[Leica] Pictures from Wales

[ricc at embarqmail.com (Ric Carter)]

these are going to be fun

thanks

ric

On Dec 15, 2010, at 7:30 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> Menai Bridge is a small harbor town boasting a population of about 5000. 
> Its
> Welsh name is Porthathwy, but few, except the most zealous Welsh
> nationalists call it that. It has one supermarket, two gas stations, three
> banks, four churches, and too many pubs to count. Everything, no matter how
> new, looks at least a century old. We lived abouta half mile from the 
> center
> of town, a nice stroll in good weather. The road in front of our house also
> bordered the Menai Strait so the walk was scenic as well. The burbling 
> water
> of the strait framed the view of the Snowdonia mountains in the distance.
> 
> The center of attraction in Menai Bridge and the town's raison d' etre is
> the bridge itself. The steel link suspension bridge across the Menai Strait
> was built in 1826 and was the first of its kind in the world. It connects
> the island of Anglesey (where we lived) to the mainland. The bridge made
> possible a land route from Holyhead, the port where the Irish ferries
> docked, to England. Thomas Telford, the bridge architect, was a civil
> engineering genius who left his mark on many British construction projects
> of the early 1800s. Almost every town has its Telford designed bridge or
> aqueduct or roadway or even tollhouse. Most are still in use, having
> outlived more contemporary construction.
> 
> The best view of Menai Bridge is from the other side of the Menai Strait.
> You can see the town as returning sailors would once have seen it, a 
> village
> of cottages and pubs rising from the waterfront, backed by the larger 
> houses
> of ship owners. In Victorian times Menai Bridge was a major port and the
> bridge had to be built high enough for the masts of
> 
> ships to pass under. Paddle steamers from Liverpool moored at the
> town piers, pausing just long enough to unload passengers and cargo, while
> the crew nipped up to the Liverpool Arms for a quick refreshment before
> the return journey. The Menai Bridge waterfront still has its boats but 
> they
> are usually used for pleasure and fishing. The harbor has a 26 to 30 foot
> tidal range. At low tide most boats on moorings near the shore sit on the
> exposed mud bottom. Many of the sailboats have twin keels for a good 
> reason.
> They don't fall over on their sides when the tide goes out.
> 
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/View+from+our+window.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Telford+Bridge+1.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Telford+Bridge+at+night.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Menai+Strait+at+mid+tide.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Bangor+harbor_+low+tide.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Red+Wharf+Bay+at+low+tide.jpg.html
> 
> 
> Larry Z
> 
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