Rothley Station Road Bridge Beauty

I love the curved arches of these classic Victorian era railway bridges. They have a charm, a grace and purpose which belies their utilitarian character.

In some ways, these structures represent the pinnacle of railway engineering as this line, the Great Central, was the last mainline to be built at the the turn of 20th century. A small part of the line is preserved as a heritage railway line, running between North Leicester and Loughborough.

The bridges live on now as enduring monuments to railways heyday, romanticised and reinvented over the years as heritage lines, workshops, works of art or bike paths they may well yet come to represent the finest designed and most heroic transport network the country has ever created.