Passing over Balcombe Viaduct
with winter fields down there
The memory of a leafy green
is distant now the trees are bare
Skeletal they stand forlorn
Winter has them in its grip
And it will still be quite a while
‘Til from that vice we’ll see a slip
But steadfast in this landscape
standing proud and tall
Victorian arches show their grace
with a grandeur ruling all
This structure has a beauty
as it spans the tree and field
of the valley here at Balcombe
deep in the Sussex Weald
©Jemverse
The Balcombe Viaduct spans the Ouse Valley in the mid Sussex Weald (flatlands between the South and North Downs). Designed by John Urpeth Rastrick in association with the architect of the London to Brighton railway line, David Mocatta, the viaduct rises to a height of 96 feet and is carried on 37 semi-circular arches surmounted by balustrades. Opened in July 1841, it’s been described as the most elegant viaduct in Britain.
Jemverse 