gordon_dunn Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Dosen't get much better than this- An epic flight yesterday- zero wind, low lying mist- difficult takeoff, but worth the effort! Crespecular Rays Altnachree Castle River Foyle, Near Strabane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Wow Gordon, your standard just keeps on and on. Keep it up, I'm sure lots on here enjoy your photos, me included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Just - right place- right time Alan. With scenery, and light like that you can't go wrong really. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hann__ Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Nice pics! What`s the story behing the partially built bridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Nice pics!What`s the story behing the partially built bridge? No not partially built- but partially demolished. There used to be a railway that ran between Omagh and Londonderry, but it closed in 1965 (Beeching). The bridge that carried the railway over the river Foyle at this point was called 'Islandmore bridge'. The river at this point also marks the international border between Northern Ireland (UK) and the Republic of Ireland, and in an effort to prevent smugglers and terrorists using the bridge, it was dismantled in the 1970s. The bridge piers proved too difficult to uproot, therefore they have remained since, and will probably be there for the next 1000 years! The railway crossed the river via the bridge, and onto a two small islands on the river Foyle- Islandmore / Corkan Island, and then crossed the river Foyle again near a villiage in the Repulic of Ireland called 'Porthall'. May seem a strange route for the railway to take, but it followed the shortest and flattest route to Londonderry- and the railway was built before the political developments which led to the border being drawn in 1922. Location map Detail map The Bridge at the north - From Corkan Island to Port Hall still remains for farm traffic. Foyle Brige- Porthall is the nearest villiage- and is named after the house- 'Port Hall' Built in the mid 18th century in the Georgian style, it was once owned by Anthony Marreco. Mr Marreco was Junior Counsel at the Nuremberg Trials at the end of World War II. He later became a founding director of Amnesty International. Port Hall is now a stud farm situated on the northern end of the village. Port Hall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porthall On a personal level also, my Great Grandfather used to live on the Island. The ruins of the house are just about visible now from the air- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hann__ Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Very interesting, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 If Carlsberg answered posts!! lol Great pics as always. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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