Creagan Mhartainn Bridge

Heritage listing

Date Added 09/03/2007 Type Industrial: bridge, viaduct, aqueduct; road or trackway, Secular: bridge; road Local Authority Highland Parish Urquhart And Glenmoriston NGR NH 28315 12106 Coordinates 228315, 812106 — The monument comprises a stretch of military road, including two bridges, that was built in the mid-18th century The road now survives as a grass- and moss-covered track that is approximately 340 m long and an average width of 5.3 m. There are two well-preserved single-arch masonry bridges which measure 3.5 by 11 m and 3 by 6 m respectively. The track is encroached by some tree roots. The Fort Augustus-Bernera military road was built by Major William Caulfeild in 1748-53 to link the Hanoverian garrison at Fort Augustus to the barracks in Glenelg some 70 km to the W. A drove route from Skye and Glenelg was utilised and metalled for troops, carts and artillery. Caulfeild's road appears on Roy's military survey of 1747-55. The road ceased to be maintained after 1784 as the Jacobite threat dissipated. Thomas Telford bypassed some sections which were unsuitable for carriages as part of the Parliamentary Road building programme in 1808-11. The area to be scheduled is an irregular corridor on plan, centred on the centre of the road, to include the road and all associated structures including bridges, ditches, fords and drains, and an area around in which associated evidence may survive, as shown in red on the accompanying map.

From Historic Environment Scotland under OGL v3.