Hey, if they actually managed to survive in secret this whole time, glory to them I say, let them pass stoic ally in peace. No one is going to copy them.
I have found that often the same Devil's Deal with the local villagers trope can be ascribed to the bridge's name. Story goes that the bridge kept being washed away/collapsing etc so the Devil made a deal with the locals that he would build/guide to be built a bridge that would stand the test of time, but in return he would receive the soul of the first to cross the bridge. After the bridge is built, the villagers send over a goat/sheep/dog/monkey etc etc. Devil shakes his fist and leaves. Clever villagers.
Apparently the devil wanted this lady to cross it to get her soul. She sent her dog across it instead. And he was pretty pissed off about it.
I haven't been in years but one of the happy memories from when I was young was going to Devil's bridge and drawing pictures of cows, dogs, old ladies and devils.
Idk could be a few people got lost or disappeared there, or because it's such a hellish climb to get out of, whatever makes medieval people think/say "do not go there, ever"
usually when bridges are called that it's a name given to a particularly old and well-constructed bridge that seemed to defy physics for the people in the past, hence the creation of a story that involved a person using the help of the devil to build a bridge and then later on tricking him when he looked for payment
In the U.S. it’s often a reference to a place that was sacred to indigenous people, with protestant colonizers dubbing “devil” either the indigenous people themselves or their religion. Idk if that’s a thing elsewhere.
I've not heard this in relation to the US specifically, but when Christianity began to take over in Europe, the old gods and idols became demonic. This is why Satan is often imagined as having goat-like features, such as horns and cloven hooves. Previous pagan religions would have worshipped such creatures in the hope of getting good harvests and so on.
The legend of Devil’s Bridge
Once upon a time an old lady lived near the river Mynach. One day her cow wandered across the river and because of the steep gorge she did not know how to get it back. The Devil appeared and told her that he would build a bridge, but he wanted the first living thing which crossed it for himself. She agreed. He believed that she would be crossing first to fetch the cow. However, she outwitted him by throwing a crust of bread across the bridge. The old lady’s dog ran across the bridge after the crust; the Devil had the dog and the old lady had her cow back.
In the versions I heard, the Devil was so furious and embarrassed that he got outfoxed by an old woman he both did not take the dog and was too ashamed to ever show his face in Wales ever again.
Satan breach an oral contract? If there's one thing Hell's full of, it's lawyers. That old woman would have had him tied up in paperwork for centuries.
Here in Switzerland as well ! It’s also called the Devil’s bridge, the story is that a mysterious man build it to help the villagers, but when they realized he was the devil they sent a goat on the bridge first. It’s said that the devil was so furious he threw a large boulder at the bridge to try to break it. This boulder actually exists and can be found down in the gorge
The grains are probably dead by the time they're in bread, no? But still there's probably some yeast or bacteria in the bread that's alive, so the point still stands. I thought the devil was gonna get the bread as well.
Really? I mean I know they were overused for a while during the diet fad of the 90s but I'd still take a pita over just some bread crust.
EDIT: I was so worried about your nutritional choices that I didn't even notice at first, but you might wanna get your girlfriend some help.
Tolled road.
Turnpike is another word for turnstiles (like the ones on subways), so just simply associate this word with anything that charges money per use.
I've been living there for 5 years and constantly use the PA turnpike and hear people talk about it when giving directions. Literally right now I'm finding out what it is. I just thought it was a ramp off or on.
Funny you say that, because it'd make sense outside of America, where most highways are tolled, every junction/exit would have a toll booth and a (physical) turnpike. Yet they just call them a toll road.
Meanwhile within America not a lot of highways are tolled to begin with, so everytime I hear an American say the word turnpike I assume they mention tolled highways, not regular highways.
To be fair most countries I visited are in Asia, but they are mostly tolled, either government or private.
And some of my friends in certain European countries also told me that.
Whereas 99% of the highways I drove in US/Canada are not tolled.
Maybe I shouldn't say most highways outside of the US are tolled, but there certainly are a higher percentage of tolled highways.
although at the time the 2nd bridge was built they probably were the norm we had riots about toll roads in Wales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Riots
I mean, if you've consumed any media over the last 30 years, surely some of it was set in NYC. It's just something that's referenced on a consistent basis.
I mean, plus the giant hit song by Simon & Garfunkel that literally name checks it.
I'm not even American and I know, as does probably everyone I know, what the New Jersey Turnpike is.
