It's been a long time since it looked this good.

 

She doesn't look bad for her age.
Photo courtesy of  K. Padgett.

 

In the right light, at the right angle.
Photo courtesy of K. Padget.

 

But be warned, she is dangerous!
Photo courtesy of  K. Padgett.

 

Just look at the state of it now

To be honest I’m surprised the bridge is still standing after all this time. We never knew exactly where it had been built, what it was called or if it was still there. Then one day my Dad got an information pack about the Falklands Conflict which had a fairly detailed map of the islands.

He showed me a path from Goose Green which crossed a creek on its way to Lafonia. “That’s where I think the bridge must have been” he said. A quick search on Google maps revealed that the bridge was indeed there. There was even a photograph and the name of the bridge. Armed with that much information, web searches unveiled a wealth of detail, including that the bridge and sheds are included in the islands history timeline, numerous photographs and accounts from tourists and military personnel who have visited the area.

For example, here is a picture of The Bodie Creek Bridge photographed by Joanna Vincent in 2006.

I even found pictures by Wickham showing someone driving a Land Rover across it in 1984. Madness! It was designed for nothing more strenuous than a flock of sheep, a couple of shepherds and perhaps a sheepdog. It's amazing those rusting cables took the strain. It must have been a lot stronger then than it is now.

When Simon Rouse stumbled across this website he mailed me to say that he crossed the Bodie Creek bridge many times in the 1996/7 in a Landrover when he was working on the sheep farm at Walker Creek, which was then about a 2 hr drive past the bridge to the East. See his account, illustrated with some pictures he sent me.

Someone else complained that the bridge is very narrow, with a very sharp turn at the approach which made it quite difficult to use. Well guess what? Sheep have a tight turning circle. Anyway, I'll forgive him because he has posted some really nice pictures of the bridge and surrounding area.

Sadly the bridge has not been well maintained over the years so has suffered and corroded under the extremes of the Falkland Islands' weather to such an extent that it has become unsafe. In 1997 it was closed;  not just for vehicles but also for pedestrians, yes and even sheep. Apparently it is not worth repairing because it is easy enough nowadays to drive the sheep around the creek.

There are some great photos of the bridge on the Internet. For example:

• Keith and Val Padgett have a photo gallery with some very impressive images of the bridge they took in 2002. They have been kind enough to send me some of their pictures, which you can see on the right here.
• One pair of Russian tourists, Alexander Simo and his wife, have put together a fabulous photo gallery, with images of their travels around the world. Their gallery includes some of the most detailed close-up images I’ve seen, revealing just how much damage the bridge has suffered over the years The metal has corroded away and the wood is rotten. It’s hard to tell just how much longer this monument to a bygone age will last. Just look at this selection of their pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
  I feel like I've been there myself after looking at those pictures.

The power of the Internet has truly made the world a global village. It has enabled me to get in touch with people from around the globe and brought this remote part of my family’s history to life in a way that would never otherwise be possible.

I hope that these pages have given you an insight into what it took to put together this most unlikely-looking bridge in such a wild and desolate location. It has certainly made me look again at all manner of structures that I might otherwise just take for granted.