A SPECTACULAR new bridge spanning the Walkham Valley is the focus of a public exhibition to be held in Horrabridge and Tavistock later this month.
The bridge is the centrepiece of the ambitious new £3-million section of the Devon Coast to Coast cycle path, which will connect Whitchurch with Horrabridge, utilising the old railway line and tunnel under Grenofen.
The bridge, 160 metres long and crossing high over the steeply wooded valley, will be built at the site of the original railway viaduct which crossed the River Walkham, taking the railway towards Tavistock.
Graham Cornish, Devon County Council?s cycle project officer, said: ?The views from this bridge will be pretty spectacular. It?s going to be 30 metres high and will be right up in the tree canopy.?
Mr Cornish said the bridge construction would comprise large steel arches, the aim being to create an ?elegant and airy? structure which would not impose itself unnecessarily on the scenic valley surroundings.
The bridge will be a vital section of the new stretch of cycle path between Tavistock and Yelverton.
The path will ultimately follow the course of the Tiddybrook from Bishopsmead and take in the Grenofen tunnel, which passes underneath the Halfway House pub. A new footpath will be created from the car park at Magpie Bridge up to Magpie Viaduct, which will be re-opened.
Mr Cornish said once it had been completed, the path should prove a major boost ? for residents as well as tourists.
?It will link communities right into Tavistock town centre. Eventually, if you live at Grenofen you will be able to get to the primary school without using a road at all.
?It will also attract people who at the moment cycle up the Plym Valley and stop at Clearbrook. They will be able to carry on to Tavistock, bringing economic and tourism benefits.?
Planning permission will be required for the different sections of the new cycle route and negotiations are continuing with landowners, but the intention is that it should be in use within three years. Finance is already in position for much of the project.
An exhibition showing the plans for the new section of cycle route and the bridge will be held in Horrabridge Village Hall and Tavistock Library.
Mr Cornish said the exhibition will not only focus on the future possibilities for the bridge and cycle route.
?We?ve got some amazing historical pictures of the valley.
?We?ve got some very clear pictures of the original viaduct, which was built by Brunel. It was wooden and after a while they took the wooden bits off and replaced them with steel. Down below in the valley you can see all sorts of workings.
?There were no woods then ? it was an industrial area,? he said.
And the county council wants local people to be involved in the naming of the new bridge.
?It will certainly need a name, because it?s going to become a real landmark,? said Mr Cornish.
?Suggestions can be e-mailed to the comments e-mail address, or if people come to the exhibition there will be suggestion slips there.?
The exhibition will be in Horrabridge Village Hall on February 18, between 10.30am and 8.30pm. County council staff will be on hand to answer queries about the project. The exhibition moves to Tavistock Library on February 19, where it will remain until February 26. The e-mail address for comments on the project is [email protected]">[email protected]