I recently met up with Alex Rochead during April and we got round to talking about “The Flag Bridge” at Letterick. I was puzzled at Alex’s reference that the underside was a round culvert, when my distinct recollection of it was of stone slabs forming the underside of the bridge, hence the name, “The Flag Bridge”.
The little stone bridge sits just north of Crossbasket at Mid Letterick Farm. Alex however solved the mystery, by revisiting the site again on 30th April 2015, where he took these photos. From the South , the bridge does indeed have a round culvert, but from the North it looks much older, with stone flags. We were each photographing the bridge previously from either end, which looked different!
The addition of the circular culvert, was likely in modern times, most likely by the farmer to widen the little stone bridge. I can imagine this bridge being extended in width to accommodate tractors or driving cows or farm animals. Mid Letterick has been abandoned as the nearby farm for several decades and is falling into ruin. The whole area is fascinating though, and well worth a visit. Its easy to get to, just off Stoneymeadow Road, without any access problems.
