The two day weekends were playing havoc with my walking. At the beginning of June I’d planned a twelve or thirteen mile walk but time was not on my side. Four day weekends made it easy to take one whole day out for walking now it was not so simple. Commando suggested I try a short walk instead. Although I will admit to being a little peeved not to be having the walk I wanted I had to agree his plan made sense. The decision was made and I set about finding an interesting shorter walk using Walkjogrun.
8 June 2013
Yesterday we all rushed to the office window to watch the new ship Royal Princess come into port. She’s not the largest cruise ship to call Southampton her home but this is her first visit. She’s having a naming ceremony here next Thursday which should be interesting. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge (AKA Kate Middleton) Is going to name her and I imagine the city will be ever so slightly crowded that day. Our CEO has been invited. I wish I had as it’s going to be some show with the Royal Marine Band and the pipers of the Irish Guards. Still I’m bound to see the fireworks. We are quite blasé about fireworks here with so many ships having huge displays before they sail.
Sadly the ship sailed into sunny Southampton in the middle of a terrible rain storm with thunder and lightning. Not the best of welcomes and certainly not the best for taking photos from the office window. By early afternoon the rain had stopped and it was beginning to brighten up so I decided to go for a stroll down to Town Quay to have a closer look. She is visible from quite some distance away, standing tall above the buildings, but I wanted a proper view, or at least the best I could get without actually sneaking into the docks. Turned out the best vantage point was right by La Margaritas restaurant although the Ocean Terminal building did get in the way somewhat. Still it made for a nice picture with all the little yachts moored there in front of her, their reflections shimmering on the water. I really can’t imagine travelling on a ship that big, it’s bad enough getting lost on our ship, I’d probably never be seen again on something that size.
Anyway, my brief glimpse of Royal Princess seeded the idea of a walk down to the shore to have a look from there. There also just happens to be a route I haven’t yet tried in that direction so I had a plan. I started off walking my New Bridge home from work walk in reverse, down towards the river path then the back streets towards the path behind the green. Some lovely oriental poppies in a garden caught my eye, the bees were buzzing madly round the huge blooms and the flowers were swaying around in the breeze, silky petals flapping about. Taking photos wasn’t easy but I managed it. I really have to get some for my garden they are so beautiful.
Because it was still early the woodland path behind the green was quiet, although a lone dog walker did say hello as she passed. Normally when I’m walking along here I’m on my way to or from work so I don’t have too much time for lingering. Today I took it nice and slowly and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Ivy covered trees, dappled sunlight, bird song, what more could I ask? A clump of ox eye daisies bobbed in the same breeze that had the oriental poppies swaying, dancing grasses casting shadows on their faces. As the path neared its end a pair of blackbirds were pecking away searching for worms, I slowed my pace trying not to disturb them and they were so engrossed I got right up to them before they spotted me and flew off.
Instead of walking towards the New Bridge I turned down Sea Road and under the railway bridge by the Yacht Tavern. Not the prettiest of buildings but a friendly pub, I’ve had the odd drink there in the past. Now I was on Hazel Road by Wilment’s Shipyard, not a place I know well or normally frequent and I was surprised to find a pretty little paved area with benches surrounded by walled gardens. In the centre of a paved circle a bollard, traditionally used to tie up ships, made an unusual ornament. This is where the woodland path along the edge of the river leads, if only the tide had been out when I tried it I’d have ended up right here.
From the little paved park, the view of the bridge was excellent so I sat for a while sipped my water and watched a swan preening on the bank and a small boat sail under the bridge. In the walled garden There were little white and yellow rock roses, a pretty red rose and some cotoneaster the bees and hover flies seemed quite fond of. It really was a pleasant place to sit in the sun and I could have stayed longer but I had places to go and things to see.
Suitably rehydrated I set off again, under the New Bridge, with a quick stop to look up and marvel at the huge structure towering over me. In the shadow of the bridge there are nice new houses, some of which must have wonderful views over the water. It looked like a nice place to live but once upon a time this was very important in the history of this country, possibly the world. This was the site of the Supermarine Factory where R J Mitchell built the first Spitfire. There is actually a stone comemorating the fact beside one of the houses. The factory was built in 1913 and originally made seaplanes, it was these Mitchell used to develop his design. This iconic little plane with its elliptical wings was the only British fighter produced throughout the whole of the war and the sound of those distinctive Rolls Royce Merlin engines would have been a background to many lives in the little village of Woolston.
Unfortunately Spitfire production made Woolston a major target for the Lufwaffe during the Battle of Britain. The whole area was heavily bombed. The first raid on 23 August 1940 missed the factory but the raids continued, destroying countless houses and killing many local residents. Finally, on 26 September, the factory was hit, ninety two workers were killed and many more injured. Even so Spitfire production continued. Knowing a direct hit was enevitable small factories had sprung up all over Southampton and the surrounding areas in garages and similar buildings. Our city payed a terrible price for producing this little plane. So many bombs fell it’s a wonder any of this area was left. When I was a child there was a bomb site still unbuilt on in my own Crescent and another two on the Main Road. Even my own little house suffered bomb damage and my village is over a mile, as the Messerschmitt flies, from the factory. Had they not been built though, the outcome of World War II could have been very different.
Not far from the site of Supermarine I came to the place where the famous floating bridges used to land. The old workings now stand as a monument to these strange vehicles, beloved of the people of Southampton and even immortalised by LS Lowry in one of his matchstick men Paintings. The Woolston Floating Bridge was a cable ferry linking Woolston with the City Centre. The first ferry came into service on 23 November 1836, made of wood with two chains to haul it across the Itchen and was lit by oil lamps. In 1881 a second bridge was added to cope with increasing traffic from workers at the Thorneycroft shipyard a little further down the river in Woolston. Over the years there were many changes and new innovations, iron replaced wood, cable replaced chains, gas lamps replaced oil and then came electric lights but the little floating bridges kept on crossing the river.
As I child I remember the excitement of a ride on the floating bridge and Commando, who lived nearby, says he would ride back and forth for hours when he was a boy. They carried both foot passengers, who didn’t have to pay and cars and buses, who did. I walked down onto the abandoned slipway for old times sake, noting the irony of the New Bridge towering beside me. Back then you could stand right there and watch the bridges slowly crossing, one going one way the other coming back, usually meeting in the middle. In winter the slipway could be treachourously slippery and I remember being sternly warned to stand well back as the huge beast reached the shore. There were tales of people having their feet squashed, or cut right off by the heavy metal ramps. Commando says he saw more than one person get their feet squashed but no amputations. The advent of the New Bridge in 1977 meant the end of the little floating bridges. They may have been slow and quirky but I, for one, was sad to see them go.
Of course the New Bridge is more convenient and I use it on a regular basis. I walked over it on the day it was officially opened by Princess Alexandra but, still, the Floating Bridge was so much more romantic.