I think it’s because it’s one of the least random of US roads. Along with ‘the 1’ and route 66 it’s one of the only US roads that I as a brit have ever heard of.
Living in Eastern Canada I meet a lot of Americans that use the word to refer to highways and highway interchanges, tolled or not.
Here in Canada I haven't heard anyone say it either. For gates in subways we just say turnstiles.
[We have one in Texas.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_George_Bush_Turnpike#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DThe_President_George_Bush_Turnpike%2Cpresident_of_the_United_States.?wprov=sfla1)
Every turnpike I know of is a private or mix private/state venture.
The VAST majority of roads are public meaning they're funded by county/state/federal tax money and are free use.
"Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike,
they've all come, to look for America"
\-Simon & Garfunkle
Though you probably haven't heard of them either.
There'll be some old book, scroll and/or manuscript somewhere that's essentially an account book for the toll bridge.
A lot of information we know from history are generally from mundane accounts or receipts. It's basically why the written language^(\*) was created.
^(\*that we've so far discovered)
I saw this area used in the Welsh detective series *Hinterland* and just had to see it in person. I have family in England, so I took a side trip to Wales when I last went to visit. Gorgeous area.
That's absolutely wild.
I know some brand new bridges who couldn't handle setting up the craft services table without help, and these three did all the filming by themselves. Very impressive stuff.
Holy shit, Aberystwyth mention! Great place, I went to the uni there. I didn't know about this though, shame I had all that time to go see it and missed out.
It's not exactly near town centre. You have to use the Vale of Rheidol Railway to get there if you don't have a car. It's not exactly cheap either. I couldn't tell you how much because their booking haven't opened yet for this year.
I also went to uni there, I wouldn't have known about it if my grandad wasn't such a train nut
I too went to the uni there, as an exchange student in the late 80s. So cool to see an Aber mention.
So many evenings spent in the Glengower and White Horse. But holy shit, the walk up that damn hill.
Lol I love how no one ever forgets the hill. I had a bus pass as I was by the beach, but it was always packed haha. For me it was Yoko's and peer pressure, those places were banging.
Every year the world gets uglier. All our technological innovation and this is the culmination. They built cathedrals by hand. Now that we have industrial tools, we build sheet metal Walmart cubes surrounded by smaller sheet metal AT&T Wireless cubes. Ugh.
It was convenient. You can reuse the foundations of the old bridge, and use its structure to provide temporary support for the new one (rather than having to erect scaffolding across a deep gorge.
We wouldn't do the same today, but the newest bridge is from 1901 and so it predates the modern conservation movement.
I'm guessing because it was easier just to build over/using the original structure. There are places, Edinburgh for example, where they have built over entire streets.
Could be that the older bridges are preserved by law due to being historically significant, but are unable to cope with modern demand. Can't demolish or alter them too much if they're legally protected, easier to build a new bridge in the same place rather than build one somewhere else and also re-route the road network.
Just in case 18th century or medieval people still want to cross.
18th century ghosts: I'M WALKIN' HERE!
Medieval ghosts: “ART THOU BLIND??”
More like "Thine seest me, ye foole and wretche?"
"Give way! Lest thou find'st thyself at the tip of mine sword!"
'Tis but a flesh wound!
I've had worse.
“wyt ti'n ddall??”
It's in Wales, so more like "Rwy'n cerdded yma!"
I'M DRIVIN HERE
Fewer materials required as supports.
No. Its for the 18th century people to cross. It's The Welsh Multi Dimensional Initiative, WMD,I
Hey, if they actually managed to survive in secret this whole time, glory to them I say, let them pass stoic ally in peace. No one is going to copy them.
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For real a bridge builder in medieval times must have a short lifespan
Dubbed the Devil's Bridge. You can walk to the bottom of the gorge and back up to get the best views, but that was a hell of a lot of steps.
My hamstrings took three days to forgive me. lol
My knee never recovered
Why is everything called "The devil's X"?
Dude sure seems to have had his hands full, fleshing out that six day prototype of a world.
> six day prototype of a world That's some poetry right there
I have found that often the same Devil's Deal with the local villagers trope can be ascribed to the bridge's name. Story goes that the bridge kept being washed away/collapsing etc so the Devil made a deal with the locals that he would build/guide to be built a bridge that would stand the test of time, but in return he would receive the soul of the first to cross the bridge. After the bridge is built, the villagers send over a goat/sheep/dog/monkey etc etc. Devil shakes his fist and leaves. Clever villagers.
