Crossing the Worlds Most Dangerous Estuary - A brief History
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ส.ค. 2021
- Welcome to this weeks video in which we walk up and down the Severn Estuary looking for some of the crazy ways in which people have tried to ross it for 1000's of years,
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I worked on the construction based on the Welsh side. When working in the tidal zone there would be a bell to make sure you got back to land before the tide came in. Sometimes we couldn't get the plant back because of the mud and on a couple of occasions we had to leave 40 ton concrete pumps. Going back when the tide was out they had disappeared only to show up a couple of days later, brought back by the tides, smashed to hell. That was one hell of a scary tide. There was a natural spring there, I think the local Whitbread brewery used it as a water source and a job I had was to wade through chest deep silt and mud to the spring and take a sample to ensure the works weren't polluting it. That was so strenuous especially with all the safety kit and harnesses I had to carry.
I worked on English side I was out in river in my moxy for jone’sdid all the muck shift on land as well
If anyone is interested, one of my college lecturers wrote a book on one of the ferry crossings 'The ferry:Newnham and Arlingham by Margaret H. Willis. Both she and her husband, Brian, are buried at Newnham cemetery.
That would explain the name of the pub at Arlingham; The Old Passage Inn 😊
Lot of work put into this and some great drone footage. The old railway bridge was a problem due to its weight restriction in later years. It was a challenge whether to upgrade it or demolished it. The barges settled it once and for all. Sad that it was such a tragic accident. Keep it going.
Thanks Bob
I'm always amused when the name 'Aust' comes up - when I was a kid, I went with my family on holiday to Wales. My late father never believed in 'Straight Line' travelling, preferring to wander about, stopping off anywhere he found interesting. Anyway, we stopped off at Aust services, and ordered some cold drinks. I had a cup of Fanta, which the lady serving, filled very full, and suggested taking a mouthful off the top. I should point out, at this point, the cafeteria was packed with people. The Fanta was extremely fizzy, and cold, and I took a big gulp. The result of this was an immediate, and incredibly loud burp, which echoed round the big room, which fell silent. I remember mum wishing the floor would swallow her up, and dad laughing fit to burst. I've not visited since.
Great video about a fascinating place. Thank you.
Great story. I can just imagine your mum mortified and dad laughing his head off.
Gone down in legend as, " The Great Burp of Aust".
I thought you were gonna talk about the fossils or geology, but no..
That made me chuckle
In the early 1960s the engineering society at school arranged a trip on British Railways Western Region's Chief Civil Engineer's observation carriage from Reading to Severn Tunnel Junction and then up the branch line to the Sudbrook pumping station. We saw the old Cornish engine pumps and we took a lift down into the tunnel itself (through heavy wooden door) while a train went past. I'm sure this would never be allowed today. After visiting the tunnel we visited the site of the Severn road bridge (the suspension bridge that's now part of the M48). We went up on the bridge deck (which wasn't yet complete) and then down into the vast concrete blocks that anchor the cable. A great trip, but I'm sure elf'n'safety would never allow a gang of teenage schoolboys to do these kinds of things now. Thanks for the video!
Wow, what a great story. So lucky👍👍
you'd have to pay someone insurance money to allow it.
No offense, but my brain's gonna be singing Sunshine on Leith for the rest of the day, now. Really cool experience you were lucky to have!
As a young boy I traveled on the footplate of a GWR steam loco crossing the Severn bridge from Lydney to Sharpness. Placed up in the cab by my grandmother at Lydney who then accompanied in a coach my grandfather Andrew Jackson the driver placed me on the right of the cab on a small seat backed by the tender and explained what he was doing. It was hot and dusty. My memory of crossing the bridge was the view, that it flexed with the forward momentum of train weight, also took a time to cross a lot of Severn water. He also told me during the war the Americans did not believe a bridge span could take the weight of a 'Lend Lease locomotives', one was driven onto a span and left there overnight, British engineering triumphed. They home was on Aylburton common at 'Fair View'. This was the first of several thrilling cab rides I've continued here in NZ.
That’s amazing.
Great piece of research, even as a local (Bristolian) I learnt a lot. Severn Beach used to be quite a seaside resort, popular with Bristolians as it was cheaper to get to than Weston! There were also regular excursion trains from the Midlands.
Yup, despite me mentioning facilities there actually wasn't as much as I was lead to believe.
Wow! Paul, Rebecca, Possibly your best yet! This is a standard of documentary I would expect to see on the BBC, not TH-cam! Your research is meticulous, the execution to the finished product nothing short of excellent! Careful, if you top this, I'll have run out of superlatives!
