This afternoon I went in search of a giant spider. My quest took me to Leegomery Pool where I found two swans. It was a pleasant surprise, I have not seen swans on this pool before. It would be lovely if they took up residence there.

I was successful in my search for the giant spider he was lurking in the location I thought he would be.

I wasn’t able to fit in one of the scheduled T50 trail walks that all converged in Telford Town Centre. Instead I had a solo (5 Mile)  afternoon walk along parts of the T50 trail to get to my favourite local nature reserve. I was rewarded with lush green lined pathways and fluffy delights.

I lingered a little too long enjoying the fluffy delights leaving me to walk at a pace to get home in time for our planned family visit at around 4pm.

This afternoon I went on one of my longer walking routes to visit Dothill Nature Reserve in search of the recently born cygnets. When I first arrived at the nature reserve the swans and newly born cygnets were on the opposite side of the lake. I waited patiently, and as I had hoped the swan family started swimming around the perimeter of the lake.

I walked along the pathway to get nearer to the family as they swam by. I was able to follow their progress around the lake and at one point they swam up close to where I was standing. It was a special moment and I felt privileged to be so close to the cygnets. After the swan family said ‘Hello’ and then ‘Goodbye’ I followed their journey around the lake until they swam out of view.

Click on photo to see video

Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to take a longer walk to Dothill Nature Reserve.

I spent as much time walking there and back as I did in the Nature Reserve.

I will do it differently next time. I will park near to one of the entry points which will allow me more time to enjoy exploring the Nature Reserve

The moat around the Bishops’s Palace was designed to divert water from low lying ground around that caused flooding around the  palace:

Ralph of Shrewsbury saw through an ambitious building project to transform this damp, unstable site. He channeled the water from the wells into a moat surrounding the Palace, which acted as a reservoir. It was now possible to control the flow of the water, to limit the risk of flooding, and to power water mills.*

The moat is home to the Palace swans, they have been trained to call for food by ringing a bell at the gatehouse.

Their story begins in the 1870s, when one of Bishop Lord Arthur Hervey’s daughters first taught the swans to ring a bell at the gatehouse. You can see the bell just beneath the window on the left of the gatehouse and a chain hangs from it for the swans (and sometimes the ducks) to pull.

New generations of swans learn to ring the bell either from their parents, or from the caretakers who live in the gatehouse.*

*From the Bishop’ Palace guide to the Palace and Gardens

The Chapel Bridge and Water Tower were built in the 14th century.  The bridge served as a rampart, as well as part of the towns fortification.  Originally 285 meters long, the bridge was shortened several times during the 19th century.  Water tower served as a dungeon, archive and treasury vault.

In the 17th century the Chapel Bridge was adorned with a set of paintings.  The triangular panels were designed by town secretary Renward Cysat, a universal scholar, and painted in Renaissance style by Hans Heinrich Wagmann. The series of paintings depict the development of the city and republic of Lucerne from a Counter-Reformation point of view.  Other pictures portray the life and sufferings of the town’s two patron saints, St. Leodegar and St. Mauritius.

During the night of 17th August 1993, a fire broke out on the Chapel Bridge burning 81 of the 111 bridge paintings.  The paintings of both bridge-heads escaped damage by the blaze.

Between 1994 and 2001 photographic facsimiles were displayed to fill the enormous gap.

In  2002 Lucerne’s city council together with the federal and cantonal offices for the preservation of historical monuments, agreed upon which the order of the paintings would be newly hung.

The paintings on the bridgeheads are the originals.  In the middle of the bridge the paintings from the St. Mauritius series can be seen.  These had been removed in the 19th century when the bridge was shortened during the construction of the quays on the north and south ends.

The gap remaining between the paintings serves as a reminder of the irreparable loss to the bridge – and for the city of Lucerne – caused by the blaze on the night of 17th August 1993.*

*Information from a sign board located next to the bridge.

PS: I don’t have photos of the paintings on this bridge, but I do have photographs of paintings from a similar bridge.  Coming soon…

Plato