Whitney Bridge named as the ‘Best Visitor Attraction in the County'

When husband and wife, Maggie Taylor and Grahame Penny, bought the historical 18th century Whitney Bridge and moved into the attached Grade 2 listed toll cottage in January 2012, it was exactly what the name suggested - a toll bridge; one of only 8 privately owned toll bridges left in the country.

Spanning the River Wye at Whitney-on-Wye, at the time the bridge simply provided a short cut, reducing the travelling distance between the A438 Hereford/Brecon Road and Hay-on-Wye by six miles, making a small charge to vehicles crossing in order to pay for its upkeep and maintenance.
 
Five years on Whitney Bridge has been named as the ‘Best Visitor Attraction in the County’ by Visit Herefordshire, the destination tourism marketing organisation for Herefordshire, a not-for-profit company managed by Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and part of Visit England.
 
The announcement was made at the ‘Awards for Excellence 2017’ ceremony held recently at the Malvern Theatre. Highly commended in the same category were the Hereford Cider Museum and Wynne’s of Dinmore.
 
“We are absolutely delighted to win this prestigious award.” said Maggie Taylor. “We see it as recognition for all of the hard work that we’ve put in over the last five years to transform Whitney Bridge from just a toll bridge into the popular visitor attraction that it is today.”
 
“Whitney Bridge is now taking full advantage of its riverside location so that our visitors can enjoy everything from fishing & swimming to canoeing & camping or just relax in our riverside garden and picnic area to watch our resident kingfishers, swans, otters and even salmon leaping in the river.”
 
More recent improvement work at Whitney Bridge includes refurbished visitor toilets and shower block for their campers plus an accessible fishing platform and a seasonal café.