THE Devonshire Association will be celebrating Devon’s bridges with a special event at Postbridge Village Hall ‘Trackways Through Time’ tomorrow, Friday June 23.

Four eminent speakers will be sharing their knowledge of Dartmoor’s Bridges: Ancient and Modern; Devon’s Railway Bridges; the Challenges of Looking After Devon’s Bridges; and the Clam Bridges of Dartmoor. Weather permitting, there will be chance to visit the ancient clapper and road bridges and also the DNPA Visitor Centre at Postbridge.

‘Bridges are brilliant – for thousands of years they have tested human ingenuity,’ said the Devonshire Association. ‘Like everything else though, it is all too easy to take bridges for granted. They are there to make our lives easier, but we, perhaps, give little thought to their care and maintenance.

‘Vigo Bridge (Tavistock) straddles the River Tavy like a great grey lizard. Standing on its arched back on warm evenings, bats can be seen swooping to feed on insects below. The view from the east on a summer morning is entrancing, with ducks slowly circling in the still waters before setting off to ride the rapids further downstream.

‘The bridge, as its datestone attests, was built in 1773, and by local tradition was named after Francis Drake’s exploits at Vigo on the north west coast of Spain.’

To find out more details of the day-long event at Postbridge Village Hall which starts at 10am, visit devonassoc.org.uk.