A55 / BRITANNIA BRIDGE / BANGOR
A55 over Britannia bridge in to Bangor
Britannia - A Bridge.
A video of how the great Britannia Bridge was repaired after the devastating fire of 1970 which totally destroyed the revolutionary tubes and left the Isle Of Anglesey without a rail crossing for about 20 months.
IMHO the 'new' design was/is an improvement as it carried/carries road and rail - more duties than was originally conceived.
That said, the masonry towers survived the punishment of the fire and still stand today (albeit modified from the original design), and the tubes were AWESOME! It's a real pity they had to be removed/demolished using a cutting flame.
Road Views of Britain. Crossing the Britannia Bridge to Anglesey.
A short video with information of a crossing I took from the mainland of North Wales across the Britannia Bridge to the Isle of Anglesey in August 2018.
View my blog colingreenphotography.co.uk
The Britannia Bridge gateway to Anglesey (Pont Britannia)
In 1846 Robert Stephenson, son of railway pioneer George Stephenson was appointed chief engineer and in 1846, the construction of the Britannia bridge was started, four years later in March 1850 the bridge was completed.
The stone towers of the Britannia bridge were built from limestone like its sister bridge the Menai Suspension bridge also brought from Penmon quarry. The original bridge was constructed of wrought iron tubes joined together which were supported by the stone towers. The box sections were built on the shores of the Menai Strait then floated out into position then hoisted into position using very powerful jacks.
Unfortuanately on the evening of 23rd of May 1970 the bridge caught fire when two local boys dropped a burning torch who were believed to be looking for bats. The ceiling of the tubes which were coated in tar caught fire. Due to the height of the bridge and the lack of available water, the local fire service were unable to extinguish the fire and the whole of the tunnel caught fire, from Anglesey to the mainland side. The fire, which eventually burnt itself out left the bridge standing, but the intense heat of the fire had compromised the structural integrity of the iron tubes, and after being closed for nearly eighteen months the bridge was completely rebuilt. The rebuilt bridge looked quite different with steel archways between the stone towers and concrete supports under the approach spans making it look more like a traditional bridge.
With the increase in road traffic and the building of the A55 dual carriage way, the Britannia bridge was to change again and an upper deck was built above the railway line to carry the cars and lorries travelling to and from Anglesey giving the Menai Suspension Bridge a much needed break from heavy traffic, this new road deck opened in 1980.
The Britannia bridge was decorated with four large lions sculptured from limestone by John Thomas (1813-1862). The four lions sit at each corner of the bridge, two on the Anglesey side and two on the mainland side.
Unfortuanately these beautiful lions can only be seen by rail or by walking down under the A55 dual carriage way either from the Carreg Bran hotel in Llanfairpwll on the Anglesey side or from near Treborth village on the Bangor side. There is a campaign to raise the Britannia lions so they can be seen from the A55.
The Britannia bridge is the only section of the A55 which is a single carriage way, and thus sufferers from congestion during peak times, morning and early evening, which in turn causes a bottleneck at either end of the bridge. In November 2007, a public consultation exercise took place looking into the various ways that congestion could be reduced. Ideas like widening the current bridge or even building a third bridge are currently being looked at.
During the construction of the Britannia bridge many workers lost their life. There is a memorial stone to them in the grave yard at St. Mary's church which lies on the banks of the Menai Strait which is overlooked by the mighty Britannia bridge. Building any bridge is a dangerous task and the health and safety rules around the 1850's would be no where as strict as in modern times.
Part of the Anglesey Coastal Path travels along the Menai Straits and up a steep hill parallel to the Britannia Bridge.
Zara Maryam Abdul Muhaimin - Menai Bridge, Bangor, Wales, UK
Jalan2 Wales
Places to see in ( Menai Bridge - UK )
Places to see in ( Menai Bridge - UK )
Menai Bridge is a small town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford, just over the water from Bangor.
There are many small islands near the town, including Church Island. The Menai Heritage Centre celebrates the world-famous Menai Suspension Bridge, built by Thomas Telford, and the Britannia Bridge, built by Robert Stephenson.
In the 9th century, St Tysilio lived here as a hermit on Church Island. A ferry across the Menai was first recorded in 1292. When the bridge opened in 1826, the ferry closed, but connections with the sea remained through the import, export and shipbuilding trades. From 1877 to 1920, the ship HMS Clio was docked at Menai Bridge; it was lent to the North Wales Society to teach young men the ways of seafaring.
There are a number of small islands in the Menai Strait some of which are connected to the town by causeways, including Ynys Faelog, Ynys Gaint, Ynys Castell and Ynys y Bîg east of the suspension bridge and Church Island (Ynys Tysilio in Welsh) west of the bridge. The Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path passes along the waterfront. Menai Bridge has several churches and chapels, including an English and Welsh Presbyterian church and a Catholic church. The town also has a primary school, Ysgol y Borth, and a large bilingual comprehensive school, Ysgol David Hughes. Menai Bridge is home to the School of Ocean Sciences, part of Bangor University. Their research ship, the Prince Madog, is based at the pier when not at sea.
Attractions in Menai Bridge include the 14th-century Church of St Tysilio, St George's Pier, a butterfly house, Pili Palas, and the Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens, a 200-acre (80 hectare) estate originally developed as a picturesque garden in the 1800s. The garden had been the site of restoration for twenty years. In December 2015, heavy rains caused flooding which washed away rare plants representing twenty years of work by Anthony Tavernor. Tavernor received some help to restore the garden, enabling him and his small staff to begin rebuilding and replanting the garden. Tavernor hoped to be able to reopen the site to visitors by Easter, 2016.
