Transporter Bridge Newport

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The Transporter Bridge is a unique piece of old engineering that has been in use for over 100 years. We'd never seen one before so decided to to take a look after searching online for things to do near Cardiff.



It was built as an alternative to a conventional ferry with it being cheaper and more efficient to operate and not subject to the river levels.

Originally the bridge was built to take workers from the west side of the river to the east, where the primary industry was located. Without it, they would have had to walk four miles (approximately 6.5km) to the nearest crossing.



The high boom allows ships to travel up and down the river without any obstruction. You can go across on the platform that is known as a gondola, which is suspended on tracks from the boom and is moved by twin 35 horsepower electric motors.



It's one of only six that exist in the world today with two of them located in the UK. This is the largest one remaining in the world.

Designed by a French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, with construction starting 1902 and finishing in 1906



Nowadays, it's one of the many tourist attractions in the area, and If you are fit enough and don't suffer from vertigo, you can climb up the two hundred and seventy steps and walk across to the other side. It's a great view out over the area, and you get an up-close look at this historical piece on engineering and grade 1 listed structure.



Although it's roughly half the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I'd say that you get more of a feeling of the height as you climb up and walk across it because there is only a thin metal grill below your feet unlike the thick steel girders of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You also feel the vibrations as the gondola moves across.

The stairs up are relatively steep and narrow a bit at the top; it certainly gives you a good workout.


It is located in the city of Newport which only around 11 miles east of Cardiff. There is parking available beside the visitor centre and across the road.

A visit here would take around an hour if you climb up to the top and walk across then ride the gondola back and would make a great little side attraction if you are in the area.

There are also many other interesting places to visit around the area if you feel like exploring more.

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