Bridges On The Derwent

BAY BRIDGE

"Everybody loves a bridge. They are essentially romantic objects - brave, adventurous, usually handsome or at least interesting to look at, often magnificently idiosyncratic and every single one of them a seperate individual with its own personality, pedigree and background, each time to be freshly encountered and enjoyed."

Bridges. Sir Hugh Casson. 1963

This bridge is three quarters of a mile west of Blanchland and connects Hunstanworth and Stanhope in County Durham with the hamlet of Bay Bridge in Northumberland just over the Derwent. A single-arched stone bridge, it is surrounded by trees and was probably built at the same time as the original Eddy's Bridge in 1829.

This was lead mining country and an inn called the Miners Arms existed here in the 19th century which is now a house. There is a picnic area beside the bridge and a walk along the river back to Blanchland can be made on either side of the river.

The Ordnance Survey Explorer map number 307 shows a footbridge marked slightly west of the Bay Bridge, map reference NY 957 498. It has not been possible to gain access to this stretch of river to check.

 Bay Bridge Facts


Constructed - about 1829.
Type - arch, single span, stone.
Position: Bay Bridge, Northumberland.
Grid Ref: NY 958 499
 Bay Bridge



© Bridges On The Tyne 2006