Day 53 of the End to End in 2019 was on the Lancaster Canal from Garstang to Gallgate which was bridge 62 to bridge 88. Canals in England most often have numbered bridges (although the Bridgewater Canal has named bridges). Bob and I found the bridge numbering system quite useful as we could text each other to say which bridge we were at. This would help us to know roughly how far apart we were if he was walking towards me, for example. Of course the bridges aren’t equally spaced but it was helpful.
Sometimes an aquaduct would also be numbered as a bridge. The Lancaster Canal has few locks, except the Glasson branch which goes down to Glasson docks. An early end to the walking day left time for a visit to Knott End, opposite Fleetwood where we found a welcoming cafe. There’s a ferry at Knott End and the cafe is by the slipway, so no bridge there then.
Bridges are mostly noted for being crossed rather than counted. Maybe we might count bridges we’ve yet to cross. Coming out of lock down from COVID19 is about crossing a lot of bridges in due course, some of which may seem bigger than others depending on the people preparing to do the crossing. Different vulnerabilities and anxieties may contribute to how it feels to prepare to cross the bridge.
There were a great many bridges on LEJOG overall, some big, some bigger. They were crossed in various types of weather, some sunny, some downpours. A bridge is also used as a metaphor for reconciliation: coming together in the middle of a bridge seen as a way of bringing different people together. Whether we are bridge counters, crossers or reconcilers, may the way continue for us, safely and peacefully.
From the remembered gospel: Jesus said ‘I am the true and living way leading to the Father’. I think of Jesus as a sort of bridge in this saying, linking us with the Eternal God.
Bridge builder, may we learn to be reconcilers,
counting the bridges that bring us together,
helping each other to cross over,
not at any price, but mindful of what it cost you
to be a true and living way.
JAL: 29.05.2020 in Longdendale.