Local cyclists can now cross Hay-on-Wye’s historic toll bridge for free, thanks to a deal negotiated by local bike shop Drover Cycles.

The crossing over the River Wye, a short way north of the town at Whitney-on-Wye, charges a 10p toll to cyclists – a level fixed in an Act of Parliament. But when cyclists cross the bridge in the evening, there’s no toll-keeper on duty to collect tolls, and the “auto-toll” device fails to register their presence. 

Maggie Taylor, who bought the bridge with her husband for £400,000 in 2012, explained to the Hereford Times:

“The 10p toll has been a bit of a pain to implement and collect, and it did feel a bit churlish to charge cyclists – but our hands were tied. The toll is set by Government and we couldn’t just waive it.”

Instead, Drover Cycles has agreed to pay an annual licence on behalf of local cyclists – both those from the Velo Hay cycling club, and the shop’s customers. Anna Heywood said:

“We frequently go over the bridge on our Wednesday evening rides. The auto-toll isn’t set up for collecting fees from cyclists and there wasn’t always someone on hand to take our 10 pence pieces. We realised other cyclists weren’t paying either and didn’t want Maggie and Grahame to miss out, so agreed an annual licence with them.

"We decided it’d be a nice bit of extra value to offer to our customers. With the arrangement in place we can promote more local bike rides heading out that way. Besides serving as a convenient river crossing, the bridge is a great place to stop for tea or coffee.”

Even including new constructions such as the Humber and Severn bridges, there are only around 20 toll bridges left in England and Wales. Several, such as the Whitney bridge and Aldwark Bridge in Yorkshire, carry low levels of motor traffic and so form useful parts of cycling routes. Others, however, still carry busy traffic to this day – such as Swinford Bridge in Oxfordshire, where local cyclists are campaigning for a traffic-free roadside path to be built.