Back in August 2021 (yes, time has been moving slowly here at Pontist Towers), I had the chance to look for three interesting footbridges along the River Wye in Powys. I had discovered all three in Alan Crow's excellent 1995 book Bridges on the River Wye.
Unfortunately, my search was less successful than I had hoped!
To reach the first of these spans, I parked in a layby on the A470 (see Google Maps link below), then crossed the road and headed downhill towards the river. Slightly further south, a public right of way is marked on the OS map, but no bridge is shown.
Crow's book records that a "swing" bridge was built here in 1962, to replace a structure that had been destroyed by a flood in 1960. This is the term "swing" bridge in its colloquial sense, referring to a slightly unstable suspension bridge. It was demolished in 1991 on safety grounds, and a new bridge was installed in August 1994 by Tysons plc, of Liverpool.
This was the bridge I had come to see: an arched beam bridge constructed in laminated timber, described by Crow as "one of the most attractive small bridges on the River Wye".
Sadly, there was no bridge to be found. If you look very closely at my main photo, perhaps you can spot the abutments.
The concrete abutments are still there, as are the remnants of steel hinges attached to them. Originally, there was third hinge at the crown of the arch as well.
It's an attractive river setting, and it was disappointing there was no bridge.
Powys County Council have told me that the bridge was removed for safety reasons in 2013, "as it had reached the end of its working life". There are no plans to replace it. I imagine the public right of way saw very little use before anyway.
Since there was little else to see here, I have included an image from Alan Crow's book showing the previous bridges.
Further information:
- Google maps
- Bridges on the River Wye, Alan Crow, 1995
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