Scottish bridgescapes
This month the Inveraray and District History Society were treated to Bruce Keith’s “personal journey through history celebrating Scotland’s bridge-building heritage.
Bruce’s interest in bridges and Scottish landscape stems from visits, as a young boy, to inspect bridges with his father, Bridge Engineer for Inverness-shire County Council.
As a retired surveyor and ex-head of property at SSE, he has written two books. The first titled Bridgescapes captures his passion for Scottish history and geography and society members were taken on this journey.
A range of stunning photographs included the oldest bridge, Balgownie across the River Don, with a late 13th-century gothic arch, a real testament to Scottish civil engineering. Another bridge of note is the Aberfeldy Bridge over the River Tay, which has 1200 piles to support the bridge.
General Wade was responsible for building 40 such bridges and around 1,000 miles of road in Scotland, remarkable for their strength and longevity.
As Bruce comments: “Providing these bridges are maintained, they withstand the test of time and now even support the heavy traffic which passes over them.”
Some other interesting facts include: the
Forth and Clyde Canal’s Avon Aqueduct is the largest of its kind in Scotland; the ever popular West Highland Line has 10 viaducts; the Kelso Bridge was the inspiration for London’s Waterloo Bridge; there are 48 bridges on the Argyll Estate alone; Argyll’s Connel Bridge is the second longest cantilever bridge in UK.
Known as the Colossus of Roads, Thomas Telford was the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineering in 1818 and several other Scots have succeeded him in this position, further proof that Scottish engineers have made a real contribution to global engineering over the centuries.
The publication of Bruce’s book on Bridgescapes was specifically timed to coincide with the opening of the Queensferry Crossing in 2017. It is the longest three-tower cable-stayed bridge in the world. Bruce believes the world heritage status given to the Forth Rail Bridge should be extended to include all three bridges now spanning the River Forth.
Next month’s meeting will be held on Tuesday April 4 at 7.30pm in Inveraray Church Hall. The speaker will be Moira McPhedran presenting Uncle and Aunt’s Trip to Butterbridge. Everyone is welcome. Nonmembers, £5.