissioned to cast and build the bridge. The iron for the new bridge was cast at his foundry.

The worlds first cast iron bridge was built over the river Severn at Coalbrookdale in 1779.