Tintagel Castle reunited by stunning footbridge

In Cornwall, on the UK’s south coast, the two halves of historic Tintagel Castle have been reunited for the first time in over 500 years – by a new double-cantilevered footbridge.

Designed by Ney & Partners and William Matthews Associates, the striking structure, set 57m above sea level, consists of two 33m cantilevers, with a 40mm gap between them.

Tintagel was originally called Din Tagell, meaning ‘the fortress of the narrow entrance’, and the new bridge has been designed to look as slight as possible, with a total overall width of 3m and a functional width of just 2.3m.

The cantilevered structure is 4.4m high at the rock face, but tapers to just 175mm at the centre, spreading the weight of the cantilevers at either end.

While the main structure and balustrading of the bridge are fabricated from steel, the deck surface is made from locally quarried hand cut slate tiles and the handrail is oak.

The diagonals linking the deck and lower chord are made from electropolished stainless steel, and were designed to disappear when seen from a distance.

The €3.23 million bridge is part of a larger €5.4 million programme of landscaping by English Heritage, intended to limit the environmental impact of visitors to Tintagel Castle, which has historically been closely associated with the medieval legend of King Arthur.