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| Lunch stop along the Adur near the South Downs Way crossing |
Another Easter / early spring bank holiday and another train
trip to Shoreham-by Sea and the Adur (6th April). This time, I took my Literary Man with me (aka Munros Man /
Cycling Man / Chief Chartered Engineer who has subsequently developed a love of
books and poetry). He wondered why he’d missed out on this as we headed towards
the Adur near the Ropetackle Arts Centre, the tide on the River Adur beginning
to come in and gather pace over the mudbanks. Gliders took to the air from the
airfield across the river.
We walked along the east side of Adur valley as far as the
South Downs Way footbridge; and back along the west side as far as
the Old Shoreham Bridge. We got back in Shoreham mid-afternoon, amid the bank
holiday crowds on the warmest day of the year so far – more outlets selling ice
creams, please to break the apparent drought in such provision. We then crossed the Adur
Ferry Bridge and wandered along the narrow pathway along the southwest side of
the harbour past the - “quirky or plain barking” as Literary Man put it - houseboats.
Along our way along the river, I did some quick sketches:
the rotting timber skeleton of the boat near Shoreham Bridge I’ve drawn before,
then later views of the Downs on the western side of the valley. I didn’t
really intend these to be picturesque, my attention focused on a pig farm
occupying a field on the hillside, next to it a broad grassy strip which I
thought looked a bit like multi-lane highway, albeit in green instead of Tarmac.
Not surprising I made this analogy, given the various roads crossing and
running along the lower Adur valley between Shoreham and Upper Beeding.
.JPG)
Between the railway and the
remains of the cement works, two contrasting bridges: Old Shoreham Bridge, the
quiet one for walkers and cyclists (above), the timber supports reflected in the water
despite the rising tide. Then just upstream the noisy one carrying the A27,
here a fast trunk road.
.JPG)
The foot and cycle paths either side of the river went
under it. Immediately east of it, the underside of the A27-A283 intersection with
a roundabout at valley level and flyovers carrying the sliproads on / off the
dual carriageway near a cliff above the river. At a higher level again the A27
ran through a chalk cutting in the hillside. Another bridge carrying a minor
road north across the Downs up towards Truleigh Hill l. It all seemed overly
complex and expansive considering it involved just two A’roads, clearly to ease
the flow of traffic on / off the dual carriageway as quickly as possible. There
are spaghetti junctions, cloverleaf junctions. This one had a bit like both
when viewed from above. A short line of cones near the fence on the south side of
the bridge. Alongside the westbound slipway, three single chevrons indicated
keep left.
.JPG)
This is exactly the sort of thing they are now threatening
in the neighbouring lower Arun valley – see previous posts about the A27 and
Arundel bypass.
.JPG)
This morning the traffic on the A27 was relatively light,
especially the lorries. The A283 seemed busier and was almost as noisy;
admittedly amplified as it ran at the foot of the hill on the east side of the
river gap. As it ran north-south along the valley the noise with us throughout.
It crossed the river about half a mile north of the SDW footbridge near Upper
Beeding, before tracking to the north of the Downs towards Storrington and Pulborough
(the same road crossing the Arun next to the Old Stopham Bridge).
My Previous entries (roads):
A27 - Bad Tidings, 24/03/15
Storms of Protest..., 23/01/15
