| Slater's Bridge | |
| Crosses: | River Brathay |
| Locale: | Little Langdale, Cumbria |
| Coordinates: | 54.4178°N -3.0617°W |
Slater's Bridge is a traditional packhorse bridge in Little Langdale in the English Lake District, standing at National Grid Reference .
The bridge dates back to the 17th century, and became a listed building in 1967. Built of slate, it consists of a 15feet segmental arch and a flatter span built of slabs, and incorporates a natural boulder in midstream. The bridge is thought to have been created by miners working in the nearby Tilberthwaite Fells.[1]
Already in the 19th century, Alexander Craig Gibson called it "an exquisite and unique specimen of a style of bridge all but extinct";[2] a century later, Alfred Wainwright called it "the most picturesque footbridge in Lakeland, a slender arch constructed of slate from the quarries and built to give the quarrymen a shorter access from their homes".[3]
The bridge was acclaimed in a 20th-century poem as "...this/exercise in hanging circularity, toppling stress./The rough slate wedges carry their own likeness/on the belly of each, with the grass springing sidewise/at the joins. The bare arch links two valley sides/as though by a handclasp across the sky's reflection".[4]