Exploring Devil’s Bridge, Ceredigion – Family-Friendly Walk with Waterfalls & Forest Trails

Filling the Void

As the poor winter weather sets in across the UK, we have had to admit defeat a couple of times that a family walk just isn’t going to be a possibility every weekend. This weekend we had a visit from Storm Bert, and whilst, thankfully, we had no issues with flooding, we were still subjected to two whole days of non-stop (heavy) rain and a continuous, battering wind. No one was going to enjoy a walk in that, so we opted to stay home, light the fire and play family board games, watch films and drink hot chocolate instead.

While I had some downtime, I decided to take a look through some of the photos of walks or places we’ve visited over the years – ones I have never blogged about – as a way to “fill the void” on those weekends where the weather doesn’t want to play ball. Rooting through the “archives” of photos I have taken since I met my husband, I found around a half a dozen taken during a trip to Wales with friends. As two young couples, we booked a lodge for a long-weekend in Wales, with no set plans, just to enjoy ourselves and not think of work.

Miles of Memories: Before I got the bright idea to start blogging, we’d already dragged ourselves (and the children, when they arrived) on some pretty memorable walks around the UK. This series is my way of revisiting those adventures –  a chance to share the places we loved, the lessons we learned, and maybe inspire your own family adventures, big or small. Let’s retrace those steps, one memory at a time!

A Devilishly Brilliant Idea!

Whilst we weren’t planning on being “super touristy”, aiming instead to “chill out” in the Welsh countryside, we did still manage to fit a couple of excursions into our short break. One such place was a trip to the Devil’s Bridge in Ceredigion!

Devils Bridge Waterfalls is a world-famous tourist attraction in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains, 12 miles from the seaside town of Aberystwyth. These unique waterfalls have attracted many thousands of visitors since the 18th century, including William Wordsworth who wrote about the “Torrent at the Devil’s Bridge”.

https://www.devilsbridgewaterfalls.co.uk/

September 2013. As you can see from the date, this was quite some time ago now! We were drawn to the area by the name alone, having passed the signpost for it, we decided to follow it to see what it was all about. It turns out that Devil’s Bridge is a strange ensemble of 3 different bridges that have all been built on top of each other over the course of 3 centuries. However, we also discovered there were some beautiful waterfalls to be seen too…

The Bridges…

The first place we walked, was down the steep steps to get a view of this bridge everyone was talking about… and it was here that we discovered the Punchbowl, where the river has formed a plunge basin in the rock. The photos I took at the time aren’t effective in showing the view in all it’s glory, so here is a screen shot from the website that shows the steps and punchbowl perfectly:

There are no records, apparently, as to when the first bridge was built, however the second, wider, bridge, was built over the first in 1708. As well as being wider, aiding the passage of larger Ox or Horse Drawn Carts, the second bridge also helped to minimise the slope of what was a muddy road.

It was over a century later, 1814, when the iron parapets were added to the middle bridge, and it was at this time that Devil’s Bridge started to make a name for itself as a tourist attraction, with visitors keen to see the beautiful waterfalls and the unique two bridges that had been built on top of each other!

It was almost another century before the 3rd bridge was built. Again, increasing traffic being the cause for a bigger bridge, as the route was used for those travelling to and from North and South Wales. In 1901, the third bridge was built!

During the 1980s, further work was completed on the bridge, including reinforcing the road with steel girders to cope with the heavier and more frequently flowing traffic, and they also chose to replace the beautiful original ornate railings with (similar) modern ones.

The Engineer in me found this place fascinating. It’s quite unusual to see things built on top of other things like this – usually the replacement structure is placed somewhere else, or the original structure is demolished first!

I’d like to take the time here to say a heartfelt thank you to Victoria from the Devil’s Bridge Waterfalls website for kindly giving me permission to use these historical photographs in my blog. All the above photos have come from their website, and I think you’ll agree that this post wouldn’t have had the same impact without them – thank you so much!

The steps down to view the bridge were pretty treacherous and I wouldn’t recommend doing this on a wet or icy day, but well worth the steady wander down in good weather, just to see this! Overall this walk is a quick one, at approximately 15 minutes.

The Waterfalls

On the opposite side of the road to the access for the Bridges and Punchbowl is the Waterfall Walk. Named their “Long Walk”, or “Nature Trail”, it takes approximately 45 minutes – but probably longer as you take in the beauty of the area!

The waterfall walk was very beautiful – it was a drizzly day when we came, from memory, and I have lovely recollections of leafy jungle-like pathways with dripping leaves, and then of course the lovely views and sounds of the waterfalls.

There were an assortment of steep steps, bridges and wooden walkways with viewpoints, so you can stop and really enjoy the views, get some photos and relax. It’s a very fun and interesting walk, that I’m sure children would enjoy, as it’s challenging and different.

At the time of our visit, I don’t remember all the turnstiles, or having to pay anything. However, we briefly visited the area (after doing the steam train ride, a post for another day) in 2022, and I wanted to take the children to see the Bridges before the next train home, but the walk is now gated with a turnstile requiring payment. It isn’t expensive to walk the Bridges walk, but we were pressed on time, and I didn’t want to rush the visit if we were paying (I do like value for money 😉 ). We will absolutely come back once we have a van though, so we can take the time to enjoy it with no time constraints. I would love to revisit this beautiful site again to share it with our boys, as I’m sure they would love it too – and they can report back on their thoughts about it too!

Good to Know

Cost: Here is the breakdown of the costs to visit: (Correct as of November 2023)

• Nature Trail, Waterfalls & 3 Bridges Walk: (when an attendant is on duty)
  • Adults £4.75
  • Students & 65+ £4.00
  • Child over 5 £3.00
• WINTER / LOW SEASON TURNSTILE ACCESS £4.00 per person
• TURNSTILE ACCESS Punchbowl & 3 Bridges walk: £2.00 per person
• Helpful information on how to use the Turnstiles HERE.
• Book online HERE (NOTE: only available during the summer/peak season)

Car Parking: There is a free car park nearby (no overnight stops). If it’s busy, you can use the train car park (there is a cost).

Toilets: There are toilets at the visitor centre, public toilets in the main village, a short walk from the walk entrances, and toilets at the train station.

Accessibility: The walks are not suitable for pushchairs. There are 675 steps on the waterfall walk, and 220 on the punchbowl/bridge walk – this may not be suitable for smaller or inexperience children, or those with some disabilities. There is a viewing area for pushchair users to see the Punchbowl/Bridge – you will need to pay at the Waterfalls entrance kiosk to obtain the gate code.

Café/Picnic Spots: There are picnic tables at the start of the walk, and various benches along the way on the waterfalls walk.

Public Transport Links: If you don’t fancy driving, you could arrive by steam train!

Terrain: Both are very steep walks, and can be slippery in wet, icy or windy conditions. The website recommends you avoid walking in icy or very windy conditions for your own safety.

Family-Friendly Tips: A fascinating and unique walk for all the family. Take advantage of the benches to break up the walk for littler legs and take lots of photos. Ice-creams are available at the shop and are a great bribe when children start getting tired! A nice chocolate shop is located within the village.

Points of Interest: The steam train is a nice place to visit, even if you don’t go on it.

Safety Information: Extremely steep and often slippery. Wear sensible footwear and keep hold of little ones. After the attendant has gone there is still access to the path through the coin-operated turnstile, however, the paths are not lit at night so you must not enter at least 1 hour before dusk.

I’d love to hear if you’ve been recently, and what you thought! I will update again when we re-visit with the children.