Tarr Steps
| Tarr Steps | |
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Tarr Steps viewed from downstream
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| Coordinates | 51°04′37″N 3°37′05″W / 51.077°N 3.618°WCoordinates: 51°04′37″N 3°37′05″W / 51.077°N 3.618°W |
| Crosses | River Barle |
| Locale | Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | clapper bridge |
| Material | stone slabs |
| Total length | 55 metres (180 ft) |
| No. of spans | 17 |
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The Tarr Steps are a clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England. They are located in a national nature reserve about 2.5 miles (4 km) south east of Withypool and 4 miles (6 km) north west of Dulverton.
A typical clapper bridge construction, the bridge's listing assesses it as medieval in origin. The stone slabs weigh up to two tons each. According to local legend, they were placed by the devil to win a bet. The bridge is 180 feet (55 m) long and has 17 spans. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Half of the bridge was washed away by the river whilst heavily swollen by rain in December 2012 and was re-assembled. It was damaged again in November 2016 and will, according to Somerset County Council be rebuilt again.
Owned by Exmoor National Park Authority, Tarr Steps Woodland National Nature Reserve covers 33 hectares of the River Barle valley. This is mainly Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) woodland, with beech (Fagus), ash, sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), hazel (Corylus), blackberry (Rubus), bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and honeysuckle (Lonicera). It is internationally significant for the mosses, liverworts and lichens which flourish in the cool damp conditions. Much of the woodland was once coppiced, primarily to provide charcoal for the local iron smelting industry. The river and the valley woodlands are part of the Barle Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest and abound with wildlife, ranging from red deer to dormice, including the rare Barbastelle Bat (Barbastella barbastellus) and otter that feed along the unpolluted and fast-flowing river.
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