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<< Our Photo Pages >> Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge - Ancient Trackway in England in Somerset

Submitted by AngieLake on Friday, 13 January 2023  Page Views: 55729

Multi-periodSite Name: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Country: England County: Somerset Type: Ancient Trackway
Nearest Town: Dulverton  Nearest Village: Winsford
Map Ref: SS86773211  Landranger Map Number: 181
Latitude: 51.077107N  Longitude: 3.617717W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

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lucasn visited on 20th Aug 2018 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4

johnstone visited on 26th Jun 2010 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5

nicoladidsbury visited on 18th Oct 2008 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 5 Access: 5 A site that really helps connect to the ancients of this land.

pictstones visited on 1st Sep 0003 - their rating: Cond: 5 Amb: 4 Access: 4

Ergler TheCaptain Andy B AngieLake TimPrevett DaveRenshaw mdensham have visited here

Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 4.4 Ambience: 4.2 Access: 4.6

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by TheCaptain : From BBC news, 13 Jan 2023 A section of an ancient footbridge has washed away following heavy rain. Slabs from the middle of the Tarr Steps on Exmoor, near Withypool, washed downstream during recent flooding in Somerset. (Vote or comment on this photo)
A (possibly) prehistoric bridge over the river Barle near Winsford. It is certainly Medieval and a much older date back to 1000 BC or beyond seems entirely possible. Some of the stones weigh 5 tons and were said to have been placed there by the Devil to win a bet.

Note: The ancient Tarr Steps clapper bridge on Exmoor, said to be 'built by the devil' and possibly dating back to 1000BC, has again been partially washed away.
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Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by jg4fun : Me on Tarr Steps, Exmoor. May 2004. (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by lucasn : Tarr Steps (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Bladup : Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by nicoladidsbury : Tarr Steps - view down the bridge (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Andy B : Tarr Steps 4d Stamp from 1968. With thanks to wooliebackcollectables.com where you can buy one for 5p + p&p! (3 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Bladup : Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge.

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by nicoladidsbury : Magical Tarr Steps - one of the most amazing megalithic sites I have ever seen.

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by TheCaptain : Tarr Steps pictures after Storm Angus had done its worst on Saturday. The follow up storm today has also completely flooded the bridge and threatened more damage. Picture from ENPA

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by pictstones : Tarr Steps into the void

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by nicoladidsbury : Tarr Steps - fantastic autumn colours

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by nicoladidsbury : Magical Tarr Steps - one of the most amazing megalithic sites I have ever seen.

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by AngieLake : A closer view of the slabs forming Tarr Steps bridge, from the far end.

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by AngieLake : Looking along Tarr Steps ancient river crossing from the far side. (The access road from the car park leads down to the opposite bank.)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by AngieLake : The tranquil setting of the River Barle at Tarr Steps ancient river crossing. April 07.

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Thorgrim : Exmoor, Somerset. SS868321. Prehistoric bridge over the river Barle near Winsford. Dating from 1000 BC, some of the stones weigh 5 tons and were said to have been placed there by the Devil to win a bet (1 comment)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by TimPrevett : Tarr Steps Ancient Bridge SS868322 (3 comments)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by TimPrevett : Tarr Steps Ancient Bridge Could this be where all the big Megaliths on Exmoor have gone? :-) (2 comments)

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Antonine : 2007

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Antonine

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Antonine

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by lucasn : Tarr Steps from the path

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by lucasn : On top of the Tarr Steps

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Andy B : 2015 Royal Mail stamp. Out of the ten bridges featured, the oldest is Tarr Steps, which crosses the River Barle in Exmoor National Park. The 1968 stamp is here..

Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge
Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge submitted by Bladup : Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge.

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 2.4km NNE 20° Wambarrows* Barrow Cemetery (SS87613431)
 2.6km NE 55° Caratacus Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SS88973355)
 2.8km SE 145° Brewer's Castle Hillfort (SS88332977)
 3.1km SE 144° Mounsey Castle Hillfort (SS88562955)
 3.2km SSW 203° West Anstey Barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SS85452918)
 3.3km SSW 213° West Anstey Long Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SS84932942)
 3.6km NW 309° Withypool Hill Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SS84013445)
 3.7km NW 306° Withypool Circle* Stone Circle (SS83833431)
 5.5km WNW 295° Green Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (SS81793456)
 5.7km SE 132° Oldberry Castle Hillfort (SS90932820)
 6.4km W 270° Twitchen barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SS804323)
 8.7km N 353° Hoar Moor (W) Standing Stone (Menhir) (SS85864075)
 9.0km N 355° Hoar Moor (E)* Standing Stone (Menhir) (SS86214106)
 9.0km NW 305° Cow Castle* Hillfort (SS795374)
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 9.3km WNW 303° Horsen Stone Rows Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue (SS790373)
 9.5km N 3° Rowbarrow Group* Barrow Cemetery (SS87544154)
 9.5km ENE 58° Lype Hill Barrows* Barrow Cemetery (SS949370)
 9.8km NNE 13° Dunkery Beacon* Barrow Cemetery (SS892416)
 9.9km NNW 344° Almsworthy* Stone Circle (SS8430941698)
 9.9km NNW 331° Wester Mill Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue (SS822409)
 9.9km N 352° Wilmersham Common South* Multiple Stone Rows / Avenue (SS85664197)
 10.0km NNW 332° Larkbarrow Corner Stone Setting* Standing Stones (SS82224097)
 10.1km N 352° Wilmersham Common North* Stone Row / Alignment (SS8561242129)
 10.1km WNW 291° Long Holcombe (N) Standing Stone (Menhir) (SS77383593)
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"Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge" | Login/Create an Account | 26 News and Comments
  
