The waterfalls at Devil’s Bridge have been a local tourist attraction for over 200 years. The water flows through a narrow ravine (see picture - right) underneath the bridges near the top of the mountain, before descending around 100 metres through a series of cascades to reach the Rheidol river at the valley floor.
You can take a walk down along the foootpaths, close to the waterfall to get a view of the falls from the side and below. The walk is fairly steep at points down the 100 steps of “Jacobs Ladder”, so you should be in good health before attempting the walk down, as the walk up can be tiring.
There are other paths that lead off to the “Hafod Arch”, erected in 1810 by Thomas Johnes the owner of Hafod Estate from 1780 to 1816 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of King George III.
The Three Bridges
The three bridges at Devil’s Bridge (shown above), were constructed over period of 900 years. The lower bridge was thought to have been built around the 11th century by the monks of Strata Florida. The second (middle) bridge was added in the early 18th century, followed by the top bridge during the 20th century.
The name “Devil’s Bridge”, is derived from an old folk tale told through Britain and Europe, regarding an old woman who managed to outwit the devil, while attempting to cross the bridge.
Having built the bridge so the woman could retrieve her cow from the other side of the river, as payment the devil was to claim the soul of the first living creature to cross the bridge, so the old woman threw some bread across the bridge, to which her dog gave chase and so the devil had to be content with the soul of the dog and not the old woman.
The Vale of Rheidol Railway
Another attraction at Devil’s Bridge is the Vale of Rheidol Railway. A narrow gauge railway that was originally constructed to take ore from the local mines to the port at Aberystwyth. The railway still runs today but transports tourists instead of ore and takes around an hour each way to and from Aberystwyth.
The journey down to and back from Aberystwyth, passes some fairly common mountain scenery and as such I think that this is a journey more suited to railway enthusiasts or tourists wishing to visit Aberystwyth.
That said, tourists to Wales often enjoy the mountain views, especially if they live in an area of fairly flat landscapes. The cafe at the Devil’s Bridge terminus sells tea, coffee and snacks and there is a car park that can be used by visitors to the falls.
Location of Devil’s Bridge