North Riding Council built Reeth Swing bridge in 1921. It was built for the communities' benefit to link the parishes of Grinton and Reeth, and the local community helped raise the money for the bridge.

Over the years it has become an important heritage and landscape feature being visible from the main road through Swaledale. Unfortunately the original bridge was damaged on the night of Tuesday 19 September 2000 during severe floods. A tree hitting the middle of the suspension bridge resulted in catastrophic damage to the cables and abutments.