Exmoor’s Tarr Steps, the longest clapper bridge in Britain, has suffered repeated damage from flooding in recent years. The 55‑metre stone bridge, spanning the River Barle with 17 arches, is built without mortar or ironwork, relying solely on the weight of its massive gritstone slabs.
While the structure has long been vulnerable to extreme weather, the frequency of damage has increased. In the last nine years, the bridge has been dismantled five times, most recently during the storms named Austen and Boelo. Overnight, more than eight centimetres of rain fell, raising the river by nearly two metres and causing the central section of the bridge to collapse.
Photographs taken a week after the storm show the middle portion of the bridge gone, with large rock slabs scattered across the riverbed and fallen trees lodged against the banks. The damage has rendered the bridge and the adjacent ford unsafe, leading to an immediate closure.
Restoration work will be delayed until winter, as the numbered stone blocks must be carefully hauled back into place. The repeated loss of this historic crossing highlights the growing impact of severe weather on England’s ancient infrastructure.
Source: The Guardian World
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