Arizona's London Bridge

London Bridge in Lake Havasu City

London Bridge may have fallen down, or rather been taken down, at one time, but it certainly is alive and well in Lake Havasu, Arizona, where it is considered one of the state’s top tourist attractions.

The bridge, which once spanned the Thames River in London, now joins Lake Havasu City proper with an island. The original London Bridge was built in 12^th century England; construction on this bridge started in 1825. About 1968, it was determined the bridge could no longer handle London traffic, so the city’s council put it on the market. An American, Robert McCullough, was the successful bidder at $2.46 million.

Visitor center painting of London Bridge

The bridge was dismantled stone by stone and shipped to Arizona, where it was put back together and rededicated in 1971.

English Village, complete with a British pub, lies at the city-side foot of the bridge.  There’s a walkway under the bridge that provides for a pleasant stroll on sunny days. You can also rent paddle boats to travel the channel and into the bay.

The bridge wasn’t as spectacular as I thought it would be, nor is crossing it as thrilling as I thought it would be.  But then we cross it several times a day, as we’re staying on the island and all the interesting stuff is on the other side. It is a pretty bridge, but ordinary.

Blog debuts

This is the debut of my latest blog, Cheryl’s USA. It is intended as a companion to Jon and Cheryl’s excellent adventure, about the trials and tribulations about our lives as fulltime

RVers. Cheryl’s USA will highlight the places we visit in our journey.