River Crossings at Hexham

County Bridge from Tyne Green in the Autumn

County Bridge
Previous attempts had been made to cross the River Tyne at Hexham further up river but these failed.

The first bridge was washed away in the Great Flood of 1771 only a year after it was completed.The second bridge was to have been built slightly further upstream but was immediately abandoned due to riverbed
being unsuitable for the river piers. Work on the third bridge, designed by the eminent engineer John Smeaton was started in 1777.
Its construction was interrupted by flood damage, forcing a redesign. It was opened in 1780 with much acclaim but in 1782 it to was swept away in less than half an hour by dreadful floods.The present bridge was built by the County's own Surveyors Robert Thompson & William Johnston, on the same site and opened in 1793 and has withstood the test of time and river since.Today this bridge is heavily used by local traffic and can get quite busy with traffic to & from the A 69 (T) bypass.

Hadrian's Cycleway NCN 72 crosses this bridge.

Constantium Road Bridge

View from Hadrian's Cycleway

Built as part of the A69(T) Bypass for Corbridge and Hexham, it crosses the River Tyne just down stream from the "Meeting of the Waters" - the point where the North and South Tyne rivers join to form the main River Tyne.

It is built virtually on the site of the failed second crossing ( see above ) and suffered the same problems due to flooding, poor river bed etc. but these were eventually overcome. It has since required further strengthening against floods.

Border Counties Rail Bridge
Just down river of the Constantium Bridge can be seen the remains of the rail bridge - only stumps of the wooden piers remain in the river. This was where the Newcastle to Carlisle railway had a branchline up the North Tyne valley to Kielder. When the line was closed by Dr. Beeeching the bridge was blown up by explosives.

Rail Bridge
This carries the Newcastle to Carlisle railway over the River South Tyne just above the "Meeting of the Waters"

Warden Bridge
Originally there was a ferry here which was superseded by a chain suspension bridge in 1826. This later collapsed under the weight of a threshing machine and was rebuilt only to be eventually replaced by the present three arch stone bridge in 1903. The old toll house remains on the south side.
Hadrian's Cycleway NCN 72 crosses this bridge