Ivelet Bridge Winter
Midway between Gunnerside and Muker, in Upper Swaledale, the single arch of Ivelet Bridge spans The River Swale. As bridges go it’s just about perfect. Form and function combine seamlessly to make something both beautiful and practical. It’s stood the test of time and survived the worst that The Rushing River, in full spate, can unleash. There’s no doubt whatsoever that its builders, in the late 17th century, knew exactly how to build a bridge!
Perhaps unsurprisingly it’s now a place entwined with the stories of those who visit it: a place for enamoured couples to become engaged; a place to picnic and skim stones on long summer days; a place to find peace fly-fishing in the shadow of its arch; a place for families to scatter loved one’s ashes. Often they come into the gallery and tell us their stories.
On a still day the water pools below the bridge, forming a silvered mirror, before the shallows and rocks intrude, breaking the surface and the reflection. Between rocks and pool there’s a sweet spot where, in a good pair of wellies, you can wade out almost to the mid-point of the river, taking care on the peat covered stones, slippery as ice.
I’d first found this spot on a June morning shortly after we’d arrived in Muker. The sun streaming straight down the river from the east, hitting the crown of the arch. The river seemed almost still and the reflection perfect. Returning to the bridge in winter, with a new pair of wellies and winter socks bought as a Christmas present, I wasn’t sure what I’d find, but the water was calm and the wellies and socks tall and warm, so once again I found myself in the middle of the Swale trying not to slip and fall into its icy waters. Once I’d reached the middle of the river the easy part was to focus and take the shots that would later be stitched together to form the image, but that’s the thing about photography; its the getting to the right place at the right time that’s the difficult part and in this case the getting back out again!
With the picture displayed in our gallery we ourselves have now become entwined in people’s stories. Visitors who’ve never seen Ivelet Bridge happen upon the photo, ask for directions and set off to discover it for themselves, no doubt to create their own memories. Occasionally they return and buy the photograph!