English Heritage’s new footbridge at Tintagel Castle wins engineering award

The bridge at Tintagel Castle
The bridge at Tintagel Castle. Image: English Heritage

The new footbridge at Tintagel Castle on the North Cornwall coast has won the ICE South West Civil Engineering Award 2020. English Heritage built the bridge at Tintagel Castle, recreating the historic crossing from the mainland to the island.

English Heritage: “The aim was to find a bridge specifically tailored to Tintagel Castle, harmonising with the iconic coastal landscape. The design sees two cantilevers reach out and meet, not quite touching, with a 40mm gap in the middle. The gap represents the transition from the mainland to the island, present to past. The bridge is paved with Cornish Delabole slate, with stainless steel balustrades fitted along its length. The balustrades have been designed to be so fine that, when viewed from a distance, they disappear against the sky.”

ICE: “Since opening the outcomes for the project are all positive and are confirmed by independent research. A third of visitors cited the bridge as the reason for their visit; Tintagel Castle became the English Heritage site with highest ‘Visitor Experience Score’; more visitors rated the site as excellent for the different ways the story of the site is told; and over 70% of visitors believe the site offers ‘a unique experience compared to other attractions’.”

Read the ICE brochure here and watch the English Heritage video below.

Sources: ICE and English Heritage.

Have a look at our collection of news on castles and estates. Or click on one of the tags below.

Doneren