It's probably no surprise that I am a bit of bridge geek. I've often said that in a truer life I would have become a civil engineer, a builder of bridges. Sadly, my understanding of trigonometry is rudimentary, and I can't draw for toffee. But my love of bridges is undiminished, and this is easily evident in the names of my software projects - bascule, cantilevers, caisson. I have learnt that engineering terms don't easily lend themselves to software projects.
Living in Scotland, I am lucky to have easy access to one of the most stunning bridges in the world, the Forth Bridge, that sweeping symphony of dark red steel crossing from Edinburgh to Fife. This 19th-century UNESCO World Heritage site is shadowed by two very different bridges, each representing a different century's engineering aethestics and design. The sadly decaying Forth Road Bridge is an archetypal 20th century suspension road bridge, and its 21st century replacement, the Queensferry Crossing is an elegant, slender cable-stayed bridge, and the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world.
I grew up on the south shores of Fife, and spent many nights at my grandparent's house in North Queensferry. I almost associate the rhythmical thud-thud of cars crossing the Forth Road Bridge with sleep and the comfort of my grandparent's home. So it's perhaps no surprise that when I had an opportunity to ascend to the top of the Forth Bridge, as part of a charity event, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat. On an overcast September Saturday morning, at only 7am, I was in my element. Friends have asked if I was afraid of the height - I never gave it a second's thought, even when the entire structure of the bridge rattled as a train passed beneath me.
The other two bridges each have their charms, and I have walked across the Forth Road Bridge many times. Sadly, I was not able to walk the Queensferry Crossing, which is closed to pedestrians.
White Cart Bridge
Which brings me to bascule bridges, and a rather random trip to Renfrew to visit the White Cart Bridge, the largest bascule bridge in Scotland. It's a Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge, built in 1923 and still in operation, though rarely opened. It's narrow, rather worn and peeling, crossing the muddy White Cart Water on the way to Inchinnan. You can watch a video of it opening on YouTube. I've chosen this bridge as the logo for my own bascule project. It's not particularly pretty or elegant, but I like it.
I'd certainly like to see this bridge swinging into operation. It must appear odd, driving across country to view a bridge, but as odd habits go, it's a fairly harmless one.