Hotels near Pulteney Bridge and Pulteney Weir

Pulteney Bridge is one of only four bridges anywhere with shops built across its full span on both sides, alongside the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Rialto in Venice and the Krämerbrücke in Erfurt. Robert Adam designed it in Palladian style and it opened in 1774, connecting the city to the Bathwick land the Pulteney family wanted to develop. Cross it and you would barely register you are over water, because the shopfronts block the view on both sides.

The picture everyone wants is the bridge above Pulteney Weir, the three-stepped horseshoe cascade rebuilt in its current form in 1972 as part of the city's flood defences. The best vantage point is Grand Parade on the west bank, or from Parade Gardens below for a small admission fee. Boat trips run from Pulteney Weir landing stage upstream towards Bathampton between roughly April and October, typically around GBP 12 for an hour on the water. There is no charge for the bridge itself.

Pro Tip: Go down the steps beside Grand Parade to the riverside walkway for the low angle that puts the weir in the foreground and the bridge behind it. After heavy rain the weir runs hard and the shot improves considerably, though the lower path can close when the Avon is high.