Bridge partners: Little and Large

On 3 October, the world’s longest pedestrian-and-cyclists-only bridge (as it’s claimed) will open sixty or so miles north from New York City. The Poughkeepsie Highland Railroad Bridge (right) is a century-old goods-train line that crosses the Hudson River. It closed in the 1970s, but has been restored with privately raised money. The 2km-long crossing will join up cycle trails on either side, and promises one of the world’s most adrenalin-making pedalled experiences. Especially when you get halfway across 65m above the water and realise how rusty it looks.

Not as good as the Humber Bridge, which I’m always banging on about, obviously. But still one to add to my ‘future projects’ folder, perhaps in conjunction with a ride along NYC’s Manhattan Greenway as part of an ambitious US-based cycle trip. One which I’ll never do and will end up going to Belgium for a camping weekend instead, and it’ll rain.


But I did manage another quirky, historic, restored bridge yesterday, one that’s effectively only open to pedestrians and cyclists. (Cars can in theory use it, except there’s no road on the other side, only a dirt track.)

Horkstow Bridge (other pics), just 20 minutes’ bike ride south into Lincolnshire from the Humber Bridge, is one of Britain’s oldest surviving suspension bridges, dating from 1836. It's also John Rennie’s only suspension bridge, and without doubt the world’s most elegant bridge built solely to transport bricks across a canal. Men of punier aesthetic ambitions than Rennie would have just thrown them over.


Much of Horkstow Bridge’s charm is because it’s on the end of a remote country lane in a back-of-the-sofa part of England, on the end of a cul-de-sac. Which is an odd place for a bridge. A kind of pocket-sized Clifton Suspension Bridge, it’s only 133 feet long, 14 feet wide and 36 feet above the river, so the Hudson’s monster (6,700 feet long, 35 feet wide, 212 feet above the water) does rather dwarf it.

But as yet another little-England curio, best visited by bike (too far and boring to walk, too trivial to drive, but just right as a bike trip from the Humber Bridge) it’s rather fun. And you don't have to worry about pronouncing 'Poughkeepsie'.

Thames Crossings 0: Teddington

I spent a couple of days over Easter cycling all the cyclable crossings of the Thames, east from Teddington Lock – the tidal limit – to Dartford Crossing, mentioned in yesterday's post.

The rules of the ride are simple:
1. Start on the north bank at Teddington, cross here and head downriver.
2. Cross whenever you can.
3. Stay as close to the river as possible.


The Teddington crossing is actually just above the tidal limit, so I've numbered it zero, but it's the best place to start. Going downriver from here there are 30 more separate cyclable crossings, ending with that tunnel and bridge at Dartford.

The whole 31-crossing trip (bridges, tunnels, ferries) is best done over two leisurely days of about 20 miles (four hours' easy cycling) each, breaking it somewhere in central London. Most of the route is traffic-free, it's all flat, it's a fabulous mix of rural, suburban and cityscape scenery, and there is absolutely no shortage of cafes and pubs. And what wind there is should be behind you.

I'll cover one bridge per day on this blog over the next month.

Getting to Teddington is easy: there are plenty of trains from Waterloo, and the station is a few hundred metres from the bridge down High Street and Ferry Road. The bike map for this bit is London Cycling Guide No. 9, one of the excellent TfL series available free in bike shops or online.


Teddington's crossing is a pair of charming little Meccano-like bridges: a suspension (top right and middle right) and a girder (bottom right), which meet on a small island in the middle.

They were built in the late 1880s, paid for by local subscription. That was the beginning of the bike boom, but they were clearly designed as footbridges, with some steep steps. However, a couple of years ago, wooden ramps were added that give you and your bike smooth passage over the whole crossing.

From here it's a couple of miles of smooth traffic-free riverside tarmac or gravel along the south bank to the next crossing, a tiny passenger ferry.