Tarr Steps bridge is made of loose stones piled on top of one another. Floods have often washed away stones from the bridge and, Tarr Steps being so well-known, the damage has been recorded and the extent of the damage has been a good indicator of the strength of the flood. The stones forming the spans weigh between one and two tons each and have on occasions been washed up to 50 yards downstream. A distinctive feature of Tarr Steps is the slabs that are raked against the ends of each pier to break the force of the river and divert floating debris. Debris used to be removed once a year by farmers from the Dulverton and Hawkridge sides of the river but since the flood of 1952 it has been trapped by cables strung across the river upstream of the bridge.

Older locals can remember deer walking under the spans of the bridge. The stags would jump over and the hinds walk under.