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Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge Whole again! by AngieLake on Friday, 02 June 2023
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Once again, the iconic Tarr Steps have been put back together again..!!
Luckier than Humpty Dumpty.. :-)

Read about it here and see the pictures:
https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/ancient-tarr-steps-bridge-restored-8472632
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by TheCaptain on Friday, 13 January 2023
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Once again, the Tarr Steps have been partially washed away in the floods yesterday, 12 Jan 2023

see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-64261733
[ Reply to This ]

Tarr Steps by lucasn on Saturday, 06 October 2018
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Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge partly washed away again by AngieLake on Monday, 21 November 2016
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The ancient Tarr Steps bridge has been damaged again when torrential rain generated by Storm Angus swelled the river Barle on Sunday.
It's been pretty grim down here in Devon, with quite a lot of flooding.

Report here:
http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/ancient-clapper-bridge-destroyed-as-storm-angus-hits-the-westcountry/story-29919545-detail/story.html
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge features in new 10-Stamp Set by AngieLake on Thursday, 05 March 2015
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One of the Westcountry's most popular bridges has been celebrated in a new set of stamps launched by Royal Mail. Out of the ten bridges featured, the oldest is Tarr Steps, which crosses the River Barle in Exmoor National Park, while the newest is the Peace Bridge, spanning the River Foyle in Northern Ireland, was completed in 2011.
Read more here:
http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Exmoor-s-Tarr-Steps-grace-new-stamp-collection/story-26124258-detail/story.html
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by TheCaptain on Monday, 04 November 2013
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Having only been repaired in September, The Tarr Steps ancient bridge has been partially washed away again.

More from the BBC here
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Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge on The One Show by AngieLake on Thursday, 21 February 2013
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I was surprised to see a piece on the rebuilding of Tarr Steps in tonight (20th Feb)'s 'One Show' on BBC 1.
That section aired around 7.05pm so if you want to watch it via iPlayer you won't have to wade right through the programme.

(It was also featured in the local news on 19th Feb when I seem to remember them saying it cost £10,000 to repair.)
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    Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge on The One Show by TheCaptain on Thursday, 21 February 2013
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    this was a shortened and dumbed down version of a much more informative 10 minute piece shown the day before in the West region on a programme aired between 7:30 and 8:00pm, whilst the SW version of the programme had the Dartmoor cist article.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by frogcottage42 on Sunday, 17 February 2013
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I had never read the page for Tarr steps before and I am surprised to see the amount of disagreement / speculation concerning it's origins. Having visited a couple of times I was impressed to see such a complete example of a clapper bridge but I would not consider anything other than the position to be prehistoric. We know that it has been rebuilt many times and previous floods would certainly been as bad as this last one. So it seems likely that this is in effect an example of a continuously maintained structure which may date back to prehistory. That in itself is a rare thing and I believe it to be an important type of monument which is often ignored by academia.

There are numerous examples of similar (but generally much smaller) bridges here in Ireland and I would be fascinated to know if anyone has any clue as to how we could date them?
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Re: Tarr Steps Bridge may re-open on Friday by AngieLake on Tuesday, 12 February 2013
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On tonight's ITV West Country News there was a film of the rebuilding of flood-damaged Tarr Steps bridge, and the engineer in charge was optimistic that they'd fit it all back together successfully, and that it should re-open on Friday.
It once stood higher up in the water, but due to silt washing downstream over the years the bridge now appears to be lower. (I believe they said that hinds would walk under the bridge once, while the stags would go over the top of it.) A low-level photo from 1945 showing workmen on the bridge was evidence of how much higher it was then.
Plans are being made to remove silt from the River Barle to alleviate this problem.
They are also making a new debris-catcher that stretches across the river upstream of the bridge. Huge trees being washed down-river broke through the old one and washed away the slabs.
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Tarr Steps bridge can be repaired but likely to cost thousands by Andy B on Sunday, 10 February 2013
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The 1,000-year-old bridge at Tarr Steps which was washed away in the Christmas floods is in line to be re-built. Around three-quarters of the clapper bridge, which crossed the River Barle, were swept away by the raging waters last month.

