Devil's Bridge

This quiet village twelve miles outside Aberystwyth is famous for its waterfalls and three stacked bridges. In Welsh, it is known as Pontarfynach - 'The bridge over the Mynach river'.

Devil's Bridge is also the terminus of the Vale of Rheidol steam railway which carries visitors through the Rheidol Valley from Aberystwyth.

The Mynach Falls are where the River Mynach drops 90 metres to meet the River Rheidol. For a small charge, you can follow a pathway from the bridges right up to the falls and through the surrounding woodland. The three bridges are also quite a spectacular sight being stacked on top of each other!

According to legend, the lowest bridge was built by the Devil himself to let a local woman rescue her cow which had somehow got to the other side of the gorge. Expecting the woman to walk across to get it, his one condition was that he received the soul of the first living creature to cross the bridge. However, he was tricked by the lady who got her pet dog to run across first - thus leaving the Devil with a soul of a dog! More conventional wisdom says that it's in fact an 11th Century bridge built by the monks of Strata Florida.

Both the long walk to see the falls and the shorter walk around the 'Devil's Punchbowl' start at the bridge in the middle of the village. There's a small charge to pay for each walk, with access all year round through automatic turnstiles.

Devil's Bridge also has a couple of places to buy gifts and souvenirs, a fine old hotel with a restaurant and bar, and a few other places to stay.