Tintagel is one of the most spectacular historic sites in Britain and it
continues to inspire visitors from across the world.
This year we're embarking on a project to construct a bridge - a bridge that will restore a
connection which has existed throughout history.
The bridge is going to be made out of slate and steel and it's going to have an oak handrail.
It was important to us that we use local suppliers and fabricators for these materials.
We chose slate because it is a feature of the North Cornwall landscape.
We're going to be resourcing the slate from a local Cornish supplier - the Delabole Slate Company.
The quarry is about a thousand years old, probably the oldest operating slate
quarry in the world. The site itself was formed about 350 million years ago.
For these blocks of 2 to 20 tonne, go through primary saws to reduce them in size, they
then go over to the splitters. The actual splitting process is very much the same
as it's always been for centuries. So it's split by hand, the edges will be
dressed on a dressing machine and then they'll be sawn to dimension by secondary saws.
With Tintagel bridge we'll use around about
19 to 100,000 individual slates. To give an idea of the scale a splitter might make
around a million slates and his whole career.
Materials were particularly selected so that we could design a bridge which was
in keeping with the landscape. The steel allows us to have a very slender bridge
so it has a minimal impact on the views of the castle.
We're working with a steel fabrication company based in Plymouth called Underhill Engineering.
They will make 18 main sections and they will do what they call a trial erection - sections
of the bridge are put together to see that they fit properly. Each half of the
bridge will be made in the workshop and then dismantled and later on brought to site
and put back together again.
One of the key considerations is logistics
How do we get the large materials needed to make the bridge down winding lanes
that lead to the castle? We will be overcoming this by having helicopters
that bring in some materials to the site and also by erecting a cable crane which
will span the valley and allow us to winch in sections of the bridge when
it's ready for installation. We hope that the bridge will restore the historic
connection within the castle and will encourage many more visitors to come and
appreciate the site.