Somerleyton Swing Bridge tours sees heritage group 'inundated'

The introduction of tours on a 118-year-old swing bridge has seen a heritage group "inundated with requests".

The Somerleyton Swing Bridge, over the River Waveney on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, was built in 1905.

The bridge, near Somerleyton, Suffolk, carries the double-tracked Norwich to Lowestoft railway line over the river.

Tours of the bridge, which is normally "out of bounds", will be held on Saturday and on 16 September.

"It is fully booked", said Martin Halliday chair of Lowestoft Heritage, which will run the tours.

"We've been inundated with requests and received more than 1,000 calls from the public.

"We can bring 150 people to visit the bridge. It has to be carefully controlled."

Martin Halliday, chair of Lowestoft Heritage, said he received more than 1,000 calls from the public wanting to go on the tour

Those attending may find themselves having the rare opportunity to view the bridge and its control tower, but that is dependant on the weather. If it is too hot it can often cause the bridge to get stuck.

Bridge operator Carl King said those coming to the tour will get to see the bridge action.

"They'll get to see us manually swing the bridge and see how it all works," he said.

Bridge operator Carl King said he loves working on the bridge

Mr Halliday said there were concerns over public safety but they had worked with Network Rail to come up with a plan.

"We devised a safe way which they can visit, which does require a long walk along the river bank," he said.

It is only the second time the Edwardian bridge is being opened to the public

The swing bridge was named after the nearby Suffolk village of Somerleyton.

Matthew Eastaugh, mobile operations manager for Network Rail, said: "It's normally out of bounds to the public but this is a rare opportunity for the public to see what job entails."

It will be the second time the bridge is being opened to the public.