Bridging Gaps Everywhere

Where would society be without the arch? Unsupported windows and expanses unbridged. This simple shape has allowed so much structural engineering to take place. First appearing as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian, arches are now just everywhere.

What we see here is Worcester's impressive railway viaduct spanning the gap between the elevated Foregate Street Station to the River Severn Bridge, with 65 arches. It was completed in 1859 supporting the new Worcester to Hereford railway line. It wasn't the only viaduct on the line, with a 31 arch viaduct being built near Ledbury.

The view here is of arch 24, still allowing people free access underneath it, but if you look to the right you can see the latest glass fronted editions to the viaduct. Four arches have been converted into studios and workspaces for both local artists and creative businesses, and a fifth is able to be used as performance space. But that's not all with others further up already home to restaurants and cafés. It's amazing to see that after all the years, this simple shape being given a second purpose.

Europe / UK-England

Lat: 52° 11' 38.927" N
Long: 3° 14' 36.546" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G fisheye lens. Mounted on a Nodal Ninja 5 panorama head and R-D16 rotator atop a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod. Shots taken at 6 positions 60° apart, tilted 15° down and another shot taken looking straight up. Raw files then processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.7 before being stitched together using PTGui 10.0.15 Pro and converted using Pano2VR 6.1.14 pro.