Menai Bridge includes the development along Beaumaris Road known as Glyn Garth. This was a favoured location for holiday houses for the wealthy from the Manchester and Liverpool areas in the late 19th century, and many large houses of that period remain. This was also where the Bishop of Bangor had his palace. The palace was demolished in the early 1960s and replaced by a block of flats, Glyn Garth Court, completed in 1966.
( Menai Bridge - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Menai Bridge . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Menai Bridge - UK
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The Britannia Bridge, Menai straits, Wales UK
A view of a 3D model of the bridge as seen on Google Earth. This tour focusses on the position of the bridge while varying height and position.
More at
Britannia Bridge lions (2016)/ fire documentary (1971)
News item re: raising the lions, 25.11.2016, and programme called 'The night the bridge caught fire' from 1971.
Britannia Bridge Road Deck Open Day - Bangor North Wales Chronicle Supplement
16 page souvenir supplement from the chronicle dated May 26 1980, scanned by me each page will change every 20sec
The Britannia Bridge- No2 In A Series-Bridges of The UK
I decided after the success of my video crossing the new Severn Bridge that I'd do a series of videos of bridges from around the UK. The 2nd in the series is the Britannia road and rail bridge that crosses the Menai Strait between North Wales and Anglesey. I have decided to use my Sony RX100 to do all future videos, it's small very easy to carry and is very good at both stills and video.
Flying Scotsman, Emerald, Britannia Bridge, Menai Strait.
Flying Scotsman on the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait, coming from Holyhead on Anglesey, on it's way to Bangor, and onward to England!
Britannia Bridge re-opens 30. 1. 1972
This clip is from BBC1's Welsh TV news programme 'Heddiw', and shows the Britannia Tubular Bridge being re-opened to trains following it's re-construction after it was closed due to the disastrous fire in May 1970. The first part of the film shows how the train slowly enters the tube, and comes out on the Anglesey side (the fire damaged wrought iron tubes were still in place at this time, and weren't fully removed until 1974) . My father is the 4th person to be interviewed on the train at 2:47 in the film, and I'm the 7 year old sitting next to him. The second part shows the re-opening of the Port of Holyhead - which had also been closed due to the rail link being severed. The road deck of the Britannia Bridge wasn't built until the late 1970s, and opened in July 1980. This all happened on the same day as Bloody Sunday, when 13 people were shot and killed in Londonderry, Northern Ireland by British paratroopers (30th Jan 1972).
Britannia Bridge Fire
Slide show of photos of the aftermath of the fire on the Britannia Bridge, over the Menai Strait to Anglesey, in 1970.
Bangor, 1980s - Film 18124
A platform ticket for a railway station platform. A child's British Rail ticket. Platform sign saying Bangor railway station. The North Wales Coast Express. 1980's
Opening with a Platform Ticket for Bangor Station.
Lady with camera on the platform GWR train Diesel Engine 4500and carriages passing through.
0m.39ss:- Sketch map showing route from Crewe, Chester, Bangor and Holyhead.
0m48ss:- Enter the North Wales Coast Express LMS 5407 Steam Engine and another photograph opportunity for our lady with camera.
1m42ss:- NWCE leaving station and passing British Rail Diesel engine 47426 coming in
through tunnel.
2m26ss:- Good shots of 47426 on its journey.
2m52ss:- Hose and stand pipe on platform with notice to passengers not to cross the line.
2m55ss:- LMS 5407 entering station with Railway Buffs then inspecting the engine.
4m22ss:- Small boy anxiously waiting for train together with other people.
5m04ss:- Standard Rail ticket for child From Bangor to Holyhead £5.00- 15.Aug.1989
5m09ss:- View from window of train when crossing bridge over the River Dee.
5m15ss:- View of the River Dee from the train.
5m19ss:- Rail line running through cutting passing Llanfair Signal Box and level crossing.
5m32ss:- Crowd of passengers waiting for trains. NWCE.34027 under close inspection by the Railway Buffs.
5m52ss:- Taw Valley West Country Class engine leaving platform
5m55ss:- Engine only leaving station platform.
6m15ss:- A web of railway lines and engine 34027 off for a rest.
6m49ss:- Crowded platform and train arriving.
Seawake Rib Boat Menai Strait Suspension Bridge Bangor Wales UK
1.4.18
Seawake.co.uk operated rib boat, passing under the famous and historic Menai Suspension Bridge in North Wales, UK
Tour of Britain 2015 - at Four Crosses, Menai Bridge
The peleton crossing over the Four Crosses roundabout at the top of Menai Bridge during Stage 1 (beaumaris - Wrexham) of the Tour of Britain 2015.
Half an Hour at (90) - Britannia Bridge Station site 16.2.2014 - nr Bangor Menai Bridge
Video 90 takes me to the outskirts of Bangor, and to the site of the former Britannia Bridge Railway Station. Although the station has been closed since 1858, the building still remains semi derelict. The iconic Lion statues at the head of the bridge are now only visible from a footpath. Following a massive fire in 1970, the rail deck was rebuilt and a road deck built above, which now carries the A55 trunkroad. Only two trains pass, an ATW class 158 and Euston bound double Virgin Voyager.
Michael Jackson Possession Menai Bridge
Shawmo! AtchaOOOOO!
Flying Scotsman, Emerald, Britannia Bridge, Menai Strait.
Flying Scotsman entering the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait, from the mainland, on it's way to Holyhead.