The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge is the most unusual bridge in the UK: the 1911, the blue, the gondola that carries the 200 people and the 9 cars across the River Tees, the 170 metres, the 2.5 minutes, and the sense of the Victorian engineering that solved the problem of the bridge across the busy industrial river without the high roadway that would require the long approach ramps. The Transporter Bridge is the “flying ferry,” the most elegant solution to the problem that is no longer the problem, and the most beautiful piece of the industrial heritage in the North East. The unusual bridges of the UK are the combination of the beauty, the engineering, and the story. Here are the best.

Unusual Bridges in the UK

• The transporter and the rolling: The Newport Transporter Bridge (the Wales): the 1906, the red, the twin of the Middlesbrough (the Ferdinand Arnodin design, the French engineer, the 9 transporter bridges in the world, and the 3 of the Arnodin’s transporter bridges survive), the gondola, the 196 metres, and the most beautiful transporter bridge in the world. The Newport Transporter Bridge is the open to the public on the selected days (the essential check of the Newport City Council website for the opening days), and the walk across the high-level walkway, the 75 metres above the River Usk, is the most exhilarating bridge experience in the UK. The essential photograph: the view from the gondola, the river, and the bridge, the most beautiful industrial photograph in the Wales. The Rolling Bridge (the London): the Paddington Basin, the 2004, the Heatherwick Studio design, the 12 metres, and the bridge that curls up into the circle every Friday at the midday. The bridge is the short (the 12 metres, the canal is the narrow), and the Rolling Bridge is the most beautiful small bridge in the UK. The free, the 5 minutes, and the essential London curiosity. More UK →
• The mathematical and the gravity-defying: The Mathematical Bridge (the Cambridge): the Queen’s College, the 1749, the wooden, the Cam, and the “self-supporting” bridge, the tangents and the radials that do not use the nails or the bolts (the original design. The bridge was dismantled in the 1905, and the rebuild used the bolts, the secret was discovered). The Mathematical Bridge is the most beautiful small bridge in the England. The free to see from the Silver Street bridge, and the essential photograph: the punts passing beneath the bridge. The Infinity Bridge (the Stockton-on-Tees): the 2009, the River Tees, the 240 metres, the design that reflects in the water to form the infinity symbol (the ∞), and the best modern bridge in the UK. The free, the walk at the sunset, and the essential photograph: the reflection of the bridge in the River Tees at the high tide. The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (the Northern Ireland): the 20 metres, the 30 metres above the sea, the rope bridge that was the built by the salmon fishermen in the 1755, and the most exhilarating crossing in the UK. ~£13, and the essential strategy: the windy day, the most dramatic crossing, and the essential check: the bridge closes in the high winds (the 40+ mph), and the closure is the frequent on the North Antrim coast