Slow down, you move too fast, you got to make the morning last, just kicking down the cobble stones

I was watching the latest Scandinavian crime drama to hit our screens last week. It is called 'The Bridge' and starts when a dead body is found on the Oresund Bridge which links Sweden and Denmark. The programme itself is fairly watchable but the bridge is undoubtedly the star of the show. This spectacular piece of engineering combines  a bridge and a tunnel to allow road and rail transport between Malmo and Copenhagen and still leave a clear channel for ships. I have somewhat of a penchant for bridges and I have now made it one of my top priorities to see this bridge before I die.

This week I give you my favourite 10 Bridges that I actually have seen

1. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Walking across the bridge and looking back across the bay  towards the city with Alcatraz off to the left is probably my favourite view in the world

 2. Forth Rail Bridge

     I did not have to travel half way round the world to see this one. 40 miles to the east is this iconic bridge

3. Brooklyn Bridge, New York

   On my sojourn across from Manhattan to Brooklyn I was fortunate not to endure the problems suffered by Godzilla on this bridge

4. Brig O'Doon, Alloway, Ayrshire

Ah, Tam! ah, Tam! thou'll get thy fairin'!
In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin'!
In vain thy Kate awaits thy commin'!
Kate soon will be a woefu' woman!
Now, do thy speedy utmost, Meg,
And win the key-stane o' the brig;
There at them thou thy tail may toss,
A running stream they dare na cross.
But ere the key-stane she could make,
The fient a tail she had to shake!
For Nannie, far before the rest,
Hard upon noble Maggie prest,
And flew at Tam wi' furious ettle;
But little wist she Maggie's mettle -
Ae spring brought off her master hale,
But left behind her ain gray tail;
The carlin claught her by the rump,
And left poor Maggie scarce a stump.

5. Tees Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough

    Like a giant Meccano set this bridge carries up to 9 cars across the river on a 'gondola' suspended from the bridge. Simply wonderful

6. Pont Neuf, Paris


    A beautiful bridge which lets you cross from the rive gauche to the rive droite in style

7. Bridge across the M62 in Yorkshire (Scammonden Bridge, I think)

   I used to spend a lot of my working life travelling back and forth across the godforsaken M62 and this elaborate bridge connecting two places I had never heard of and would never visit used to be one of the few bright spots in my day along with the farmhouse situated between the two carriageways. I always imagined the farmer telling the planners, "No you cannot have my farm. You will just have to go round me", and so they did on both sides. In the hundreds (possibly thousands) of times I drove past that farm I never once saw a human being in or around it. You would not want to break down there at night

8. Adolphe Bridge, Luxembourg

  I went to Europe with my mum and dad on a driving holiday in the late 60s in my dad's Mini and I remember this bridge making an impression on me even back then

9. Newton Cap Viaduct, Bishop Auckland

   Ask any of my sons and they will tell you, I do love a good viaduct and this one holds a special place in my heart. When I first moved to County Durham with my mum and dad we rented part of a farm house which lay underneath the Newton Cap Viaduct.
It was originally built in 1857 to carry the Bishop Auckland to Durham City railway line across the River Wear and the Newton Cap Bank that leads down to the river. The railway closed in 1968 and the viaduct fell into a period of disuse and was at one point threatened with demolition. However in 1995, the viaduct was converted for vehicle use to take traffic on the A689 between Bishop Auckland and Crook

10. Kingston Bridge, Glasgow

      I could not have a list of bridges without including my old friend the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow. As someone who has lived on the South side of Glasgow for over 30 years and worked across the river it seems like I have spent a lifetime on that bridge. At peak hours, a bridge to be avoided at all costs but I guess a small price to pay for living in such a wonderful city as Glasgow



Given that you can never get too much of a good thing, I leave you this week with my Top 10 Bridge related songs

1. Bridge Over Troubled Waters.........Simon and Garfunkel
2. Brothers Under The Bridge.............Bruce Springsteen
3. View From A Bridge......................Kim Wilde
4. Building A Bridge To Your Heart....Wax
5. London Bridge................................Fergie
6. I'm The Man That Built The Bridges..Tom Paxton
7. The Bridge.......................................Elton John
8. Don't Burn The Bridge.....................Don McLean
9. Under The Bridge...........................Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. Bridge Of Sighs............................Robin Trower

OK I am done! Off for a game of bridge now.
I bid Three Hearts. (I hope that's right, I have never played bridge in my life. My mum only taught me Knockout Whist)