Fingle Bridge

Fingle Bridge carries a narrow road over the River Teign in the Teign Gorge, on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor. It is built of granite with three arches, and its cutwaters rise to the parapet as small refuges for people on foot. The carriageway is about 2 metres wide. Historic England dates it to the early 17th century and lists it Grade II* (list entry 1146775). The north arch was damaged and rebuilt in 1809.

The bridge once carried the main road between Drewsteignton and Moretonhampstead, and it served the packhorse traffic of the gorge, which supported corn milling, charcoal burning and forestry. The road now ends at a car park beside it. The bridge sits on the boundary between the parishes of Moretonhampstead and Drewsteignton.

Around the bridge

The National Trust owns and manages the river, gorge and wooded valley between Castle Drogo and Steps Bridge, and Fingle Woods are jointly owned by the Woodland Trust and the National Trust. The Fingle Bridge Inn stands beside the bridge, on the site of a tea shelter started here in 1897. A circular walk of about four miles links the bridge with Castle Drogo along the Fisherman's Path beside the river and a higher path through the woods. The Iron Age hillforts of Prestonbury Castle and Cranbrook Castle overlook the gorge from either side.

The road down to the bridge is narrow and parking nearby fills up quickly on busy days. Check the National Trust and Dartmoor National Park Authority websites for current conditions before you travel.

Connections

Fingle Bridge is the setting of The Battle of Fingle's Bridge, a fairy tale by Bertram Fletcher Robinson published in Pearson's Magazine in May 1903. See also Fingle Mill and the River Teign.

• Listed: Grade II*, Historic England list entry 1146775
• Period: early 17th century
• River: Teign, in the Teign Gorge
• Grid reference: SX 743 899