An act of mindless vandalism – is there any other kind? – has resulted in the closure of the bridge over the River Eden between Kirkoswald and Lazonby. The bridge was damaged before Christmas and last week work was started to repair the stonework and traffic lights were installed to protect the workforce.
On night, I think it was Tuesday, some cretin smashed the traffic lights and pushed some of the repaired stonework into the river with the result that some of the 200 year old sandstone will be lost forever and when the bridge is repaired it will lose its original look.
Worst still is that access to the bridge has been completely closed and people from the KO side of the river wanting to get to Lazonby or Penrith have to detour around Langwathby or Armathwaite, a trip of around eight or nine miles. This state of affairs is likely to last up to two weeks.
I have a suspicion who is responsible so will be contacting the police tomorrow. On a historical note the bridge is often called Lazonby bridge but it was paid for by farmers from the Kirkoswald side of the river so they could get their livestock to the sales in Lazonby.
