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Menai Strait
The Menai Strait () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The strait is about long and varies in width from between Fort Belan and Abermenai Point to between Puffin Island (Anglesey), Puffin Island () and Penmaenmawr. It contains several islands, including Church Island (Anglesey), Church Island (), on which is located St Tysilio's Church, Menai Bridge, St Tysilio's Church. The strait is bridged by the Menai Suspension Bridge (), which was completed in 1826 to a design by Thomas Telford and carries the A5 road (Great Britain), A5 road, and the Britannia Bridge () a truss arch bridge which carries the North Wales Main Line and the A55 road; it is an adaptation of a Tubular bridge, tubular railway bridge completed in 1850 to a design by Robert Stephenson, which was severely damaged by a fire in 1970. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglesey
Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the southeast, and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni. The county is part of the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Gwynedd. Anglesey is the northernmost county in Wales. The Isle of Anglesey has an area of and a population of in . After Holyhead (12,103), the largest settlements are Llangefni (5,500) and Amlwch (3,967). The economy of the county is mostly based on agriculture, energy, and tourism, the latter especially on the coast. Holyhead is also a major ferry port for Dublin, Ireland. The county has the second-highest percentage of Welsh language, Welsh speakers in Wales, at 57.2%, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penmaenmawr
Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an important quarrying town, though quarrying is no longer a major employer. The population of the community was 4,353 in 2011, including Dwygyfylchi and Capelulo. The town itself having a population of 2,868 (2011). It was named after Penmaenmawr mountain, which stands above the sea immediately west of the town. Much of its formerly rounded top (with an old hill-fort) has been quarried away, leaving the present-day lower flat top. The town was bypassed by the A55 Expressway in the 1980s, losing its old Edwardian period promenade in the process, which was largely replaced by a modern one. Penmaenmawr is noted for its spectacular mountain and coastal walks. Nearby are the popular attractions of Sychnant Pass and Mynydd y Dref, and the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vortex'' is the proper term for a whirlpool that has a downdraft. In narrow ocean straits with fast flowing water, whirlpools are often caused by tides. Many stories tell of ships being sucked into a maelstrom, although only smaller craft are actually in danger. Smaller whirlpools appear at Rapids, river rapids and can be observed downstream of artificial structures such as weirs and dams. Large waterfall, cataracts, such as Niagara Falls, produce strong whirlpools. Notable whirlpools Saltstraumen Saltstraumen is a narrow strait located close to the Arctic Circle, south-east of the city of Bodø (town), Bodø, Norway. It has one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. Whirlpools up to in diameter and in depth are formed when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swellies
The Swellies or Swillies () is a stretch of the Menai Strait in North Wales. The most popular use of the name is for the stretch between the Britannia Bridge and the Menai Bridge. It is notable for its difficulty in safely navigating its shoals and rocks due to the whirlpools and surges that are the result of the tides washing around the island of Anglesey at different speeds. There are several small islands in The Swellies, the largest of which are Church Island () and (Red Weir Island in English but also known as Whitebait Island). Swellies is the most treacherous section of the Menai Strait. A medieval document quoted in the 2003 book ''The Menai Strait'' (translated from the 2003 Welsh original ) by Gwyn Pari Huws and Terry Beggs ( Gwasg Gomer Press) states: "In that arm of the see that departeth between this island Mon and North Wales is a swelowe that draweth to schippes that seileth and sweloweth hem yn, as doth Scylla and Charybdis – therefore we may nouzt seile by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can be used for any given locale to find the predicted times and amplitude (or " tidal range"). The predictions are influenced by many factors including the alignment of the Sun and Moon, the phase and amplitude of the tide (pattern of tides in the deep ocean), the amphidromic systems of the oceans, and the shape of the coastline and near-shore bathymetry (see '' Timing''). They are however only predictions, the actual time and height of the tide is affected by wind and atmospheric pressure. Many shorelines experience semi-diurnal tides—two nearly equal high and low tides each day. Other locations have a diurnal tide—one high and low tide each day. A "mixed tide"—two uneven magnitude tides a day—is a third regular category. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father. Robert has been called the greatest engineer of the 19th century. Stephenson's death was widely mourned, and his funeral afforded marks of public honour. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. Early life Robert Stephenson was born on 16 October 1803, at Willington Quay, east of Newcastle upon Tyne, to George Stephenson and Frances ( Henderson), usually known as Fanny. She was twelve years older than George, and when they met she was working as a servant where George was lodging. After marrying, George and Fanny lived in an upper room of a cottage; George worked as a brakesman on the Stationary steam engine, stationary winding engine on the Quay, and in his spare time he cleaned and mended clocks and repaired shoes.In 1804, George bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tubular Bridge
