Pulteney Bridge, 7 October 2006
Pulteney Bridge and The Weir

Pulteney Bridge was finished in 1773. Like its inspiration, the Ponte Vechio in Florence Italy, it is lined with tiny shops that cater to a wide variety of tastes -everything from antique maps and teddy bears, a florist, and a rather exclusive women's dress shop. The dress shop is frequented by Dame Judy Dench, whose cardboard cut out stands majestically, if a bit sun-faded, in the front window.

The shops have had their share of catastrophes. In 1804 some of the shops fell into the river. Just last month some rather large flower boxes that were perched above the doors of the shops were blown over by a rather intense wind squall and injured some tourists who were passing by.

Flooding has also been a problem in the centre of Bath. Fully 200 years after the Pulteney Bridge was completed the horseshoe shaped weir replaced a straight weir just below the bridge. With some other improvements to the west of Bath the flooding issues have been resolved (for the time). The higher tides and more intense rains promised by global warming may tax such projects in the future. But for now, Pulteney Bridge and the weir provide a popular, though 'slightly off the beaten track' tourist photo opportunity.