Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is a rope
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
near
BallintoyBallintoy is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located alongside the B15 coast road, north-east of Coleraine, west of Ballycastle and between it and Bushmills...
,
County AntrimCounty Antrim is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland. It was named after the town of Antrim ....
,
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The bridge links the mainland to the tiny Carrick Island. The site is owned and maintained by the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, spans twenty
metreThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
s and is thirty metres above the rocks below. Today the bridge is mainly a tourist attraction, with 227,000 visitors in 2007. The bridge is now taken down every year in late October or early November, depending on weather conditions, having been put up in March.
Carrick-a-rede means 'rock in the road'.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is a rope
suspension bridgeA suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. While modern bridges of this type date from the early 19th century, earlier bridges without vertical suspenders date from the 7th Century in Central America.This type of bridge has...
near
BallintoyBallintoy is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located alongside the B15 coast road, north-east of Coleraine, west of Ballycastle and between it and Bushmills...
,
County AntrimCounty Antrim is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland. It was named after the town of Antrim ....
,
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The bridge links the mainland to the tiny Carrick Island. The site is owned and maintained by the
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, spans twenty
metreThe metre or meter is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units . Historically, the metre was defined by the French Academy of Sciences as the length between two marks on a platinum-iridium bar, which was designed to represent one ten-millionth of the distance from the Equator...
s and is thirty metres above the rocks below. Today the bridge is mainly a tourist attraction, with 227,000 visitors in 2007. The bridge is now taken down every year in late October or early November, depending on weather conditions, having been put up in March.
History
Carrick-a-rede means 'rock in the road'. It is thought
salmonSalmon is the common name for several species of fish of the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the family are called trout; the difference is often attributed to the migratory life of the salmon as compared to the residential behaviour of trout, a distinction that holds true for the Salmo...
fishermen have been erecting bridges to the island for over 350 years. It has taken many forms over the years. In the 1970s it featured only a single handrail and large gaps between the slats. A version of the bridge, tested up to ten
tonneA tonne or metric ton , also referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to , or approximately the mass of one cubic metre of water. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI...
s, was built with the help of local climbers and abseilers in 2000. The previous design was engineered in 2004 and offers visitors and fishermen alike a much safer passage to the island. The current wire rope and Douglas fir bridge was made by Heyn Construction in
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
and erected early in 2008 at a cost of over £16,000. Although no one has fallen off the bridge, there have been many instances where visitors, unable to face the walk back across the bridge, have had to be taken off the island by boat.
Fishing
It is no longer used by fishermen during the salmon season, which used to last from June until September, as there are now very few salmon left. In the 1960s, almost three hundred fish were caught per day, but by 2002, only three hundred were caught over the entire season. The salmon return via the area to spawn in the
River BannThe River Bann is the longest river in Northern Ireland, the total length being 80 miles . The river winds its way from the south east corner of the province to the north west coast, pausing in the middle to widen into the enormous Lough Neagh. The river has played an important part in the...
and the
River BushThe River Bush is a river in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The river's source is in the Antrim Hills at 480m. From there the river flows northwest, with a bend at the town of Armoy. It then flows west, passing through Stranocum, and then bends north, passing through Bushmills before reaching the...
.
Features
The area is exceptional in natural beauty with stunning views of
Rathlin IslandRathlin Island is an island off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, and is the northernmost point of the region. Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland, with a rising population of now just over 100 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the...
and
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The site and surrounding area is an
Area of Special Scientific InterestAn Area of Special Scientific Interest or ASSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in Northern Ireland. ASSIs are the equivalent of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the rest of the United Kingdom....
, with unique
geologyGeology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed...
,
floraIn botany, flora has two meanings. The first meaning, flora of an area or of time period, refers to all plant life occurring in an area or time period, especially the naturally occurring or indigenous plant life...
and
faunaFauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g...
. Underneath large caves are visible, which once served as home for boat builders and as shelter during stormy weather.
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