The link from Dr Bill shows the Iron Bridge at Ironbridge in Shropshire. The bridge itself is still standing and maintained in excellent condition, though now it carries only foot traffic. This stretch of the Severn river, the Ironbridge Gorge, although little known, is the birth place of the industrial revolution. In 1986 U N E S C O, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, inscribed Ironbridge Gorge as a World Heritage Site in its Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural Natural Heritage.

U N E S C O states that "In Ironbridge, known worldwide as the symbol of the Industrial Revolution, all the elements of progress developed in an 18th century industrial region can be found, from the mines themselves to the railway lines. Nearby, the blast furnace of Coalbrookdale, built in 1708, is a reminder of the discovery of coke, which, together with the bridge at Ironbridge, the first metallic bridge in the world, had considerable influence on the evolution of technology and architecture."

It is a fascinating area full of industrial archaeology and yet, in it's current sleepy passivity, also full of charm and beauty.