The Shell Bridge ( 2 )
A shot taken too early for SSC of the Shell Bridge , I am standing on the public footpath from Leatherhead town starting at Bridge Street bridge and the path goes to the Thorncroft Bridge . The Shell Bridge is linking two islands in the River Mole which are private hence there is no access to the Grade 11 listed Shell Bridge . The flats seen in the distance are built where Sir Donald Campbell lived as did Bluebird for some time , ( I do remember seeing it through the garage windows many years ago ) .
DORKING & LEATHERHEAD ADVERTISER MAY 30 2014
AN ISLAND in the River Mole at Leatherhead has been named in honour of one of the town's best-known former residents, the former speed record holder Donald Campbell.
Mr Campbell's daughter Gina performed the naming ceremony beside the Shell Bridge, off Gimcrack Hill, in Saturday morning's sunshine.
John Holton, of The Priory Coach House – the new owner of the island – wanted to name it Bluebird Island in memory of the former world land and water speed record holder who at the time of his death lived at Priors Ford, also in Gimcrack Hill.
Mr Campbell was killed while attempting a new world record on Coniston Water, Cumbria, in 1967. His world-famous speedboat, Bluebird, flipped over and he perished in the water.
Gina, who now lives in Leeds, travelled to Leatherhead to visit friends and crack open a bottle of champagne at the ceremony.
She continued to live at Priors Ford with Campbell's widow, Tonia Bern-Campbell, for several years after his death.
Mr Holton was unable to attend Saturday's ceremony due to prior commitments but his son, Simon, took his place.
He said: "It's really nice because now the island has a name with an historic link. It's been an honour to meet Gina."
Gina's former partner Michael Standring, with whom she is still friends, took her in a boat to the island accompanied by Simon Holton and Marion Davies, of Byron Place, Leatherhead.
After beating a path through waist-high nettles, the party arrived at the Shell Bridge for a photo session. The party then returned to The Priory Coach House for champagne, with Gina nursing one or two nettle stings.
She pointed to the lawn at Campbell Court – the apartments that now stand on the site of her old home – and said she remembered there being a swimming pool where the grass now grows.
"I also remember there used to be a large pike in the river here," she added. "It used to look at you like a dragon."
Until the great floods of September 1968 there was a bridge from The Priory Coach House to the island, but it was destroyed by the immense torrents.
Gina said: "My father stopped us using the bridges because they were in a state of disrepair and he was worried so we were not allowed to cross them."
Gina, who was born in Warren Drive, Kingswood, in September 1946, said she was "thrilled" the island was to be named in honour of her father.
Father of two John Holton moved to the property above the River Mole in 1981 with his wife, Anne.
Three years ago he was approached by estate agent Patrick Gardner with a view to him buying the island from the Leatherhead Trust, which was being wound down.
"When we moved here, the garden was all a jungle and we couldn't even see the river," he said. "So we had little to do with the river, the Shell Bridge and the islands in the Mole.
"About two-and-a-half years ago we were approached by Patrick Gardner who was on the committee of the Leatherhead Trust.
"The Trust had been given one of the islands – and half of the Shell Bridge – as a nature reserve in 1989 by the builders, Octagon, who constructed Campbell Court on the site of Priors Ford in 1989."
The island can now only be reached by boat; the Shell Bridge links two of the islands in the Mole.
Mr Holton said: "The island is un-named, so I wanted to call it Bluebird Island, especially as this year is the 50th anniversary of Donald Campbell holding the world water and land speed records in the same year. This feat is unlikely to be repeated.
"There is no memorial to Donald Campbell anywhere in Surrey so I think it is fitting."
The Lower Mole Conservation Group has been involved in helping to maintain the nature reserve island, which Mr Holton was given at no charge "since it is a liability, rather than an asset".
So there we are , some more info on this little structure and something new learnt for myself as well .
