Visit theEsk Valley

History & heritage ยท Glaisdale

Beggar's Bridge

A graceful 17th-century packhorse bridge built, so the story goes, by a sailor for the sweetheart the river kept him from.

Photo: Jo Turner, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph

Beggar's Bridge is the emblem of the Esk Valley. Its single, high arch spans the river beside Glaisdale station, built in 1619 and inscribed with the initials of Thomas Ferris.

Ferris, the son of a poor moorland farmer, courted the daughter of a wealthy landowner at Glaisdale. The night before he left to seek his fortune at sea, the Esk was in flood and he could not cross to say goodbye. He sailed with Drake against the Armada, returned rich, married his sweetheart, and built the bridge so no other lovers would be separated by the river. It is a good story, and the bridge is beautiful whether or not you believe it.

The bridge is now for foot traffic only. From it, the riverside path through Arncliffe Wood to Egton Bridge is one of the finest short walks in the dale, following ancient stone trods beneath oak and beech.

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