Devil's Bridge, Ceredigion



Devil's Bridge (Pontarfynach, lit. "The bridge on the Mynach") is a village and community in Ceredigion, Wales. Above the River Mynach on the edge of the village is a series of three stacked bridges, constructed hundreds of years apart, from which the village gets its English name.

The village is on the A4120 road, about 10 mi east of Aberystwyth.

The population of Pontarfynach community at the 2011 census was 455. The mid-2016 estimate suggests that the population had dropped slightly to 429.

The bridges


The village is best known for the three bridges that span the Afon Mynach, a tributary of the Rheidol. The bridge is unique in that three separate bridges are coexistent, each one built upon the previous bridge. The previous structures were not demolished.

The river has been bridged since at least the 12th century, with a wooden bridge built c. 1075–1200. According to legend, it was built after an old woman lost her cow and saw it grazing on the other side of the river. The Devil appeared and agreed to build a bridge in return for the soul of the first living thing to cross it. When the bridge was finished, the old woman threw a crust of bread over the river, which her dog crossed the bridge to retrieve, thus becoming the first living thing to cross it. The devil was left with only the soul of the dog.

The lowest arch of the current bridge is ancient, possibly medieval. It is a stone arch, and the oldest part of the structure that is still standing.

In 1753, the bridge was repaired, and a second stone arch was added when the original bridge was thought to be unstable. The builders used the original bridge to support scaffolding during construction and added a second arch.

In 1901, an iron bridge was erected above the older arches, and eliminated the slope in the roadway. In 1971, the steelwork and railings were repaired and the bridge was strengthened.

The bridge is at a point where the River Mynach drops 90 m in five steps down a steep and narrow ravine before it meets the River Rheidol. The set of stone steps, known as Jacob's Ladder, a circular walk for tourists, leads down to a modern metal bridge below the waterfalls.

History
The name in 1629 was Pont ar Vynach or Pontarfynach, meaning "Bridge over the Mynach". The word mynach is Welsh for monk; one theory is that the river got its name from the fact that it was near land owned by a monastery. The first mention of the structure using the English name Devil's Bridge, in historical records, is from 1734.

The bridges that the village is named after were Grade II Listed on 21 January 1964, "as a remarkable succession of three superimposed bridges, one of the best known picturesque sites in Wales" and the listing was updated in 2005.

Tourism and notable sites


Devil's Bridge has been a tourist attraction for centuries. Records indicate that tourists were coming to this area by the mid 1700s and that an inn or hotel has existed nearby since before 1796.

The area was once part of the Hafod Estate, owned by Thomas Johnes who built a small hunting lodge on the estate which was eventually expanded into an inn. The building burned down and was rebuilt. Significant renovations were completed in 1837–1839 and in the 1860s. After several expansions and upgrades, it has been operated as the Hafod Hotel, using this name since the 1860s. In 2017, new owners had arranged for a survey in preparation for a major renovation; they intended to maintain much of the historical character of the building. Some interior renovation work had been completed by September 2017.

The artist J. M. W. Turner sketched the bridge; this work is at the Tate Gallery, London. He also produced two watercolours of the area in 1795. In 1824, William Wordsworth published a poem, To the Torrent at the Devil’s Bridge, North Wales.

The celebrated English author George Borrow wrote Wild Wales (1854), which includes a lively, humorous account of his visit to Pontarfynach. The George Borrow Hotel, a 17th-century inn where he reputedly stayed, is nearby; it is located between Devil's Bridge and Pontrhydygroeis Hafod Uchtryd.

Tourism to the area increased after the bridge and the Hafod building were featured in the Hinterland TV series, which has been broadcast in numerous countries. The hotel was presented, using flashbacks, as a children's home that had been closed down and turned into a guest house. Some tourists also enjoy the nearby nature trail, waterfalls and the historic steam railway. Other places of interest and attractions are located a short drive from the area, some in Aberystwyth.

Mary Lloyd Jones (born 1934), a Welsh painter and printmaker based in Aberystwyth was born in Devil's Bridge.

The address for the Devil's Bridge area is Woodlands (referring to the caravan park where free parking is available), Devil's Bridge, Ceredigion, Wales, SY23 3JW. The bridge is on the A4120, with sign posts providing guidance from the village centre.

Transport


Devil's Bridge railway station is the upper terminus of the historic narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway, which opened between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge in 1902.

The village is served by one bus route, the 522, which runs between Tregaron and Aberystwyth; there is one service daily in each direction on weekdays and it is operated by Mid Wales Travel.

Popular culture
Devil's Bridge and the hotel building are featured prominently in the opening two episodes of the first series of the 2013 Welsh-language crime noir, Y Gwyll (episodes titled in English "Devil's Bridge" and "Night Music"), shown on S4C and subsequently on BBC4 as Hinterland. Both are featured again in series 3 of the programme. The three series are streamed on Netflix in Canada and the US and also in Japan, Taiwan, India, South Africa, South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.