An Industrial Heritage

　　I was going to run to Osney Bridge, which read on the door of the gate at the Trout Inn side of the pasture, but I remembered "The Swing Bridge and Oxford's Industrial Heritage" which I happened to see on the way, so I turned to the Oxford Canal just short of Osney Bridge. The swing bridge was a more valuable historical asset than I expected. There was a signboard for the bridge and its description caught my interest. I examined how valuable it was in my hotel that night.
　　I found a website starting with this sentence; The LMS (London, Midland and Scottish railway) Swing Bridge is one of only two moving bridges on the Thames - the other being Tower Bridge in London. I read the website at a breath. It was the recorded development of the railway of the U.K., the birthplace of the railway. The bridge was designed by George Stephenson, renowned as the "Father of Railways". The swing bridge bore witness that the U.K. was surely the home to the railways. Here's the link to the website of the swing bridge.

https://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/content/rewley-road-railway-swing-bridge

　帰りはトラウトインのちかくのゲートのサインボードに書いてあるOsney Bridgeまで走るつもりだったが、来る途中で見た可動橋を思い出し、また同じ道を帰るのも面白くないので、Osney Bridgeの手前でオックスフォード運河の方へ曲がり産業遺産指定されている可動橋をじっくりと観察。この可動橋の修復プロジェクトを説明する看板があり、これを読んで興味を持ち、ホテルに戻ってから歴史を調べた。
　詳しい説明の書かれているサイトへのリンクを下に載せておく。テムズ川に掛かる２つの可動橋のうちの一つがこれ、もう一つがタワーブリッジ。この一文から始まる記事を一気に読んだ。鉄道発祥の国の鉄道発展の記録で、この可動橋のデザインは鉄道の父と呼ばれたスチーブンソンによるものらしい。この場所でイギリスの長い歴史に触れた気がした。