A few days ago I saw a pic of a bridge section being towed up the Clyde.
I didn’t think too much of it, and assumed it was an unused pic from a while ago, when the new footbridge connecting Govan to Partick arrived via that same route.
Well, that was ANOTHER wrong assumption.
It seems there’s a similar style of bridge being installed between Renfrew and Yoker (both constructed in the Netherlands), which I hadn’t spotted any new of. That’s not too surprising since I have to confess I’m one of those people that eventually just gave up on the news during the days of COVID-19’s arrival – and just never saw any point in going back.
It made very little difference, almost none of it is relevant (not to me), I’ve no interest in celebrities, and their concentration on crime and criminals seems to have become morbid.
The Renfrew/Yoker differs from Govan in scale.
While the latter is a footbridge, the new arrival will carry two lanes of road traffic, and is described as the first opening swing bridge of its type to be installed in Scotland.
How did I learn of my error?
I’d gone for a longish bike ride the other night, taking in Victoria Park, then a random wander along the old railway line that was converted into National Cycle Route 7, and heads towards Clydebank (and many other places, of course).
It’s interesting, when the trees are clear of leaves, as much of this part is elevated, and afford a good view of areas it goes through.
In this case I stopped just after this section, and discovered I was in Yoker. I’ve cycled there before, but on different roads, when I found the ferry was still running. I’m guessing this is no more. When I headed down Yoker Ferry Road, it was a mess, and when I reached the Clyde, the ferry slipway was derelict, and behind a locked gate.
I tried to follow the path along the river, just for a look, not to go anywhere, but that too was closed, and had barriers.
That was when I found the new bridge section referred to above, one of three, I think.
The path was closed as there will soon be a ton of work going on to install this new bridge.
It’s amazing to see it lie there, waiting for the rest, and the work to start. There isn’t really a sense of scale, and the design is similar to the Govan footbridge, but with two lanes of road traffic crossing its deck, it is clearly larger.
By now, it was really getting dark, and I couldn’t get any closer, so it was a long shot in the dark.
Luckily, I was able to raise the shot from the gloom.
Given how hazy and gloomy the original was, I’m both pleased and surprised at the final result.
I might even remember to nip along for a daytime shot.
Not familiar with the area, on either side of the river, although I did previously visit both ferry terminals. Given the way the contractors closed off much of the foot access to the area around the new Govan footbridge when it was being installed, I suspect similar barriers to access being raised around these works for some distance.
Now that the weather is not so bad, this might be worth a visit or two.
I suspect poor access though. I did go as far along as the Clydebank/Glasgow boundary (well signposted), but found industrial units along the side of the river, and their security and fencing provides quite a good barrier. It’s like the days when it was all shipyards – their perimeter blocked river access.
I did explore the opposite side (Renfrew) once, but found it was blocked by industrial units too,
We’ll see.
Secret Scotland 