A NEW café set by the river has opened next to a Herefordshire village's iconic bridge.

The Bridge, in Whitney-on-Wye, is the new eatery and bar for the company running Whitney-on-Wye Bridge, which crosses the river Wye.

The toll bridge was built in the late 1770s, during the reign of George III and while William Pitt the Younger was Prime Minister.

Whitney Bridge is one of only eight privately owned toll bridges still operating in much the same way as it has for almost 250 years.

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The toll income today is still used to maintain the bridge and keep up the structure of this ancient monument.

As the bridge gets older, the need to increase funds to secure its future is intensified, said the Whitney Bridge website.

In the past few years Whitney Bridge has diversified with the times and now offers glamping facilities, canoe hire and camping.

Now its new fully licensed restaurant will run alongside the bridge's glamping, canoeing and fishing elements.

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It will open Tuesday to Saturday at 10am with last orders at 9.30pm, with Sunday closing at 7pm.

Coffee and cakes will be served from 10am, lunch from 12pm to 4pm and dinner from 6pm to 8.30pm, with last drink order at 9.30pm.