Middle Bridge

As its name suggests, Middle Bridge crosses the water race close to the middle of the property. It must have been walked over and wheeled over a million times since first constructed.

Our latest Moosey animal, Rusty the red border collie puppy, has learnt in no time where this bridge leads to (though he did fall off into the water during a lapse in concentration when he first arrived).

Rusty the New Puppy on Middle Bridge

Early Days

Early Days - Looking Upstream

Early Days - Afternoon Sun

When Stephen first brought home the huge offcuts of wooden power poles I didn't give the bridge they were to become much thought. The area over the water race was still being cleared, and there were no borders dug. The trees over there were huge - two rows of noisy twenty year-old gums.

I decided that the bridge should be reasonably central, near the big flax. I stood on the back lawn, pointed vaguely, and that was that. Middle Bridge went in very quickly, with four people pulling the big beams into place over the water race. Planks were nailed to form the "floor".

The first path leading from Middle Bridge was designed by Taj-dog. He turned sharp right and snuffled his way along the water's edge, giving me the idea of building a Dog-Path there. Later another Dog-Path was built to the left to wind its way around the established flax bush and along the water's edge. Over the years as the flaxes doubled in size this path suffered several alterations in route.

Early Days - Middle Border Foliage

Gardener Access

Humans needed access from the bridge to the grass beyond, and so Middle Path with its stone edges was built to wind around two existing Viburnums and out of sight towards the fence. The new trees in Middle Border are growing well, giving the area a woodland ambience. Each year more and more dappled shade is created in here, and any original surviving sun-lovers have to shift out.

One of my very first plantings over Middle Bridge was a green and gold flax called Yellow Wave, which I carefully dug in by the old fence post. I also added some white verbenas and tussocks to trail over the stones.

Summer 2003 on Middle Bridge

These plantings still exist, though now twice as large. You can see how much the Yellow Wave flax has grown by comparing the two photographs.

Early Days - On the Catwalk

Solid and Strong

Middle Bridge is a very basic solid structure. The fern and the big species flax (phormium tenax) on the bridge's end are both impressive plants. It's an ongoing job removing the million gorse and broom seedlings and plantlings growing around them.

It may be a bare and boring design, but Middle Bridge is a successful bridge, and is enjoyed equally by cats, dogs and people. In heavy winter frosts it cannot be traversed until mid-morning, by which time the winter sun (which, of course, shines every single day) has thawed any slippery ice.