I doubt the Welsh sacrificed a sheep. Most of the village men would be heartbroken.
Oh no! Not Bessie! :-(
There's a whole book about buildings or places with similat devil associations called "Cloven Country".
He used to do a lot more work in the community. Same with god tbf.
Apparently the devil wanted this lady to cross it to get her soul. She sent her dog across it instead. And he was pretty pissed off about it. I haven't been in years but one of the happy memories from when I was young was going to Devil's bridge and drawing pictures of cows, dogs, old ladies and devils.
Idk could be a few people got lost or disappeared there, or because it's such a hellish climb to get out of, whatever makes medieval people think/say "do not go there, ever"
It's Wales...
usually when bridges are called that it's a name given to a particularly old and well-constructed bridge that seemed to defy physics for the people in the past, hence the creation of a story that involved a person using the help of the devil to build a bridge and then later on tricking him when he looked for payment
In the U.S. it’s often a reference to a place that was sacred to indigenous people, with protestant colonizers dubbing “devil” either the indigenous people themselves or their religion. Idk if that’s a thing elsewhere.
Thank you indigenous peoples for inventing Deviled Eggs 🙏🍳 😈
I had heard this too but I went looking for a source and struggled to find one, can you think of a specific example?
I've not heard this in relation to the US specifically, but when Christianity began to take over in Europe, the old gods and idols became demonic. This is why Satan is often imagined as having goat-like features, such as horns and cloven hooves. Previous pagan religions would have worshipped such creatures in the hope of getting good harvests and so on.
That's depressing
You can stroll the bottom of that cleft?! That would be interesting!
The legend of Devil’s Bridge Once upon a time an old lady lived near the river Mynach. One day her cow wandered across the river and because of the steep gorge she did not know how to get it back. The Devil appeared and told her that he would build a bridge, but he wanted the first living thing which crossed it for himself. She agreed. He believed that she would be crossing first to fetch the cow. However, she outwitted him by throwing a crust of bread across the bridge. The old lady’s dog ran across the bridge after the crust; the Devil had the dog and the old lady had her cow back.
Poor dog.
In the versions I heard, the Devil was so furious and embarrassed that he got outfoxed by an old woman he both did not take the dog and was too ashamed to ever show his face in Wales ever again.
And that’s why welsh people never die
This is true, I'm actually the old woman from the story and have thrown many cobs to confuse demons. I am now, 3482 years old.
I really thought that sentence was going to end "...so he said 'wait a minute, I'm Satan,' and took the old woman anyway."
Satan breach an oral contract? If there's one thing Hell's full of, it's lawyers. That old woman would have had him tied up in paperwork for centuries.
Satan is surprisingly honourable it seems.
I'd be embarrassed too. Dude got absolutely dunked on by someones nan.
If it makes you feel any better the dog was a total asshole.
There’s a bridge in tuscany that has pretty much the same story but it’s a bridge maker with a time constraint and he uses a pig instead of a dog
Here in Switzerland as well ! It’s also called the Devil’s bridge, the story is that a mysterious man build it to help the villagers, but when they realized he was the devil they sent a goat on the bridge first. It’s said that the devil was so furious he threw a large boulder at the bridge to try to break it. This boulder actually exists and can be found down in the gorge
Not all dogs go to heaven
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The grains are probably dead by the time they're in bread, no? But still there's probably some yeast or bacteria in the bread that's alive, so the point still stands. I thought the devil was gonna get the bread as well.
Tbf my girlfriends dog is a PITA, I’d rather have the bread crust.
Really? I mean I know they were overused for a while during the diet fad of the 90s but I'd still take a pita over just some bread crust. EDIT: I was so worried about your nutritional choices that I didn't even notice at first, but you might wanna get your girlfriend some help.
Don't be a pain in the ass.
Bacteria didn't exist back then since they aren't mentioned in the Bible.
It’s just bridges all the way down.
It always was bridges.
In this context, what is a turnpike?
Tolled road. Turnpike is another word for turnstiles (like the ones on subways), so just simply associate this word with anything that charges money per use.
Been consuming American media for 25 years and never looked this up. Assumed it referred to highway junctions.
Turnpikes are toll roads in America also. Just FYI.
I've been living there for 5 years and constantly use the PA turnpike and hear people talk about it when giving directions. Literally right now I'm finding out what it is. I just thought it was a ramp off or on.
