A Bridge Too Far?

Here in Barnard Castle, Teesdale we are lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful landscape, sliced through by the River Tees which flows from The High Pennines right down to the North Sea. We have sites of historical importance such as the castle itself and the impressive Bowes Museum.

Bowes Museum.

But, like most small market towns at this time we need to keep "on the ball" as far as new initatives are concerned so that we can attract visitors who, along with the resident population will enable local businesses to thrive and provide a unique and individual experience.

So what's this about a Bridge then?

In the past, Barnard Castle was served by a railway line, now sadly gone. the railway had of course to pass through not only the pleasant landscape but over some of the deep gorges formed by the rivers. Impressive viaducts were constructed to support the lines. Obviously with the railway gone the viaducts have mostly been converted to footpaths or disappeared altogether. Just outside the town of Barnard Castle sits the remnants of one of these old viaducts. Several years ago the idea was muted to look at the possibilities of using the viaduct buttress's to support a "Rope Footbridge" (not actually rope of course but steel wire). The span of this construction high over the river would have been one of if not the widest such bridge in the world.

The Viaduct buttress and the span across the Tees.

The bridge would span this gap giving a thrilling (but safe) walk high above the river with fantastic views down to the left of Barnard Castle itself. if you want to see what one of these bridges looks like then click here to see the Capilano Bridge in Vancover (remember, the bridge across the Tees will be bigger!)

Obviously there are issues to be ironed out on this sort of a project such as funding, safety, conservation of the local environment etc. Maybe the whole idea is impractical, maybe the local residents feeling will not support the project, lets see what happens. Is this an opportunity to put "Barny" well and truly "On the Map"?

There is a poll in the local paper at the minute to get the public's reaction (totally for interests sake only) so it will be interesting to see the results. Anyone can vote so why not tick a box? Visit The Teesdale Mercury website where you will find the voting form but it is for only the next week.