Troubled bridge over water
This week I was in Lowestoft, the most easterly point of the British Isles, visiting relatives. I was there in January but this was a year, almost to the day, since last year’s August visit. The weather was a lot better this year, though inevitably, there were storms and, as usual, my flights were delayed. I know that you should never advertise when you are away from home but I am thinking of putting my flight dates on social media as a public service because all ten flights I have taken in the past 18 months for work or family visits have been delayed by weather, although none as bad as the 7 hour delay in January. It would not matter so much if I did not use public transport to and from the airport which makes the whole thing fraught.
This time I stayed at a B&B within sight of the new Gull Wing bridge. Lowestoft is on the North sea coast and divided into two by Lake Lothing, which joins the Norfolk Broads at Oulton Broad with the sea at Lowestoft. There is a bridge and lock at Oulton Broad but the other place where the Lake can be crossed is in the town centre near the station and the sea. Both create bottlenecks but especially the town bridge, when it is opened to let ships through, and because they seem to have huge problems with the drains and the area is often being dug up – though not at the moment.
To address this problem a new bridge has been constructed between the two which will divert through traffic away from the town centre. In January the new road layout was complete which looks, frankly, bizarre. It is as though they planned the bridge and then couldn’t get the traffic down to road level with the available land and had to incorporate tight turns and two tiny roundabouts. I have to walk everywhere so don’t have experience of navigating the route. But the bridge itself is not yet open to traffic.
It is installed but in the open position, though some people say it has ‘worked’ and been tested at times. Everyone has a story to tell but the opening has been delayed and there may or may not be problems. So it sits there, like a giant flyswatter. It looks almost as though it will launch the cars across the gap like a slingshot.
The bridge is a bascule bridge which means it is like a drawbridge with a counterweight. The span here is 39.5m wide and the bridge weighs 1100 tonnes including 380 tonnes of concrete counterbalance. In the upright position the tip of the road is 60m above the water. It is the largest rolling bascule bridge in the world lifted with hydraulic cylinders.
As if on demand, the ‘old’ town bridge went up as I needed to cross it.
Of course you can’t believe everything the locals tell you. Off the coast are two strange buildings sticking out of the sea.
These seem to create a lot of interest and I was even told they were to house illegal immigrants! But they are, in fact, kittiwake hotels. They were constructed last year (well completed in July) as nesting sites for kittiwakes, (basically, but not strictly, seagulls) 1km off the beach. They were built as part of a wind farm project that will comprise 231 offshore turbines 120km off the Norfolk coast. They create artificial ‘cliff ledges’ for the birds and are hollow inside to allow for observation and can accommodate up to 1000 pairs in total. It is one of the first projects of its kind.
Of course, Lowestoft is now best known as a holiday destination, though it was once an important fishing port – my maternal grandfather was a trawler man – but it is all a bit run down these days I have to say. It was sad that at 6pm along the promenade, there was not a single refreshment kiosk open – no chips, no rock, no ice cream or doughnuts – nothing. Though the Claremont pier had places open, the other pier was firmly shut. In August. It was a stark contrast to Gorey, a thriving Irish town, through which I passed on the bus from the airport to home, where the ice cream shop was open, in the rain, at 7pm!
It is a shame because the prom is a nice place. In contrast, one night we went to Pakefield, a mile south along the coast and the place was buzzing and the chip shop open. Here there are cliffs and sandy dune beaches and some good eating places too. The perfect place for a summer evening.
The Biking Gardener 
Do the kittiwakes use their ‘hotels’?
I believe so. I initially thought they went inside the structure but there are ledges around the outside which mimic cliff ledges which they naturally use, or windowsills which they use in town – and cause a lot of mess!