Fall Hike – Lovelace Bridges Trail, Surrey Hills, UK
The Lovelace Bridges were built by William King, 1st Earl of Lovelace (1805-1893) on his estate at East Horsley, Surrey, in the 1860s.
Fifteen bridges were built to facilitate the transport of timber by horse-drawn carts. The bridges were built where the tracks crossed existing bridleways or roads. Ten bridges still exist.
The bridges were constructed from local flint and brick; they all had plaques with their name and dates.
The Earl had his own brickworks in West Horsley/Ockham and the lime for the mortar would have been local, possibly from chalk pits in Kiln Field Coppice.
There is a Lovelace Bridges Trail produced by the Horsley Countryside Preservation Society and there is a project to conserve the bridges managed by Forest Enterprise England.
Video Source: Lovelace Bridges Trail, Surrey Hills, England from Travel & Adventure on Youtube ⁄ CC BY
