AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Skew Bridge at Crew's Pitch, near Ledbury in Herefordshire, is the most sharply angled canal bridge in Britain. Built in 1843 by engineer Stephen Ballard to carry a minor road over the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal at an angle of just 28 degrees, this stone arch is a remarkable feat of Victorian engineering tucked into the quiet countryside north of the market town.↗↗
The bridge sits on a stretch of the restored canal between Crews' Pitch Wharf and Monkhide, where volunteers have been maintaining the waterway and towpath since the 1980s. A narrow boat was the first to pass under the arch in over a century during a 1992 re-opening celebration, and the section around the bridge remains a living part of the ambitious Hereford and Gloucester Canal restoration project.↗
A National Record in Brick and Stone
A skew bridge crosses whatever it spans at an angle rather than at right angles, and they are found throughout Britain's railway and canal heritage. But Skew Bridge at Crew's Pitch goes to an extreme. Stephen Ballard, the engineer behind much of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal, could have simply angled the road to meet the canal head-on. Instead, he built the bridge at a skew angle of approximately 28 degrees, achieving a result widely regarded as the most skewed canal bridge in the country.↗↗
The bridge's information board, quoted in local histories, makes a bold claim: the 'skew canal bridge at Monkhide is believed to be the most angled bridge in the country.' Standing on the towpath and looking up at the intrados — the underside of the arch — you can appreciate the engineering challenge. Meeting the road's direction while crossing the canal at such an acute angle required precise geometry and careful masonry work that has stood for almost two centuries.↗
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal opened in two phases, in 1798 and 1845, connecting the wool town of Hereford with the port of Gloucester over 34 miles of waterway. The canal reached Crew's Pitch in January 1844, and the spot immediately became a thriving trading place, with a wharf where goods were loaded and unloaded. Stephen Ballard's construction of the Monkhide Skew Bridge came a year before, in 1843, as the final push toward Ledbury was completed.↗↗
The canal's life was short. After financial difficulties, it was leased to the Great Western Railway in 1863, and by 1881 it was closed entirely. The railway company used the canal's route between Ledbury and Gloucester to build the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway, which itself closed in stages between 1959 and 1964. Today, the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust is working to restore the entire 34-mile route, with the section around Monkhide and Crews' Pitch being one of the more advanced projects.↗↗
Walking the Restored Canal
The stretch of canal around Skew Bridge has been in various states over the decades. Volunteers from the Waterways Recovery Group restored the section in the 1980s and early 1990s, making it navigable for a time — a narrowboat called Maria Ballard led a flotilla through this area in 1995. In 2024, the Canal Trust published a plan to clear the channel between Crews Pitch and Skew Bridge, which had become clogged with fallen trees after a period of neglect.↗
The canal at Monkhide has been designated a Local Wildlife Site, with the waterway habitat supporting wildfowl, Daubenton's bats, amphibians, water voles, and otters. A long row of old pollarded willows on the bank opposite the towpath are both a landscape feature and important nesting and roosting habitat. The towpath offers a peaceful rural walk through Herefordshire farmland, linking Crews' Pitch Wharf with the canal beyond Monkhide.↗↗
Visiting and Context
Skew Bridge carries a minor no-through road over the canal in open countryside, several miles north of Ledbury's town center. It is easily combined with a visit to Ledbury itself, a handsome market town known for its timber-framed buildings, independent shops, and the Ledbury Poetry Festival. The town's Ledbury Town Trail passes under another skew bridge — the 1881 Hereford Road railway bridge, built at an even more extreme 45-degree angle — giving a natural pairing of the two finest surviving examples of this unusual engineering in the area.↗↗
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust runs the wider restoration effort and welcomes visitors and volunteers. Their ambition is to return navigable boats along the full canal route from Hereford to Gloucester, and the section around Skew Bridge is a tangible piece of that vision, with the wharf site at Crews' Pitch still legible in the landscape beside the towpath.↗↗
What makes it special
The most sharply angled canal bridge in Britain at approximately 28 degrees to the waterway↗
Built in 1843 by canal engineer Stephen Ballard to avoid a bend in the road↗
On a restored section of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal between Crews' Pitch Wharf and Monkhide↗
Part of an ambitious long-term project to return navigation to the full 34-mile canal route↗
Designated Local Wildlife Site with water voles, otters, and Daubenton's bats along the towpath↗
A little planning goes a long way
- The bridge is on a minor no-through road in open countryside; the towpath is the best vantage point from which to appreciate the acute angle of the arch overhead.↗
- Pair a visit with the Hereford Road Skew Bridge in Ledbury town (a 45-degree railway skew bridge on the Town Trail) to see two national-standard examples in one outing.↗
- The canal around Crew's Pitch and Monkhide has been subject to ongoing restoration work by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust; conditions on the towpath can vary and some sections may be under active maintenance.↗
About this guide
Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.
