The hydraulic swing bridge built by Lord Armstrong's company in 1876, replacing a stone medieval bridge on the site of the original Roman crossing. The whole road span pivots on its central pier to let ships pass — still functional after 150 years, though it now opens only a few times a month rather than the original three or four times a day.
Walk across the deck for fragments of the original Roman bridge bedded into the masonry, and views of the Tyne and High Level bridges to either side. The control cabin halfway across is occasionally open to visitors.