The Tarr Steps are a medieval clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England. They are located in a National Nature Reserve about 2.5 miles (4 km) south east of Withypool and 4 miles (6 km) north west of Dulverton.
A typical clapper bridge construction, the bridge possibly dates to around 1000 BC. The stone slabs weigh up to 1-2 tons apiece. According to local legend, they were placed by the devil to win a bet. The bridge is 180 feet (55 m) long and has 17 spans. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Half of the bridge was washed away by the river whilst heavily swollen by rain in December 2012. The bridge has now been re-assembled
Read more about Tarr Steps: Nature Reserve, Bridge, Myth
Famous quotes containing the word steps:
“Is it the lumberman, then, who is the friend and lover of the pine, stands nearest to it, and understands its nature best? Is it the tanner who has barked it, or he who has boxed it for turpentine, whom posterity will fable to have been changed into a pine at last? No! no! it is the poet.... All the pines shudder and heave a sigh when that man steps on the forest floor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)