The bridge for children
There are many bridges in Dumfries, because the river literally splits the city in two. This is one of the most famous, a suspension bridge. But after asking several local people, I discovered that it's better known locally as the children's bridge. There were several explanations offered for this, but all were very simple. This small, unusual Victorian footbridge was completed in 1875 by the Provost of the day, and it seems that he did so to allow children to cross from bank to bank to get to school. This way they could avoid the dangerous traffic on most large bridges. But it seems that the name comes from the fact that, even today, the bridge is very popular with children ... simply because if someone jumps, the bridge moves, so kids love to climb on it and jump!
