The open competition to design a footbridge to complete the riverside path to the River Thames near Lechlade, was a singular opportunity for a relaxed approach to design. Peter Ayley's response, engineered with Sam Price (Price & Myers), took the movement pattern of walkers, local context and humour as the most important considerations.

The plan form and major structure is that of a fish with a backbone and ribs, welded together from Cor Ten steel - the steel which develops a rusty finish. The two ends of the bridge were ramped for wheelchairs, push-chairs and cyclists, with rubble walls from the local limestone. The unfinished oak deck, like the other materials, would mellow in time and become integrated with the natural landscape.