Clun Bridge
Encyclopedia
Clun
Clun is a small town in Shropshire, England. The town is located entirely in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2001 census recorded 642 people living in the town...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
dating from 1450 which crosses over the River Clun
River Clun, Shropshire
The River Clun is a river in Shropshire, England which runs through the small town of Clun, as well as Newcastle-on-Clun and other villages. It meets the River Teme at Leintwardine, Herefordshire....
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The bridge is still an important bridging point over the River Clun and carries the A488
A488 road
The A488 is a route on the British highway network that runs from Penybont, near Llandrindod Wells, in Wales, to Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in England. Near Shrewsbury the A488 has a junction with the A5 trunk road...
and B4368 roads over it, despite being a stone packhorse bridge
Packhorse bridge
A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow masonry arches, and has low parapets so as not to interfere with the horse's panniers.Packhorse bridges were often built on the trade routes that...
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Alternatively, there is a ford to cross the River Clun at Clun. Recently the local authorities have been looking into an alternative route for the A488 main road through Clun, as neither the ford nor the ancient bridge are adequate in meeting the demands of modern heavy traffic. Satellite navigation systems used by some lorry drivers are making the problem worse, as they are currently directing traffic down the A488, without giving warning of the narrow bridge.
Some remedial work was carried out on the approaches to the bridge in 2006 to mitigate the effects of long and heavy vehicles using it. During the carrying out of these works there was much disruption in the wider area due to the closing of this important bridging point to traffic.
The bridge is at 181m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
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