Rainbow Bridge is a curved footbridge over the River Cherwell

River Cherwell

The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...

 in the University Parks

University Parks

The Oxford University Parks, more normally the University Parks, or just The Parks to members of the local community, is one large parkland area slightly northeast of the Oxford city centre in England...

, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The bridge is made of concrete with metal railings, in the shape of a rainbow

Rainbow

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...

, hence the name. The bridge was constructed in 1923–24, through a project for the unemployed.

In the summer months, there are often punts

Punt (boat)

A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole...

 travelling along the river under the bridge and there is a good view up and down the river from the top. On the other side of the bridge from the Parks there is a footpath that leads across the meadows to the suburb of New Marston

New Marston

New Marston is a suburb about northeast of the centre of Oxford, England.-History:New Marston is built on land that was originally part of the manor of Headington. It was rural until the 19th century, when housing began to develop along Marston Road from St. Clement's towards the village of Marston...

.