Elm, Oak, Stone and Stainless Steel
Commissioned by Northumberland National Park
Sited in Hareshaw Linn, Bellingham, Northumberland
Length 21m
2002
This bridge is designed to significantly enhance and heighten
people’s experience of Hareshaw Linn. It is set at the
top of the valley and runs over a waterfall. It has been deliberately
built as close to the edge as possible. This is so that people
crossing the bridge will have the experience of looking directly
down the cascade of water, and on down the valley that falls
steeply away below. It has been built to a width that allows
for shared space and follows an S shape that winds over three
piers. This creates the impression that the bridge is a place
to linger, and not simply a means of getting from one bank to
the other. The sides of the bridge weave and arch across one
another, in a motion that suggests the movement of water and
wind, and reflect the criss-crossing of the valley people have
made to reach the waterfall. It is intended that people will
feel the bridge to be an intrinsic element of its environment.
