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The Great Britain Guide

Historic bridges · South West England

Torridge Bridge

Free admission

Torridge Bridge is a historic bridge in the United Kingdom.

Torridge Bridge, historic bridges in Devon

Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
15 min–30 min
  • Free entry
  • Dog-friendly

About

Torridge Bridge is a named historic bridge in the United Kingdom. Coordinates: 51.0296°, -4.2005°. This entry is part of The Great Britain Guide, a free, ad-free, open-data tourist directory.

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Protected designations

  • Site of Special Scientific Interest: Taw-Torridge Estuary SSSI
  • Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: North Devon

Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.

From the Wikipedia article

The Torridge Bridge is a 650-metre-long concrete bridge, situated broadly in an east-west direction, built in 1987 in Bideford, England over the River Torridge. The bridge provides a bypass to Bideford avoiding the Bideford Long Bridge. Known additionally for its suicides the bridge has since been improved, with the instalment of higher railings. The road expansion joints on the west side were replaced in 2020 mitigating the loud "bonking" noise caused by passing road traffic. (From the 1927 book Tarka the Otter; the Tarka Trail passes under the location of the bridge).

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

Architecture

Three piers are in the river. Each of the piers in the water is protected by concrete fenders 24m long by 8 metres wide by 8 metres high. The concrete piers of the bridge are around 24m high. It was designed by MRM Partnership, now part of WSP Global. Calculations were made for the possible effect of cross-wind and shear. It was designed by 1980. The bridge has no provisions for cycling, cyclists share the main carriageway with cars. Although pedestrians aren't banned from the bridge there are no pavements or footpaths on the roads approaching the bridge. There are emergency pavements on the bridge itself.

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
51.0296, -4.2005
County
Devon
District
Torridge
Parish
Bideford
Postcode
EX39 2RZ
Parliamentary constituency
Torridge and Tavistock
Opening
20 May 1987

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Torridge Bridge?
Torridge Bridge is in Devon, South-West England, United Kingdom (postcode EX39 2RZ), in the parish of Bideford.
Who owns Torridge Bridge?
Torridge Bridge is owned by | maint =.
Is Torridge Bridge a protected site?
Yes — Torridge Bridge is part of the Taw-Torridge Estuary SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the North Devon National Landscape (AONB).
Is Torridge Bridge free to visit?
Yes, Torridge Bridge is free to enter.
How do I get to Torridge Bridge?
Drivers can navigate to postcode EX39 2RZ. It sits within the Torridge and Tavistock parliamentary constituency.