Natural garden bridges

The Boris Bridge that Joost wrote about (Boris Johnson's proposed Garden Bridge over the Thames) was a superfluous project. After all, London already has a garden bridge, one that didn't cost a penny. It's located in Bethnal Green, a neighborhood in the near east of the capital. Driving along Vallance Road from the south, you pass under a railway bridge, one side of which is overgrown with trees, shrubs, and plants.

On the other side are six tracks of the London Overground, lines that run northeast from Liverpool Street Station. Between the tracks and the greenery lies an unpaved, dead-end road. Admittedly, there's little reason to visit this area. Fort Vallance, the home of the infamous Kray brothers Ronnie and Reggie, once stood along Vallance Road, but the Victorian building didn’t survive the onslaught of modernity.

With a little goodwill, this garden bridge could become a destination in its own right. In that respect, perhaps London could learn from Manchester, where the Castlefield Viaduct is worth a visit. The 330-meter-long railway viaduct, which once carried heavy trains to and from the Great Northern Warehouse, has been a garden managed by the National Trust since 2022. The so-called Sky Park has been compared to the High Line in New York.

For more than half a century, the Castlefield Viaduct sat abandoned and overgrown, much like the bridge in Bethnal Green. It was a haven for graffiti artists. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, when everyone was bored and longing for nature, the idea arose to give Manchester more green spaces. The Trust managed to raise the necessary two million euros for the project, partly through the National Lottery.

The viaduct, located in a somewhat neglected part of Manchester, features Manchester poplars. It’s one of the few tree species hardy enough to survive the pollution of the Industrial Revolution. They’ve also planted comfrey, a herb once used by factory workers to soothe sore feet after a long day in clogs, and the cotton flower, the flower of Manchester…