The Tide Is High

Thursday last week saw one of the highest tides of the year, down in Wadebridge the old Bridge on Wool looked as if it was almost going to be submerged. This is how it looked at around 5pm about an hour and a half before high tide



By about 7.30 it had risen about another 10 feet or so and completely swamped the Swans Island and nest site.



Its called the Bridge on Wool because it was supposedly build on a foundation of wool sacks some time in the 15th century by subscriptions raised by the Reverend Lovibond. It was always thought that it was probably built on the proceeds of the sale of the wool sacks, but in 1963 when the bridge was widened the surveyors took core samplings of the original foundations and found wool. Apparently it seems that compacted natural fibres make a very firm foundation in wet and boggy places.

There now, you have learnt something today - courtesy of my 1948 edition of "The Boys Book Of Knowledge"