Saturday, July 02, 2011

Devil's Bridge


Devil's Bridge, Wales.   These three bridges, which were built on top of each other, span Afon Mynach, a tributary of Afon Rheidol.  The lower bridge, a stone bridge, was built in 1075 by monks, possibly from Strata Florida Abbey to the south.  But according to legend, the Devil was the actual builder.  The story goes that an old woman was bringing her cow home from market and came to the river, which was too flooded to cross.  The Devil appeared and offered to build a bridge for her, provided that the first living thing to cross it would give him its soul.  When he finished the bridge, the woman decided she didn't want to cross the bridge first, so she threw a crust of bread onto the bridge, and her little dog ran after it.  The Devil was so mad about being tricked into taking the soul of a dog, that he flew into a rage and stormed out of Wales, vowing never to return.  The second bridge (1753) is also a stone bridge, and the most recent bridge (1901) is an iron bridge.
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