England is a country of bridges, whether they are getting from one side of a city to another, or over rivers or canals. Some are new but we are fortunate to still have some of the most ancient bridges that still retain their beauty and use today. The Bridge of Sighs (Cambridge) is considered the most beautiful bridge and was built over 200 years ago, inspired by a bridge in Venice. The Gothic bridge is one of the city’s main tourist draws.
The city also houses the Mathematical Bridge, a genius feat of engineering as it uses straight planks to build a curved bridge (kind of impossible, but obviously not).
Tyne Bridge in northwest England is not just an urban area, but home to a colony of around 700 kittiwakes who use the bridge for nesting.
Tower Bridge is a suspension bridge built in the late 1800s, to give people better access to the East End. Often confused with London Bridge (half a mile away), the urban (denied) legend is that an American (who bought a bridge to put in Arizona) bought the wrong one! In 1952, a double-decker bus began to slide as the bridge accidentally opened. Driver Albert Gunter saved everyone’s lives by making a split-second decision to accelerate to clear the opening gap (a bit like in the film Speed when the road wasn’t built). There were no serious injuries and to reward his bravery, he was awarded the princely sum of £10!
Clifton Suspension Bridge (Bristol) is well-known and often depicted with hot air balloons overhead. Alas it has been the site of many suicides. One interesting story is of a young women decades ago who tried to kill herself by jumping off. But her long billowing skirt acted like a parachute and she ended up living well into her 80s.
The Iron Bridge (Shropshire) is made from cast iron, and is one of the main historical reminders of the Industrial Revolution, when goods were shipped by canal to London. It’s now a World Heritage Site.
Puteney Bridge (Bath) is a beautiful bridge in a beautiful city, a fine example of Georgian architecture from Robert Adam. Literary fans will know it as the site of the suicide of Inspector Javart in Les Misérables. Independent shops are built into the bridge on both sides.
a little bridge with a big romantic history
In Cumbria, Middle Fell Bridge is a tiny unassuming bridge at Dungeon Ghyll, in Langdale. Film buffs may like to know that it’s here that Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard meet (twice) in Noel Coward’s beautifully crafted film romance Brief Encounter. It was Noel Coward himself who makes the train station announcements in the film.
