Bridge over the River Don

I clearly remember crossing this bridge several times, not so many years ago, when the deck was still (mostly) in place - a matter of treading warily from one half-rotten crosstimber to the next, carefully weighing up the risks in crossing the gaps where the odd timber had disappeared - never too far to leap, but never too certain how secure the next timber on the far side would be...

I had heard that the local laird had (quite wisely) put an end to all this (and considerably reduced his own exposure to risk) a few years ago, by removing the decking, but had never actually checked this out - until this afternoon, around 4.15, I 'waded' through sodden waist-high vegetation in the midst of a downpour to capture this photo.

I was actually quite surprised, when googling the bridge just now, to discover that the deck had actually been removed as long ago as 2005.