Location: Tummel Bridge, Perth & Kinross
Opening Times: 24 hours
Entry: Free
Access: Free parking at in village
Tummel Bridge was one of those brown signs bagged on a whim. Annie and I were on the A9, saw the sign, and decided, why not, let’s check it out. In the past I had often passed brown signs and wondered if the highlighted attraction was worth the detour, and considering Tummel Bridge was twelve miles off the main drag – or a 24 mile round trip if we came back the same way, which we did – here was a chance to put that to the test.
The drive along the B8019 was certainly scenic enough as it wound its way alongside first the River Tummel and then Loch Tummel. The celebrated Queen’s View is located just after the river becomes the loch, and we planned a stop there on the way back. Meanwhile we continued on the loch-side road until it became a riverside once more, and presently arrived at Tummel Bridge, located in the village of the same name.
The bridge is made of stone and rubble and has a pronounced humpback and two arches, one larger than the other. It was constructed in 1730 on the orders of Lieutenant General George Wade, which makes it a ‘Wadey’ to span fans. It was built as part of Wade’s Crieff to Dalnacardoch road, which was just one of the many road systems he introduced in the wake 1689, 1715, and 1719 Jacobite risings to allow government troops to move more efficiently in what had previously been a no-go area.
It cost £200 (£35,366 in 2024 money) and one specification given the builders was that it had to be a minimum of twelve feet wide, to allow for the movement of carriages and cannon. The bridge is now used only by pedestrians and a neighbour to its immediate west handles motor traffic. JMW Turner visited the bridge in 1801 or 02, and later produced an oil painting of it based on a sketch he had made in situ.
And that, really, is that. Was Tummel Bridge worth that 24 mile detour? Absolutely not, but it won’t stop me making similar detours in the future.
Destination or Diversion?
I think you can probably guess that Tummel Bridge fails to secure destination status, and is no more than a diversion. Note: ‘Wadey’ and ‘span fans’ are newly coined phrases as far as I know, but despite them relating to a niche subject matter I would be as thrilled as a cucumber if they entered common usage. The same of course applies to ‘thrilled as a cucumber’.