Many TH-camrs make far better documentaries than the large TV-crews!
One of your best Paul & Rebecca. Definitely worth the considerable effort you put into it.
I can echo your comment. Well worth a watch. 👍
I remember as a school child in around 1965 going on a school trip from Bristol to Aust to see the ‘new’ bridge being constructed. Best bit was collecting fossilised sharks teeth on the beach where you were standing at 11:00. Black pointy teeth embedded in limestone that could be removed with acid!
Definitely worth the two months prep. Excellent!
I wanted to shout out ‘Orst’ a few times but by your last mention you must have heard already.
I was searching for a Yocal to try and confirm.... it was deserted!
It was always 'Orst' to me as a kid, but I wasn't local either.
I'd like to echo the sentiments already expressed by other appreciative viewers and congratulate you on a cracking mini documentary. Kudos! Definitely two months well spent.
Thank you. When I was a kid in the early '60's my family would cross on the Aust ferry. I remember the queues. One of Bob Dylan's album covers is a photo of him at Aust, during a tour of Britain, as he waited for the ferry.
I remember crossing on the ferry in 1963 or 4. Although it was summertime, the crossing was diabolical. The cars were chained to stop them sliding but they did anyway; the ferry was buffeted about by a gale, the sky was dark grey, rain was lashing down and we passengers huddled in groups. Kids were crying and some women were moaning and screaming quietly whilst the cars were 'reaching the end of their tether'.
We finally made it across like refugees from Armageddon and all swore blind that was the last time. And it was. For us. 😁😁😁
@@janicetaylor7516 Lovely. Certainly makes driving across on the bridge somewhat underwhelming, though.
@@andrewpreston4127 ...it was lovely although I was only 14 or 15 and thought it was great. I'd prefer the bridge now, though. 😄
Hi both, great video, thank you. I’m local and can remember travelling on the ferry under the first Severn bridge whilst it was under construction. It was an amazing sight, men hundreds of feet above the water on mesh catwalks stringing the cables, no hard hats hi viz jackets or safety lines, different times. On the day the bridge opened we were given a day off school (Olveston Primary) and bussed to the bridge to watch, cheer the Queen and wave our Union Jacks. We sat on the grassy banks of the motorway cutting adjacent to the toll booths, all grown over with trees now.
One crossing you missed out. Electricity.
The pylons that carry the high voltage (275kV) cables across the river adjacent to the first bridge were built in 1959 and were the highest in the U.K. until the ones across the Thames were built. There are also tunnels which run under the old bridge which carry high voltage cables.
Best
TonyS
So much I didn't know (or have forgotten). This one video alone, of your many, will inspire many hours of further reading. Thank You both for the hard work.
Thanks mutely Dave
That was one of your very best videos. Wonderful historical interest. Full of facts and information. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into making this film.
That was excellent stuff - I’m impressed how you crammed so much information into 12 minutes!
I also feel old - is the second road crossing really 25 years old? 😆🤦♂️😩
Oddly as I was editing I was concerned it was going to be 30 mins!
Really loved this. The Severn crossing (esp the M48 one) holds so many great feelings for me. Coming home to Cymru, lots of history so well put together in a 12 minute video. Can see the high level of work you put in. Thank you!
Same, travelled across it so many times
Wonderful production and infectious enthusiasm...easily one of the top offerings on yt...thank you.
An excellent and interesting production as always. I have lived within less than a mile of the M48 Bridge for more than 40 years and it is certainly an impressive area, particularly when the tide is coming in.
Thanks for a great video, I’m originally Bristolian and was there for the opening of the 1st bridge in 1966 which my father spent 5 years working on the construction. To be pedantic free crossing of the Severn Estuary was first possible in 1992 when the charge for travelling Eastbound was scrapped and tolls for Westbound only remained, these tolls were double the pre 1992 charge using the principle that 99% of vehicles going one way would soon go the other therefore costing would pan out equally. I used to take advantage of this anomaly as living in Worcestershire I could go to Cardiff in my van via Monmouth but return via the Severn crossing which was faster and free, large van prices were much higher than cars so well worth the slightly longer (in time) but less miles journey via the A40. I always returned via the “Old Bridge” on the M48 as a homage to my late father who worked as a welder on the bridge, to his friend killed there and the many others who died during its construction in the early 60’s😔
Thanks for your recollections Sir.
