Читать книгу The Ribble Way. A Northern England Trail онлайн

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The Ribble Way moves from one side of the valley to the other, generally making use of road bridges to cross the river. However, at Hacking Hall, where the River Calder joins the Ribble, there used to be a ferry; but with the death of the ferryman in 1954, it ceased to operate. Although it would seem there had always been an intention to replace the ferry with a footbridge, by the time the path was opened the bridge was no nearer to reality, though many hoped that the establishment of the Ribble Way and the resulting increase in use of the riverside footpaths would help to revitalise the scheme. However, conflicting opinions as to whether the Ribble Way should be routed over the Ribble, the Calder, or the Hodder further upstream, not to mention a lack of financial resources, left the project on hold. The new century brought a ray of hope when an innovative design was unveiled for a bridge linking the separate paths at the confluence of the Calder and Ribble. Had the plan come to fruition, the need to detour via Lower Hodder Bridge would have been removed, and many new possibilities for local walks would have been created. Unfortunately, the economic climate changed and the plan was abandoned, but who knows? Perhaps one day…