All this talk of Islands - only one choice for Sight and Sound
The Shell Bridge ( 2 )
A shot taken too early for SSC of the Shell Bridge , I am standing on the public footpath from Leatherhead town starting at Bridge Street bridge and the path goes to the Thorncroft Bridge . The Shell Bridge is linking two islands in the River Mole which are private hence there is no access to the Grade 11 listed Shell Bridge . The flats seen in the distance are built where Sir Donald Campbell lived as did Bluebird for some time , ( I do remember seeing it through the garage windows many years ago ) .
DORKING & LEATHERHEAD ADVERTISER MAY 30 2014
AN ISLAND in the River Mole at Leatherhead has been named in honour of one of the town's best-known former residents, the former speed record holder Donald Campbell.
Mr Campbell's daughter Gina performed the naming ceremony beside the Shell Bridge, off Gimcrack Hill, in Saturday morning's sunshine.
John Holton, of The Priory Coach House – the new owner of the island – wanted to name it Bluebird Island in memory of the former world land and water speed record holder who at the time of his death lived at Priors Ford, also in Gimcrack Hill.
Mr Campbell was killed while attempting a new world record on Coniston Water, Cumbria, in 1967. His world-famous speedboat, Bluebird, flipped over and he perished in the water.
Gina, who now lives in Leeds, travelled to Leatherhead to visit friends and crack open a bottle of champagne at the ceremony.
She continued to live at Priors Ford with Campbell's widow, Tonia Bern-Campbell, for several years after his death.
Mr Holton was unable to attend Saturday's ceremony due to prior commitments but his son, Simon, took his place.
He said: "It's really nice because now the island has a name with an historic link. It's been an honour to meet Gina."
Gina's former partner Michael Standring, with whom she is still friends, took her in a boat to the island accompanied by Simon Holton and Marion Davies, of Byron Place, Leatherhead.
After beating a path through waist-high nettles, the party arrived at the Shell Bridge for a photo session. The party then returned to The Priory Coach House for champagne, with Gina nursing one or two nettle stings.
She pointed to the lawn at Campbell Court – the apartments that now stand on the site of her old home – and said she remembered there being a swimming pool where the grass now grows.
"I also remember there used to be a large pike in the river here," she added. "It used to look at you like a dragon."
Until the great floods of September 1968 there was a bridge from The Priory Coach House to the island, but it was destroyed by the immense torrents.
Gina said: "My father stopped us using the bridges because they were in a state of disrepair and he was worried so we were not allowed to cross them."
Gina, who was born in Warren Drive, Kingswood, in September 1946, said she was "thrilled" the island was to be named in honour of her father.
Father of two John Holton moved to the property above the River Mole in 1981 with his wife, Anne.
Three years ago he was approached by estate agent Patrick Gardner with a view to him buying the island from the Leatherhead Trust, which was being wound down.
"When we moved here, the garden was all a jungle and we couldn't even see the river," he said. "So we had little to do with the river, the Shell Bridge and the islands in the Mole.
"About two-and-a-half years ago we were approached by Patrick Gardner who was on the committee of the Leatherhead Trust.
"The Trust had been given one of the islands – and half of the Shell Bridge – as a nature reserve in 1989 by the builders, Octagon, who constructed Campbell Court on the site of Priors Ford in 1989."
The island can now only be reached by boat; the Shell Bridge links two of the islands in the Mole.
Mr Holton said: "The island is un-named, so I wanted to call it Bluebird Island, especially as this year is the 50th anniversary of Donald Campbell holding the world water and land speed records in the same year. This feat is unlikely to be repeated.
"There is no memorial to Donald Campbell anywhere in Surrey so I think it is fitting."
The Lower Mole Conservation Group has been involved in helping to maintain the nature reserve island, which Mr Holton was given at no charge "since it is a liability, rather than an asset".
So there we are , some more info on this little structure and something new learnt for myself as well .
All this talk of Islands - only one choice for Sight and Sound