Bridges are the subject of our latest set of comprehension worksheets. There are many interesting and spectacular bridges but we have chosen four really quirky bridges, one from each of the four countries making up the United Kingdom; Clifton Suspension Bridge in England, the Menai Bridge in Wales, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in Northern Ireland and Brig ‘o Doon in Scotland. Each bridge has comprehensions at three different ability levels. This makes it easy to provide material for a range of reading abilities, or ages, and allows for  differentiation in the classroom. The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a beautiful bridge which crosses the Avon Gorge near Bristol and was designed by the renowned engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He began building it in 1831 but it took another 33 years to complete it! Interesting discoveries were made in 2002 during investigation work in the towers of the bridge. The Menai Bridge connects the island of Anglesey with mainland Wales. Before this bridge was built anyone who wanted to travel to and from Anglesey had to cross over the dangerous water in the Menai Strait. Many lives were lost, including those of cattle. Find out what they did to stop the iron rusting on the bridge; Lewis Carrol wrote in ‘Through the Looking Glass’ that they had boiled the bridge in wine! Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is a very scary bridge in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is over 30 metres above the rocks, with a 20 metre span. Since 1755 rope bridges have been built by fishermen to get to the island of Carrick-a-Rede where they caught salmon. Today it is owned by the National Trust and the area is home to many bird species. The poem written by Robert Burns in 1791 about Brig ‘o Doon Bridge is probably more well-known than the bridge itself. The poem tells the story of a man called Tam ‘o Shanter who gets into trouble when he returns late from the market.  This stone bridge, which is over 200 years old, is in South Ayrshire in Scotland. As well as comprehensions we also have fact sheets, written in note form, which are an excellent starting point for a piece of factual writing on all four of the bridges. For comprehensions and fact sheets on bridges: Go to English: Comprehension: Bridges