The River Was Moved!
In the first half of the 1800s the river at Lynn looked very different from today. It was wider, shallower and curved erratically round the norther edge of the town via mudflats and dangerous channels to reach The Wash.
The Eau Bank Cut had improved navigation on the landward side of the town (above, lower left) but further improvements were needed to give ships safer access to the rapidly growing port of Kings Lynn.
Simple !
Dig a deeper, straighter trench.
A new, more straightforward outlet for the river into the Wash was finished in 1853 by the Norfolk Estuary Company. This major project diverted the Great Ouse away from the awkward, shallow loop that curved round King’s Lynn and its old tidal approach. It gave the port a deeper, more reliable channel running across the reclaimed land north of the town. 
Will It Ever Happen?
The Alexandra Dock was opened in 1869, and the Bentinck Dock in 1883.
Those docks are located where the river isn't any more; it has been moved sideways.
Let's now concentrate on the road and rail bridges at South Lynn. The railway carried the line from Spalding ...
... across The Great Ouse ...
... whilst the road bridge carried what became the A17 and A47.
This bridge was rebuilt in the 60s ...
... and, below, we can see the new build and old crossings next to the railway as we look to the east.
The road running across the picture is the old A47 with a welcoming level crossing over the railway!
The railway is long gone, replaced by a new crossing for the A17 and A47.
The new road layout can be seen on the map below.
... with the track of the old bit of highway passing through 'The Elms'. Its original route via the older road bridge is adjacent to 'Motel'. The same view is shown via Google Earth below.
The Ferry from Kings Lynn to West Lynn predates the road bridge by several hundred years.
Back then, this was the only way to cross the turgid waters of the River Great Ouse for journeys from the west to North Norfolk.
The older bridge is still in use and carries, for example, a bus route running every 30 min.
Here is the ferry marked on a modern map.
But there has been a problem with the ferry.
More tomorrow!
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Snippets
It Never Happened
The channel tunnel promised so much!
It Has Happened At Last
You can get into Oxford from the west, at last - several years kate!
Is It Really Happening?
Work on the Portishead branch from Bristol, also long awated.
Will It Ever Happen?
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Next Lynn's Ferry blog : Weds 30 Sept
Thinking of rivers, Brunel diverted the River Taff in order to create the land for building Cardiff Central (formerly General) station.
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