I hesitated to post this photo and then I thought, well, why not? It's taken from the aqueduct at Dowley Gap where the canal crosses the river. It's a lovely area, just on the edge of Hirst Wood where a myriad of paths converge. There's an old mill converted into dwellings and it's all rather nice... apart from the smell. If it weren't for the stench, you might not notice the sewage works just beyond the river, but the rich smell does rather intrude, especially in certain weather conditions. I often feel sorry for the people who live in the mill and cottages but perhaps after a while you get used to it. The sewage treatment plant is fairly well tucked away and you can't see much of the filtration beds from any angle apart from this one. Yes, it is a necessity for modern life, I get that. And yes, I am glad it's confined to an isolated works and not pervading the entire city, as it used to until relatively recent times, when sewage ran through the streets in open channels. It's just that aroma!
However, as if in compensation, at the opposite end of Hirst Wood there is a bakery. Now, the aroma from there is delicious! Yeast, freshly baked bread and sweet vanilla notes wafted about in the air. Mmmm.
Just for interest, here's a photo I took one summer from roughly the same spot as the above picture but looking along the canal from the aqueduct. The mill conversion is on the left behind the trees and the sewage works is behind that. As I say, idyllic.... apart from the smell.
I was told that in the good old days in Edinburgh the housewives used to yell out of the upper window, "Gardi loo!" before chucking the stuff down into the street. (Gardez l'eau).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful area...too bad that's where the treatment plant is located. They are usually in industrial areas, I think.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you would get used to that aroma.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of towns in our province's north which, in the past, were homes to paper mills. There was a pervasive smell there.
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