Strait talk: Could a new bridge featuring a 120ft mythological king create a symbol for modern Wales?

Ryan Pugh looks at the design that celebrates Welsh culture - which some say cannot be true of the country’s imperialist-built castles

The designer’s vision of what the new structure would look like (Benji Poulton)

An ambitious, thoroughly Welsh design for a third bridge over the Menai Strait – featuring a 120ft-statue of a mythological king – has captured the imaginations of many. Plans for the bridge celebrate Bendigeidfran, or Brân the Blessed, and are to be considered by the Welsh government to help ease traffic over the strait, which separates the mainland from the northwestern island of Anglesey.

The idea has picked up interest on social media, with the account @PontBendigeidfran – Bendigeidfran bridge – gaining more than 2,000 followers on Twitter. Local politicians have endorsed the plans and the Welsh government has promised to look at “all options”.

The design was put forward by engineer Benji Poulton from Bangor, who said other ideas were “underwhelming”. His own concept originates from an ancient myth documented in ‘The Mabinogion’, a book of 12th and 13th century Welsh legends. Poulton was inspired by the story of Bendigeidfran, who rescues his sister Branwen from the cruel Irish king Matholwch.