On the Embankment

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I had a walk on the Embankment after dropping Julia off at work.

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The Embankment, Nottingham, looking towards Trent Bridge

I’m not sure if all the detail will show up in the photo, but starting from the right – those spindly circular lights are the lights of Trent Bridge cricket ground. The floodlights just showing behind the trees on the right bank of the river are from the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest. Just behind that is the Lady Bay, base of Nottingham Rugby and across the river is Meadow Lane, the ground of Notts County. I couldn’t get a viewpoint that showed them. The two football grounds are the closest in England, about 300 yards according to Wiki. I think it’s fair to say that this is the sporting centre of Nottingham.

Fishing opposite the County Council offices
Fishing in the Trent
Rowing under Trent Bridge

Fishing has always been popular along the Trent, as you can see. The blue bridge is the actual Trent Bridge and the one behind is Lady Bay Bridge, an ex-railway bridge converted to take vehicles.

The river has also been used for recreational rowing for many years. Nottingham Rowing Club was founded in 1862, becoming the Nottingham and Union Rowing Club after the war when the two clubs merged. The Union Club had been bombed out during the Nottingham Blitz in 1941. The current Nottingham Rowing Club was formed in 2006 when the  Nottingham Boat Club (founded 1894) and the Nottingham Britannia Rowing Club (founded 1869) merged. The NBC boathouse was the victim of a Suffragette arson attack in 1913. Members attended the next Suffragette meeting where they “subjected them to embarassment and indignities”.

Nottingham War Memorial
Political comment – presumably from a “Remain” voter with time on his hands
Wilford Suspension Bridge

The political graffiti “artists” have been out. I assume this was a disgruntled “Remain” voter.

Nottingham’s War Memorial, though undoubtedly grand, is rather too much about Nottingham for my taste. There are 72,246 names on the Thiepval memorial to the dead of the Somme battles who have no known grave.  There are 54,395 names on the Menin Gate for the dead of the Ypres Salient who had no known grave. At that point they ran out of space and those who died after 15th August 1917 are commemorated on the Tyne Cot memorial. The New Zealand and Newfoundland governments made their own arrangements.

I know many, if not all, of the Nottingham dead will be on local memorials. In fact 55 rowers (including Albert Ball) are commemorated on Trent Bridge. (One day I must count all the memorials Albert Ball is listed on.) It just seems that without the personal link of names it lacks a dimension.

Finally, the last picture is the Wilford Suspension Bridge. Apart from being a pedestrian Bridge it carries a water main and two gas pipes. It also makes a convenient place to stop.

 

19 thoughts on “On the Embankment”

  2. Pingback: Bridges, Locks and Hearts | quercuscommunity

  4. jodierichelle

    My goodness, your sporting center is much lovelier than ours is. The Philadelphia (GO EAGLES!) teams play in some kind on industrial Hell that you would never visit otherwise.

    Reply ↓
  5. myfoodhunt

    Hi Simon

    I have been walking around a lot recently trying to do this 10,000 steps m’larky.

    I have some excellent Swan and Cygnet photos, if you are lucky you may find them on your strolls. I got some pics first week they were on the water. Lucky

    Marcus

    Reply ↓
      1. jodierichelle

        I started wearing my husband’s Fitbit (it counts my steps) a few months back and almost always hit my 12,000 / day goal and gained 5 pounds. So I stopped wearing it and lost 8.

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