I don't live in UK now but think I remember that it was free to get into Wales but cost £? to get out. As a Londoner I felt that was fitting 🧐
Absolutely fascinating. Living in Bristol, I just take accessing South Wales by road and rail for granted.I must admit I forgot about the attempt to cross the Severn in the Forest of Dean area until it was mentioned in the video, but I had heard the story of its fate before.Many thanks.
Back in the days when the fuel tankers came up the River Severn they came as far as Worcester and Stourport-on-Severn. There were tank farms with storage for Shell Mex/BP, Esso and National. The tanks have since disappeared in Worcester and the industrial area is now modern housing.
As a child growing up in Stourport on Severn I used to watch the barges from Redstone caves.
Really fascinating documentary. You told the story in a really engaging fashion, with great footage, elegant editing and perfect atmospheric music. Something this channel should be really proud of!
Really great little documentary of the area, thanks for making and sharing
Hi Paul, what a wonderful video and definitely worth the two months work of prep which into making it. Thank you very much.
you put tv to shame, such high quality output
I went across the ferry with my motorbike in the early 60's when they were just building the bridge . The ferries had a turntable on board so that the cars could be turned around for loading . I cant remember how much it cost !.
Good morning,
What a great video, that was “Two Months” well spent. What a lovely full review of the river Seven crossing.
Many Thanks
Excellent content, very good editing, first class production you two - well done.
That was fascinating Paul...thank you very much for all the effort behind it!
Superb mini documentary! I know the area but still learned a lot of new stuff. Thank you.
I grew up near Severn Beach and it used to be a holiday resort and was a great place to grow ip
Thems some lovely bridges. Enjoyed a lot, thanks!
I’ve been a subscriber for a while as I found your vlogs through my interest in railways. This is my first time commenting on your excellent vlogs, thoroughly enjoyable and so well presented. Keep up the good work and thank you 😊
Cracking video Paul. A wonderful evocation of place, history and the human journey.
A brilliant well researched video, Paul and Rebecca.
The old Severn Railway Bridge was used in an old Arthur Askey film called the Ghost Train.
Loved the video. There were many more crossings and attempted crossings than I thought there were.
Two months!? Your efforts, you two, are immeasurable.
Thanks again.
Fabulous vid. Your best! Beautifully filmed and edited. Many thanks!
Fantastic, I've been looking forward to this.
Thank you guys for the history lesson on something local to me.
This was a brilliant video, full of useful info which needs wat hing again. It is really all the work and time you put into it. It really shone!
Really enjoyed this nice to see you up the the shire. I had a chuckle about Severn Beach. As kids back in the 60s that was a day out a small fun fair was there happy days.
Lovely video Paul. I'm a local lad to the area growing up in Thornbury. I was taught a little of the history in this area through school but only later on in life did I truly understand that the hole area is engulf with vast history. Awesome video and keep them coming guys you two do a fantastic job. Dare I say a lot better than the history teacher I had in school... But hey haha! Keep it up, hopefully if you guys are in Thornbury or by the Severn again it would be lovely to meet you both!
Fascinating video. Thanks so much, both of you.
I was a teenager when the 2nd Severn crossing was being built. In the summer, we would go shooting at Rogiet Moor range (a new range built as the old one stood where the new bridge was to be built) this is still called the Severn tunnel range by quite a few people I know.
As you pass behind the butts as you walk the costal path, there are 2 sentry boxes, where 2 boys would be sent to watch for pedestrians and passing ships. In the event of either, shooting would stop until they had passed safely.
I wish I had taken a camera with me to record the progress of the bridge build
Thank you for yet another informative and interesting video! I look forward to more!
Fascinating. My work has taken me up and down the low lying areas of the river from just north of Ledbury to Chepstow on the west and Shirehampton on the east. At one time or another I've visited every location in the video and gained a very basic knowledge of the structures etc,
Thanks to your efforts, your video gives them a greater clarity and context.
loved your informative video. Born in Cardiff I had been by train through the tunnel to London and driven by car Over the bridge This would have been in the mid 60's or so.
I generally enjoy your videos, but this was one of the best. Excellent stuff!
Fascinating presentation thanks xxx
Beautifully done. Thank you for the effort and love and discipline.
Well produced, very informative, great music choices, plenty of b-roll (nice drone work) and great use of map to help show the locality. That's a lot of walking you did Paul!