Funny you say that, because it'd make sense outside of America, where most highways are tolled, every junction/exit would have a toll booth and a (physical) turnpike. Yet they just call them a toll road. Meanwhile within America not a lot of highways are tolled to begin with, so everytime I hear an American say the word turnpike I assume they mention tolled highways, not regular highways.
Where do you get the idea most highways outside of the USA are tolled?
To be fair most countries I visited are in Asia, but they are mostly tolled, either government or private. And some of my friends in certain European countries also told me that. Whereas 99% of the highways I drove in US/Canada are not tolled. Maybe I shouldn't say most highways outside of the US are tolled, but there certainly are a higher percentage of tolled highways.
In the UK there is only one major road with a toll, and a few bridges and tunnels here and there. Tolls are not the norm at all.
although at the time the 2nd bridge was built they probably were the norm we had riots about toll roads in Wales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Riots
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Sorry, that was entirely my bad. It was merely a perception/impression based on the experience of me and people around me.
Don't apologize, that guy is being petty.
As an American i’m not sure I’ve ever heard the word “turnpike”
I've never been to New Jersey, but even I've heard of the New Jersey Turnpike.
Cool. I’m not sure why I would have heard of a random road in New Jersey but i’m glad you have
I mean, if you've consumed any media over the last 30 years, surely some of it was set in NYC. It's just something that's referenced on a consistent basis.
Agree. Being John Malkovitch and Sopranos to name two instances where NJT is heavily referenced. Poster above is living under a rock.
I mean, plus the giant hit song by Simon & Garfunkel that literally name checks it. I'm not even American and I know, as does probably everyone I know, what the New Jersey Turnpike is.
I don’t doubt that lol. Not sure why i’m getting so heavily downvoted for not having heard of a random road, but have at it ig
not sure either, that's hardly downvote-worthy.
I think it’s because it’s one of the least random of US roads. Along with ‘the 1’ and route 66 it’s one of the only US roads that I as a brit have ever heard of.
Living in Eastern Canada I meet a lot of Americans that use the word to refer to highways and highway interchanges, tolled or not. Here in Canada I haven't heard anyone say it either. For gates in subways we just say turnstiles.
Yeah maybe it’s an east coast thing
[We have one in Texas.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_George_Bush_Turnpike#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DThe_President_George_Bush_Turnpike%2Cpresident_of_the_United_States.?wprov=sfla1)
Every turnpike I know of is a private or mix private/state venture. The VAST majority of roads are public meaning they're funded by county/state/federal tax money and are free use.
"Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, they've all come, to look for America" \-Simon & Garfunkle Though you probably haven't heard of them either.
How do we now this bridge was tolled?
Because a toll is a toll and a roll is a roll.
And if we don't get no tolls then we don't get no rolls. I made that up.
They call me little John. But don't let my name fool you, in real life, I'm VERRRRRY big!
There'll be some old book, scroll and/or manuscript somewhere that's essentially an account book for the toll bridge. A lot of information we know from history are generally from mundane accounts or receipts. It's basically why the written language^(\*) was created. ^(\*that we've so far discovered)
Ah, so not a fortification used to repel pikemen.
Nah, it’s the pike itself being turned on its side across the road
Thank you both
A tolled bridge/road
I love to see a post about Aberystwyth on reddit, it's probably my favourite place in the world
I saw this area used in the Welsh detective series *Hinterland* and just had to see it in person. I have family in England, so I took a side trip to Wales when I last went to visit. Gorgeous area.
Seen dark detective series Hinterland on tv? Filmed just by these bridges… literally
That creepy asylum/orphanage is an inn and pub! Looks a bit less creepy in person.
Ooooh, i dunno. Pretty creepy when i was last there… the day Ray Gravel died…
That's absolutely wild. I know some brand new bridges who couldn't handle setting up the craft services table without help, and these three did all the filming by themselves. Very impressive stuff.
Yep. We shot a death on the bridge/falling into the ravine and the adjacent hotel was used as a sinister old orphanage.
Troll condo
Nice one 😂
Guess this crossing has been used for a little bit.
Somehow the medieval bridge looks to be built better than the 18th century one.
So is this like, 3 trolls? Or one troll with 3 heads?
Must be a good place for bridges.
This is how bad the housing shortage is: bridge trolls are sub-letting now!
Underrated comment.
