While on a working holiday in Mayo a couple of years ago I went to Cross Strand Beach with my family and on the way back we came across the very cool Bunlahinch Clapper Bridge.
Clapper bridges like this one were designed to cross wide shallow rivers and were used as footbridges.
It is thought that this bridge was built sometime between the 1840s and 50s by the Irish Church Mission.
Clapper bridges are a pre-historic form of stone-built bridge.
The word clapper originates from Sussex England where it came from the use of the word plank.
The basic structure consists of small stone piers or pillars, which are spanned by flat stone slabs or planks.
The bridge is over 45.5 meters in length and over 0.5 in width.
The bridge is part of the Clew Bay Heritage trail (No14) and is very close to the superb Srahwee Wedge Tomb .
The bridge is well worth a visit along with the many other great sites that form the Heritage Trail.
Signposting is good for this site as it is with the other sites on the trail.
Conor and Daire give you an idea of the scale of the bridge.
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