Fascinating quality content about a part of the world close to where I come from. Thank you for making it - great videography, and editing and I appreciate the history and maps very much. Well done! All the best, Rob in Switzerland
Thanks Rob
Guys that was one of your best ever! Fantastic work! John
Thanks for this video. Highly informative and a delight to watch.
Living in Gloucester it was very interesting to hear all about the history of the Severn crossings Thanks so much
Absolutely fascinating, loved that; very informative and interesting. I have used the M4 crossing and the sheer scale of it beggars belief!
What a fantastic video. Very much enjoyed.
That was incredible thanks. Just love the history. Lovely countryside. Thanks for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care
I did read somewhere that spans from the Severn railway bridge where exported abroad for reuse
Heard that too. Possibly to South America.
They most likely were. The better spans from the 1878 Tay Bridge were re-used in the 1887 replacement bridge...
Love it - very concise summary. Better than terrestrial TV!
Great video! Thanks guys!
Love the Map work! And the way you read out original texts. Really like it (a lot). :D
Well done production , your efforts are incredible .
Brilliantly researched, filmed and edited - there must have been a huge amount of work in producing this excellent video.
This is great guys, fantastic video, excellent work
I remember them building this bridge. Living on the welsh side I couldn’t wait to get in my car and drive across. Now I can see it from my window on the Bristol side.
Fair play to you Paul......absolutely loved it ...yes it was well worth all your efforts....thanks very much..
Wonderful video. Thanks so much
Excellent! very professional and entertaining, Thank you.
Really enjoyed that!! Thank you! I live in Weston on the Severn estuary
So much history
An amazing history Paul, very well told.
Great video full of excellent history. Thanks
Great vid guys, one of your best!, documentary quality, nice one!, could watch a longer version if you made one!.
What amazing work. Thanks guys.
Fantastic awesome content Paul and Rebecca.
It's great to see 'without further ado' being used properly! 11:48 Almost every time I hear it these days the person then continues on with more 'ado'.
Thanks for this.
That was fascinating. So informative. Thank you for all your research. That was great.
hi paul and rebecca , yet another cool interesting video , really well done and thank you :)
Really Interesting and informative. Keep up the good work, Team.
I remember travelling over the first crossing when it opened in the back of my dads Vauxhall Victor, in later life I would commute from Cardiff to Bristol on my motorbike a test of skill when it was windy lol.
Thank you for making this, these bridges have made a big difference to my life👍
Thank you very much. Very informative.
Thanks to Paul & Rebecca for the education upon this crossing.
Regards
A really first class documentary one of the best I have seen on TH-cam it's the first I have seen of yours it will not be the last . Thank you to both of you . Ian parkins
Lived in Gloucester all my life, new most of this, but you have once again sprang life in to our history. Keep it going. 👍😎
Brilliant production on this one, good job, both.
Excellent. Really interesting. A lot of work but well worth the effort. Many thanks
Another great video you two. That you for continuing to entertain and educate me. 😃👍
Excellent video, very slick too. My mum can remember crossing on the old ferry not long after she started driving and has seen the construction of the two bridges and what a difference it makes.
So interesting, Enjoyed that. Thanks
Fascinating video!!
Great video about what is very much "my part of the world". My grandad took me on dozens of walks along the Glos-Sharpness canal, by the bridge turret and ship graveyard, and we used to walk past the old Aust ferry and under the "old bridge" (when the tide was out!). So much history around there - including an iconic picture of Bob Dylan on a UK tour taken at the ferry terminal!
A few years later, my parents bought the village shop in Severn Beach, and I remember a good few summers explaining to disappointed tourists that "sorry it's not much of a beach, you probably want to go to Weston". Good times!
Really interesting and informative. Keep up the good work, Team.
After three weeks holiday I am kind of binge watching your video’s. 😎
Great video this one!
Interesting fun fact (possibly), used to work with a chap whose surname was Aust (which he said meant ferry man) and could directly link his family to the village of Aust
I found this a very interesting and informative video. Thank's for all your hard work in putting it together. Newnham is perfecly situated and the view over the Severn from the churchyard is spectacular. Surely a good case for reopening Newnham Station?
Well worth the effort, great info and presentation 👍
Great vid Paul ..one of your best to date mate ... why on earth a dozen sad stalkers didnt like this is beyond me ..maybe they are just plain jealous of you getting out there and doing such a good informative vid ?? Enjoyed ..Cheers.
Fantastic video. Well done.
I remember crossing on the Aust ferry as a child and remember the slightly alarming low freeboard of the ferry especially when surrounded by pretty substantial whirlpools on this very wild river.