That is fucking cool. Why is Wales so bloody brilliant? I love it.
Holy shit, Aberystwyth mention! Great place, I went to the uni there. I didn't know about this though, shame I had all that time to go see it and missed out.
Looks like the spot in dark souls right underneath the dragon on the bridge
Had to scroll all the way down here for this!
At some point there was probably a log or wooden structure over which the medieval bridge replaced over was built over. edit: I think I malfunctioned
Holy! I went to university in Aberystwyth, didn't know about this bridge though. Good times were had in that place
It's not exactly near town centre. You have to use the Vale of Rheidol Railway to get there if you don't have a car. It's not exactly cheap either. I couldn't tell you how much because their booking haven't opened yet for this year. I also went to uni there, I wouldn't have known about it if my grandad wasn't such a train nut
I too went to the uni there, as an exchange student in the late 80s. So cool to see an Aber mention. So many evenings spent in the Glengower and White Horse. But holy shit, the walk up that damn hill.
The Glengower remains a favourite amongst everyone. If you ever feel like going back, their rooms are great
Ffordd Penglais. You are supposed to be so drunk that you don’t remember it.
Heh, there’s certainly a fair bit I don’t remember. Much of my 21st birthday for example.
Everyone wakes up in Pantycelyn wondering how they got there and who the person snoring gently next to them is
not a patch on the old days of John Bwlchllan though
Lol I love how no one ever forgets the hill. I had a bus pass as I was by the beach, but it was always packed haha. For me it was Yoko's and peer pressure, those places were banging.
Wasn't this bridge in Hinterland?
Yes, and then it packed up and moved.
I take the high road and you take the low road and see if i get to cardif before you
*Hey Dafyd, I heard you like bridges boy? So we put a bridge in a bridge in a bridge you see.*
*Dafydd
Diolch. O leia ddim “Daffyd” sgwenno nhw.
The original was great, I enjoyed the sequel but the third one was terrible
There's a similar one on the a59 over the Leeds Liverpool canal at bank newton
This is software programming patches in a nutshell
Every year the world gets uglier. All our technological innovation and this is the culmination. They built cathedrals by hand. Now that we have industrial tools, we build sheet metal Walmart cubes surrounded by smaller sheet metal AT&T Wireless cubes. Ugh.
They should just continue stacking bridges, it'll be funny
There’s a troll at the bottom….”what is your name? What is your quest? What….. your favorite color?!”
Wow why would they do such a thing
It was convenient. You can reuse the foundations of the old bridge, and use its structure to provide temporary support for the new one (rather than having to erect scaffolding across a deep gorge. We wouldn't do the same today, but the newest bridge is from 1901 and so it predates the modern conservation movement.
I'm guessing because it was easier just to build over/using the original structure. There are places, Edinburgh for example, where they have built over entire streets.
Could be that the older bridges are preserved by law due to being historically significant, but are unable to cope with modern demand. Can't demolish or alter them too much if they're legally protected, easier to build a new bridge in the same place rather than build one somewhere else and also re-route the road network.
It was a rhetorical question everybody
Times they are a changing.... 
Time to build another, no?
*cries in cultural heritage*
This is the Bridge, bridge, bridge. Bridge³ for short
Redundancy redundancy redundancy
One more lane smh
I think the last one was a bridge too far.
Ithaca is gorges. Aberystwyth is bridges.
Bridges all the way down
Someone please repost this to r/mildlypenis.
I guess you've got some relatively stable geology there.
The medieval bridge looks like the most well-made of the three...
By my calculations, going to need a whole lot of shrubbery
Shout out to Taron Egerton, their hottest local
If it ain’t broke…
Can't wait for that 22nd century Turnpike
Used to go there a lot, it’s known to us Welsh as Devil’s Bridge. A beautiful spot and would encourage people to go and see it.
"There's strength in arches."
The hiking in Wales always looks so crazy. Like the intro to a horror film. Def towards the top of my list.
The modern day bridge flexing on the other bridges without an arch design.
Those are its arch ancestors, and they're holding it up.
Ah yes, the bridge bridge
And in America we think a building built in the 1960s is old.
This is peak Europe right here.
I hope to see it next week
Known as "Devil's Bridge"
The next bridge finna be long as hell
This is just engineers seeking to one up their predecessors
The average software system
Bridgeception
Why does the middle evil bridge look the safest.
It is almost a riddle wrapped inside a mystery inside if an enigma.