JennyOwen

By JennyOwen

Industrial: old and new

Today's weather forecast looked OK for the morning but dire for the afternoon. So Richard and I went for an hour's walk along the Loxley valley - one of the valleys in which Sheffield's metal-working industry developed. It was also the site of a devastating flood in 1864, when at least 240 people died. The Dale Dyke Dam on the edge of the city burst, and water rushed down the valley, sweeping people, farmhouses and terraced streets before it.
Today there are tiny traces left of the buildings and water wheels that used to dominate the valley, driving corn mills and water wheels for toolmakers.  And we found this tiny 21st century hydro project: an Archimedes screw turning with the flow of the river, sending out a muted heartbeat in the woods. I've never seen an Archimedes screw in action before, so this was a good find.  You can just about see it in the photo, though it's a bit obscured by the netting above it (and we couldn't get any closer).
It's a wide-angle shot (well, 28mm)... and it's industrial on a micro scale... the closest I've managed to get to today's theme :-)

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