Postcard from... Philadelphia

Thousands of bikers, joggers and walkers exercise each week along a scenic path in Philadelphia that travels past the iconic art museum and colourful Boathouse Row, following the curves of the Schuylkill river’s east bank.

Now, they can walk on water.

On Thursday, officials christened the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, a new leg of the trail that used to end near Locust Street. Now, it takes an abrupt turn into the river and then parallels the shore for four blocks above water before coming back to land near the South Street Bridge.

“There’s nothing else like this,” said Richard Gross, 67, as he snapped photos. Mr Gross, from Philadelphia, said he regularly uses the route and has anxiously watched construction workers over the past two years build it from the water up.

The winding pathway gives visitors the unique sensation of having water on both sides of them, said Joseph Syrnick, the president and chief executive of the Schuylkill River Development Corp, as he walked the 15ft-wide boardwalk prior to its opening. “You feel like you’re on the river,” he said.

The $18m (£11.3m) structure serves as a small but crucial link in what planners hope will be a 130-mile trail from Schuylkill County to Philadelphia. AP