Pulteney Bridge
Pulteney Bridge Bath BA2 4AY
Graceful Pulteney Bridge, straddling the Avon above a softly curving weir, is perhaps the classic postcard image of Bath. One of only a few shop-lined bridges in the world, it was built by Robert Adam in 1773 to a design that strongly echoed the Ponte Vecchio and Ponte di Rialto of Florence and Venice. For many years, the bridge accessed only meadows – the residential quarter it was built for never materialised – and today a number of roads that lead off it only manage a few yards before coming to a surprisingly sudden end.