Barmouth Bridge

You may start your visit from either end of Barmouth Bridge. In this guide, we will start from Barmouth railway station. Follow the line south from the station by walking parallel through the Promenade car park. The line continues into the distance; however, you must take the pedestrian path to the right leading down to The Quay.

Head north up The Quay and look to your right for a view of the line as it passes above over a concrete viaduct before reaching a tunnel. The line then emerges before crossing Barmouth Bridge in the distance.

As you walk under the concrete viaduct, notice the remains of the wooden piers that once supported the original timber bridge that crossed The Quay.

At the end of The Quay, turn right and follow Porkington Terrace until you reach the pedestrian path marked by a blue sign to the right that marks the start of your journey over Barmouth Bridge.

Follow the path along the northern embankment that leads the railway to the bridge. You will cross the first two spans of steel; however, they are not noticeably visible from the footpath.

Head through the former toll booth, which was operated by Gwynedd Council to collect tolls that contributed to the licence fee they pay Network Rail to allow pedestrians and cyclists the right to cross the bridge. Tolls were abolished in 2012 when it became impractical to hire collectors for such small fees (70p for adult pedestrians in 2007). The toll is now an honesty payment requesting you ‘pay the troll’.

You will then cross the large steel spans of the bridge, which are brand new and were installed between 2020 and 2023 as like-for-like replacements of the original steel structure, which was badly corroded after 120 years of existence. The new steel spans were assembled next to the track on the east bank of the estuary. A trial was conducted to test moving the spans before they were craned onto railway trailers and moved onto the bridge.

The spans are narrower (but still wide enough for trains to pass) and slid into position inside the existing steel spans before a gantry supporting cranes was erected above. The existing spans were then cut into manageable sections and lowered by the gantry cranes onto floating pontoons below that were then transported to shore for removal. The new spans were then lowered onto the cast iron piers of the removed spans. Here is a video that summarises this process.

Notice the defunct signalling equipment made by Tyer & Co Ltd dating from when the railway was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway as part of the Railways Act 1921. We admire Network Rail for reinstalling the original equipment on the brand-new steel spans to retain its original appearance.

You may also spot additional components in the steel span that once operated as a swing bridge, which permitted the passage of tall boats in and out of the estuary; however, traffic declined after the railway opened. The swing bridge was last tested in 1980; however, its new replacement span does not rotate although components of its mechanism remain to conserve historical features of the bridge.

After walking over the steel spans, you will encounter the timber section of the bridge that includes 113 spans. It’s easy to spot new planks of wood that have been installed as part of the latest renovation project that was delivered between 2020 and 2023.

To your left is the expansive Afon Mawddach tidal estuary, which is one of the most impressive landscapes in Wales. It demonstrates why the railway engineers opted for the route to cross the estuary via a bridge otherwise it would have resulted in an alternative route along its banks, which would have been no easy feat.

If you are on the bridge at the right time, you may be lucky enough to witness a train crossing over. Here is a British Rail Class 158 on its way to Barmouth railway station.

When you reach the end of the bridge on the eastern embankment, the walkway becomes a tarmac path, and the railway line continues into the distance to Morfa Mawdach station. It was originally called Barmouth Junction because another line started from this point and continued to the left on the embankment you can just make out in the distance towards Dolgellau. The track bed is now a foot and cycle path.

If the tide is low, you may wish to consider taking the path to the left down to the estuary bank for a closer view of Barmouth Bridge and its timber joints. Notice the base of the timber piles are encased in concrete. This measure was employed as early as 1989 to delay the rate of deterioration, which is a lot higher for timber that other materials such as iron or concrete.

You now have the option to continue your walk and explore more of the Afon Mawddach Estuary or you can turn back and return to Barmouth for a spot of fish and chips or ice cream.