When we first moved here back in 2018 the footbridge over the river was a simple construction using telegraph poles that had seen better days, but was still serviceable with care as there were no handrails to speak of. Then in October 2018 along came the floods and kind of finished the job, especially as the river actually went over the top of it for a short while. So the decision was made that we had better get something better installed, that could take lawnmowers and stuff across etc…
OK it took a while to research and cost up the options available, but in the end we went for a wooden bridge made from oak timbers for the more traditional look and feel. The next stage after much discussion was how to do the foundations in such a way would keep the bridge safe and secure even if we had another big flood. So concrete foundations were installed at great personal effort, as Jeff and myself constructed the hoarding to form the concrete foundations, 6.5 tonnes in total and yes that is the cement lorry in the field.
Then after measuring the actual gap to bridge, it was just the long wait for the timber to turn up on site so Alwyn (local carpenter) could get cracking. The three support beams duly arrived weighing in at around 1/2 tonne each and are 16″ x 4″ in size, or in metric 400mm x 100mm. The pictures and video below tell the story….
So now all we have to do is make it so we can actually cross it, then build the ramps that will lead up to each end…