A tubular bridge is a bridge built as a rigid box girder section within which the traffic is carried. Famous examples include the original Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait, the Conwy railway bridge over the River Conwy, designed and tested by William Fairbairn and built by Robert Stephenson between 1846 and 1850, and the original Victoria Bridge (Montreal), Victoria Bridge in Montreal. Conwy and Britannia Bridges The Conwy railway bridge carries the North Wales coast railway line across the River Conwy between Llandudno Junction and the town of Conwy. The wrought iron tubular bridge was built by Robert Stephenson to a design by William Fairbairn and is similar in construction to Stephenson's other famous tubular bridge, the Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait. It was officially opened in 1849 but had been completed in 1848. Being the first tubular bridge to be built, the design needed much testing on prototypes to confirm that it would be capable of carrying heavy loco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A55 Road
The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway (), is a major road in Wales and England, connecting Cheshire and North Wales. The vast majority of its length from Chester to Holyhead is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait and several short sections where there are gaps in between the two carriageways. All junctions are Grade separation, grade separated apart from a roundabout east of Penmaenmawr and another nearby in Llanfairfechan. Initially, the road ran from Chester to Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor. In 2001, it was extended across Anglesey to the ferry port of Holyhead parallel to the A5 road (Great Britain), A5. The road improvements have been part funded with European money, under the Trans-European Networks programme, as the route is designated part of International E-road network, Euroroute European route E22, E22 (Holyhead – Leeds – Amsterdam – Hamburg – Malmö – Riga – Moscow – Perm, Russia, Perm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Wales Main Line
The North Wales Main Line ( or ; ), also known as the North Wales Coast Line (), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, England, running from Crewe on the West Coast Main Line to Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey. The line has 19 stations, with all except two, and , being in Wales. The line is not currently electrified, so Avanti West Coast, the current operator of the West Coast Partnership franchise, currently uses Class 805 ''Evero'' units. Class 221 ''Super Voyagers'' were previously used from December 2007 to December 2024. Plans to electrify the line were announced in October 2023. The line contains several notable engineering structures, including Conwy railway bridge across the River Conwy, and Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait. History The first section, from Crewe to Chester, was built by the Chester and Crewe Railway and absorbed by the Grand Junction Railway shortly before opening in 1840. The remainder was built between 1844 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truss Arch Bridge
A truss arch bridge combines the elements of the truss bridge and the arch bridge. The actual resolution of forces will depend upon the bridge' design. If no horizontal thrusting forces are generated, this becomes an arch-shaped truss which is essentially a bent beam – see moon bridge for an example. If horizontal thrust is generated but the apex of the arch is a pin joint, this is termed as a three-hinged arch. If no hinge exists at the apex, it will normally be a two-hinged arch. In ''The Iron Bridge'' shown below, the structure of each frame emulates the kind of structure that previously had been made of wood. Such a wood structure uses closely fitted beams pinned together, so the members within the frames are not free to move relative to one another, as they are in a pin-jointed truss structure that allows rotation at the pin joint. Such rigid structures (which impose bending stresses upon the elements) were further developed in the 20th century as the Vierendeel truss. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A5 Road (Great Britain)
The A5, the London-Holyhead trunk road, is a major road in England and Wales. It runs for about from London to the Irish Sea at the ferry port of Holyhead. In many parts the route follows that of the Roman Iter II route which later took the Anglo-Saxon name Watling Street. History Roman road The section of the A5 between London and Shrewsbury is roughly contiguous with one of the principal Roman roads in Britain: that between ''Londinium'' (modern-day London) and ''Deva'' (modern-day Chester), which diverges from the present-day A5 corridor at Wroxeter ('' Viroconium Cornoviorum'') near Shrewsbury. Telford's Holyhead Road The Act of Union 1800, which unified Great Britain and Ireland, gave rise to a need to improve communication links between London and Dublin. A parliamentary committee led to an act of Parliament, the ( 55 Geo. 3. c. 152) that authorised the purchase of existing turnpike road interests and, where necessary, the construction of new road, to com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well as harbours and tunnels. Such was his reputation as a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed the 'Colossus of Roads' (a pun on the Colossus of Rhodes), and, reflecting his command of all types of civil engineering in the early 19th century, he was elected as the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a post he held for 14 years until his death. The town of Telford in Shropshire was named after him. Early career Telford was born on 9 August 1757, at Glendinning, a hill farm east of Eskdalemuir Kirk, in the rural List of Church of Scotland parishes, parish of Westerkirk, in Eskdale, Dumfries and Galloway, Eskdale, Dumfriesshire. His father John Telford, a shepherd, died soon after Thomas was born. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
