Devil's Bridge: Three eras in one gorge (21 photos + 2 videos)

About 15 kilometers from Aberystwyth in Wales lies the small English village of Pontarfynach, whose name means "bridge on the River Mynach."





As it follows, the main attraction of this place is precisely this unusual bridge.



This bridge is truly unusual, as it consists of not one, but three structures, built one above the other. The very first and lowest tier was built in the 11th century. When its structure was deemed unreliable, a second, stone bridge was built directly above it, across the same gorge.





This happened in the mid-18th century. The old bridge was not demolished, but used as a support for scaffolding.



The third and final bridge, an iron one, was built in 1901. Once again, the previous two bridges remained intact.



Perhaps for history's sake. Or simply to preserve for future generations tangible evidence of the talent of medieval craftsmen.



The bridge is called the Devil's Bridge based on the legend of its creator. According to legend, the very first bridge was built by the devil himself to help a local woman rescue her cow, which had stranded on the other side of a ravine.



Expecting the woman to cross over for the animal, the devil set a condition: he would receive the soul of the first living creature to set foot on the bridge. However, the woman outwitted him by letting her dog cross first.



Thus, thanks to the cunning of a local resident (or, if we believe the more prosaic version, the pragmatism of engineers who used old structures as a foundation for new ones), three eras are frozen forever in the Minakh River gorge.



Today, the Devil's Bridge is not just a crossing, but a unique architectural matryoshka doll. Here, simply descending the steep path, you can literally step from the 21st century into the 11th, feeling beneath your feet stones that remember both medieval monks and the disillusioned devil.



The waterfall beneath the bridges forms one of the deepest gorges in Wales, cascading some 90 meters. A view of all three bridges opens from the viewing platform, reached by the "Devil's Staircase" trail.





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