The 8th, 9th and 10th wonders of the world!....
I went out on my bike today, it was beautiful...the skies were blue, it was cold but not too cold, the type that makes your cheeks rosy, and I was in one of my favourite places, down by the river and canal.
So what's with the title? Well two things really. A friend and I were discussing the bring subject of motorways the other day, and he told me someone famous (don't remember who) had said that the 8th wonder of the world should be the M1.
Well I disagree, I think the canals of Britain should be the 8th Wonder of the world. They are amazing. What an invention...how amazing that they were created by men....if I could thank the canal builders personally I would, they deserve more than thanks tho.
The 9th Wonder would then be the railway networks. They may not be brilliant today, esp here in the UK, but when I see the old bridges, the old tracks that were built over a 100 years ago, again you appreciate what a back breaking job that was.
The aquaducts, the viaducts, they are all truly amazing.
And then....there is the M1...I agree, it's a Wonder, my 10th! It is 200 miles long approx, which maybe nothing to people living outside the UK, but to us, that's quite a distance. Starting in London and ending just outside of Leeds now, the M1 is 46 years old this year. Opened by the then Minister of Transport, Ernest Maples on 2nd November 1959, it was a sight not really seen before, a place where people could drive their cars fast!
Today, it cause no end of headaches because of all the congestion, but I still think it's a cool thing to be able to drive so far on just one road.
So, to celebrate the wonders..here's a picture of them together....

There are some beautiful, odd things in this country, one of them being something I found today. It was situated on a piece of land that runs bewteen a river and a canal...no explanation as to why it was there at all.

There were four large stones, all having a carving on them similar to this


I had a great day, I was out on the bike for 2hrs so not only did I get to see some great things, I trained as well.