Today's Object of the Week is a book which started off as a lockdown hobby but grew into a beloved project.
An ambitious book of photographs detailing the history of every bridge across the River Tees has been published.
Chris Davies started taking photographs of the bridges as a lockdown hobby, but it became a labour of love.
The result is 'Bridging The Tees', which contains stunning images and fascinating facts about each of the 49 River Tees crossings.
Chris, 74, from Stockton, said: "I've always been interested in history and the countryside.
"Myself and my wife used to go abroad once or twice a year, driving round the Alps.
"I got frustrated trying to photograph the winding Alpine passes from the ground. It became clear that a drone was the best solution."
His wife bought him a drone for his birthday in readiness for their next Alpine adventure, but Covid intervened and he needed a new subject for his drone.
At about this time, a friend of his showed him a couple of drone images he'd taken - including Middlesbrough's Newport Bridge - and that's when he hit upon the idea.
"I've always enjoyed getting out in the countryside, doing a bit of walking and cycling and reading history, so I thought photographing bridges would be a really nice project," he said.
At first his idea was simply to photograph all of the bridges across the Tees. with a short 'biography' of each one, but soon the project widened.
He said: "I started digging through newspaper articles and realised many of the bridges had interesting stories behind them. I've always enjoyed research, so I started looking at these fascinating histories."
The finished book includes sections of the role of the Tees through the ages, a history of bridge-building and a double page spread on each of the bridges complete with a potted history and Chris's own drone image.
Read more: Six bridges which feature in the book
Chris says he doesn't have a favourite bridge, though he adds he thinks those in Teesdale are set in "such glorious countryside".
He was particularly drawn to the story of the Bridle Bridge at Girsby - a North Yorkshire village just south of Darlington.
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The timber bridge was built to allow worshippers to cross the Tees to All Saints Church in Girsby - but only after the landowners were taken to court after they started blocking footpaths and charging parishioners to cross their own 'private' timber bridge.
Other bridges he has a soft spot for are the famous Transporter Bridge, in Middlesbrough, Over Dinsdale Bridge, near Darlington, and the Wynch Bridge in Upper Teesdale. And he is particularly proud of his photograph of the Newport Bridge at night.
- 'Bridging The Tees' costs £20 plus postage for softback and £30 plus postage for hardback. Copies are available from Chris Davies on ebay (search Bridging The Tees) or by contacting him direct at teesbridges@btinterenet.com
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