DUCHESS'S FOOTBRIDGE

"We had come from Alnwick, through the glorious park, past the abbey and ot at the Friar's Well Gate - Hulne Park itself is worth the trip to Alnwick - we turned left after crossing the Shipley Burn down to Shipley and following the Eglingham Burn, turned to look at Brizlee Tower in Hulne Park, silent in nature's sanctuary, where wild creatures played utterly innocent of our silent steps on the turf."

The Ramblings of Vagabond. Frederick A. Wills. 1936.

This is the first of the many bridges situated within Hulne Park which is part of the Duke of Northumberland's lands, and its three-thousand acres are well worth exploring by means of the many footpaths criss-crossing the grounds. Capability Brown landscaped the park and there are woodlands, lush meadows, moorland and picturesque ruins with the river running through the middle. The Brizlee Tower and Hulne Priory are the main attractions and there is wildlife too.

The footbridge is a wood and steel one and in poor repair and it replaced a timber bridge. The construction is unusual, the deck being supported by vertical steel rods themselves affixed to a steel framwork running across the river. There are metal railings with a wiremesh. It links footpaths on either side of the river.

Duchess's Footbridge Facts

Constructed - 1868
Type - beam, timber and steel.
Position: Hulne Park, Alnwick, Northumberland.
Grid Ref: NU 174 144

Duchess's Footbridge

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