The sad sight seen in this photograph is the slowly collapsing Birnbeck Pier at the northern end of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. It was built in 1867 and is the only pier in Britain that links the mainland to an island. Unusually, it has a jetty that projects from the main pavilion that was used by ships bringing day visitors to the pier from towns along the Bristol Channel. The pier was initially popular but suffered steady decline over the years, despite successive attempts to revive it. It finally closed to the public in 1994. A lifeboat station used the pier for much of its life but this closed in 2015. The Grade 2 listed structure is, unsurprisingly, on Historic England's "Heritage at Risk" register.
photo © T. Boughen Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10
