Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay

A trip on the Tay estuary shows up a lot of engineering. Most of it is far from beautiful- McGonagall was referring to the bridge that fell down.
We set off from icy cold Tayport, and very soon arrived at one of the older constructions on the river- an old wooden tower which had to be landed on.

Ken stole my boat, leaving me marooned in 2 feet of guano. I can still smell it now.

It was then over to Broughty Ferry- the most solid looking bit of civil engineering of the day,

and on up past Dundee docks.

Climbing on to this one might have been more challenging.

Some of the riverside flats in Dundee are so close to the water that you can nearly paddle under them.

The Tay Road Bridge is a Plain Jane compared to the Forth,

but next to it is the elegance of the Discovery, registered in Port Stanley. Unfortunately a big gate stops access from the river.

The railway bridge is definitely more elegant than its sister. It combines a fair gradient with a big sweeping curve. The remains of the fallen bridge run along it. McGonagall gives the history- the whole poem is here.

That train is heading for my house.
We had a short cold break then caught the ebb tide back towards Tayport.

Where there is a reminder of another astonishing construction- one for another trip.