Fortunatley each of the stone slabs is numbered making restoration an easier task once water levels have dropped and the stones retrieved. This work will be conducted by Somerset County Council in collaboration with the National Park Authority and English Heritage. Repairs to the Rights of Way network in the area are likely to be a much longer job.

CareMoor for Exmoor, the Conservation and Access Fund for the National Park, had recently committed funds to improving the information available to the public in the Tarr Steps area, which will now require extensive work following the floods.

Dan James, Sustainable Economy Officer at the National Park says: "For residents and visitors alike, the path network is an important part of enjoying Exmoor National Park and we are keen to get things back to normal as soon as possible."

Read more, with photos of the demolished bridge
http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/Repairs-collapsed-Tarr-Steps-bridge-likely-cost/story-17749926-detail/story.html

For more on how to contribute to the repair work, visit
http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/exmoor-floods

You can donate online here
http://secure.nationalparks.gov.uk/flood-donation
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Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by TheCaptain on Monday, 31 December 2012
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see terriffic view of the bridge before destruction on streetview
View Larger Map
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Re: Tarr Steps 'Wiped Out' - Daily Mail report by AngieLake on Monday, 31 December 2012
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The Daily Mail has coverage of the flood damage too, see here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255179/New-Years-Eve-forecast-Dry-end-year-comes-late-3-000-year-old-bridge-washed-away-raging-river.html

"It has stood the test of time for 3,000 years - enduring harsh winters and millennia of use.
But the recent deluge of rain has become too much for one of Britain's oldest bridges and it has been swept away by a raging river.

The 180ft iconic clapper bridge Tarr Steps in Exmoor, Somerset, which dates back to around 1000 B.C., is the latest landmark to be hit by the aftermath of weeks of relentless downpours."

Article continues with some good photos and a video.


[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Bridge washed away in floods by AngieLake on Monday, 31 December 2012
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"One of the region's oldest bridges – Exmoor's Tarr Steps – has been swept away by a raging, swollen river as what is likely to be the wettest year on record comes to a soggy end.

The iconic 1,000-year-old clapper bridge is the latest landmark to be hit by the aftermath of weeks of relentless downpours.

More than three quarters of the 50-metre long, ancient clapper bridge, which crosses the Barle between Withypool and Dulverton, has been washed away in the rain-swollen river which has reached depths 10 feet deeper than normal levels.

So strong was the force of water washing down the deep Exmoor valley that the twin steel hawsers designed to protect the bridge were snapped by massive trees being swept downstream in the flood.

The hawsers were strung across the river exactly 60 years ago after an extreme flood damaged the bridge – and the cable debris-trap has stood the test of time ever since, despite bad weather in the past.

"They say the bridge only gets damaged in a year that ends in the number two," commented a barman at neighbouring Tarr Farm Inn. "It was damaged in 1982 and before that in 1952 – and apparently in the past they've brought the Army in to help retrieve the stones and put them back again."

All the massive slabs incorporated into the 17-span bridge have been numbered so that they can be retrieved and put back in exactly the right place.

A spokesman for the Exmoor National Park Authority said: "The stones forming the spans weigh between one and two tons each and have on occasions been washed up to 50 yards downstream. A distinctive feature of Tarr Steps is the slabs that are raked against the ends of each pier to break the force of the river and divert floating debris.

"Despite this, much of the damage has been due to debris such as branches floating down with the flood and battering the bridge." "

Read more here: http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/1-000-year-old-bridge-Exmoor-washed-away-cliffs/story-17723649-detail/story.html

(It's pouring with rain again here in South Devon at the moment but the first week of 2013 is forecast to be dry!)
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by Anonymous on Thursday, 13 December 2007
I first learned about THE TARR STEPS while reading a magazine periodical called REALM an exellent publication devoted to Great Britain ancient & modern ,I was facinated mainly because my familly name is TARR, I would like any information as to how the monument obtained our familly name, I am aware that my Grand Father was born & bred in Somerset but his past is obscure ,he left the county and enlisted in the Household Cavalry (Life Guards) Blues I believe.Ifsomeone has information on how it became to be known as TARR STEPS I please pas it on thank you.COLIN P TARR LONDON ON CANADA
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Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by Anonymous on Thursday, 10 March 2005
Its rumored that the devil built it and owns the sun bathing rights on that bridge!
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Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by Anonymous on Monday, 28 February 2005
it was so cool I went to the Tarr Bridge last week and it blew me away that it dated back to almost 1000 bc.
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by Anonymous on Friday, 28 November 2003
Tarr Steps is not a prehistoric monument, but a medieval clapper bridge
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    Re: Tarr Steps Prehistoric Bridge by Anonymous on Friday, 28 November 2003
    Please supply more details of your "medieval" dating
    [ Reply to This ]

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