Saltash

The town of Saltash is located in the south east of the County of Cornwall with magnificent views over the river Tamar toward the county of Devon and the City of Plymouth.  Spanning the Tamar is the Royal Albert Bridge that forms a part of the gateway to Cornwall.  The bridge was designed and built by the Hampshire born engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the son of a French émigré and himself a very distinguished engineer who arrived in England in 1799.  The Royal Albert Bridge was designed purely for the use of railway traffic and was opened on May 2^nd, 1859 some four months prior to the death of Brunel.

Running parallel to the Royal Albert Bridge is the Tamar Bridge that when opened in 1961, was the longest suspension bridge in the UK.  It later became the first suspension bridge in the world to be widened from three to five lanes using a series of cantilevers to support the new carriageway.  It also holds the accolade as the first bridge in the world to undergo both widening and strengthening work whilst remaining open to traffic.

Using either bridge to cross the river Tamar provides spectacular views of the Tamar Estuary and the Tamar Valley.

The name "Saltash" literally means "ash tree by the salt mill."

Culver Road in Saltash is home to the cottage of Sir Francis Drake's first wife Mary Newman and can be found just down the hill from Saltash railway station.

Near to Saltash, there are two castles.  Tremanton and Ince.

Tremanton was built in the 12^th century and is a good example of a motte and bailey castle.

Ince Castle is actually a manor house that was constructed in the 1640's at the start of the Civil War.

Nearby St. Germans was the original seat for the Bishop of Cornwall and the name still lives on today with the assistant bishop, to the Bishop of Truro, being knows as the Bishop of St. Germans.  The latter no longer has any connection with the village of St. Germans.

Annually, Saltash hosts the Mayfair, the Saltash Town Regatta and Gig races.

Local people of note include George Bignell and Sir Evan Nepean who served as secretary to M. Shuldham in Boston in 1776.

Although born in Exeter, George Carter Bignell lived in Saltash until his death in 1910.  Mr. Bignell was an eminent entomologist and scoured Cornwall and Devon for specimens.  Whilst he studied an array of insect life, he became best known for his work on parasitic wasps having discovered some nineteen new species.

Sir Evan Nepean has a legacy of many places around the world being named in his honour including Nepean in Ontario and the Nepean Highway that runs from Melbourne to Portsea (Victoria, Australia) among many others.

Some of the local attractions include the aforementioned Royal Albert Bridge, the Heritage Trail, Cotehele House and the Saltash Museum.